I am African! [15] He plays the role of New York congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in the 2019 Epix series Godfather of Harlem. Strolling through the museum, Esposito recalled a memorable childhood encounter with Josephine Baker. With new projects such as The Mandalorian and Harley Quinn in the works, nows never been a better time to find out 20 things you didnt know about Giancarlo Esposito. The Mandalorian and Breaking Bad villain credits his menacing poise to mindfulness and military schooland yearns to play an everyman. We dont always win. Vincent and Giancarlo Esposito during their debut on Broadway in the musical Maggie Flynn, 1968. She sings the first verse. I scrapped everything for a few weeks and said, figure out how to be with yourself outside of the world, outside of people handing me my validation.. New York theater credits for Esposito include The Me Nobody Knows, Lost in the Stars, Seesaw, and Merrily We Roll Along. He spent his childhood in Copenhagen and various cities in Europe before his family finally settled in New York. His decision to pursue a career in acting has clearly paid off, but as a teenager, Esposito had some doubts. He encountered racism and prejudice early on in his life. The economist discusses what the U.S. gets wrong about Putin and the war in Ukraine. In the 2016 version of Disneys The Jungle Book, he provided the voice for Akela. Esposito was raised in Copenhagen (along with his older brother, Vincent) until the age of six. The actor has a brother named Vincent Esposito. READ ALSO: John Bishop Life After Deaf All rights reserved. He is best known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad, from 2009 to 2011, as well as in its prequel series Better Call Saul, from 2017 to 2022. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Many critics analyzed whiteness in Breaking Bad; some argued that it was a fable about the erosion of white-male moral authority, whereas others decried a story in which a lone white chemist dethrones brown cartels with his pure product. But Gus, a smiling chicken vender who works tirelessly to put the cops at ease, is a no less racialized figurea nightmare, to some, and a fantasy, for others, about the compulsory performance of innocence evolving into a kind of superpower. He got to know his eccentric neighbor, a heavy drinker who sleeps in a tent, and deepened his interest in the Greco-Armenian spiritualist G. I. Gurdjieff. Fyfe is the son of the former Yolanda . Aiden's been an entertainment freelancer for over 10 years covering movies, television and the occasional comic or video game beat. Other Spike Lee projects he featured in include Mo Better Blues (1990), and Malcolm X (1992). He has a more established brother named Vincent. If they want the respect of their peers and the love of their fans, they have to do good works as well. In 2001, he portrayed two historical characters in two critically acclaimed films. The film starred Esposito alongside Danny Glover, Angela Basset, and Samuel. The lack of work also raised the spectre of a second bankruptcy. Rebellion involved dropping out of high school to develop a night-club act in California, and, when that failed, bussing tables at a dinner theatre back home. His parents, working in Europe at the time of his birth, settled in Manhattan by the time he was 6, and that's where he grew up. His outing as Julian "Dean Big Brother Almighty" Eaves, the leader of the Gamma Phi Gamma Fraternity, in the movie proved to be his breakout performance. All work and no play may have made Jack a dull boy, but Esposito is in no danger of following suit. His imperious likeness graces memes, video games, and ads for Dirty Devil Vodka; at fan conventions, masochistic fans beseech him to stare them down. Although the series only lasted one season, and did not garner generally positive reviews, it represented a personal turning point for Esposito, who relayed to The Washington Post: "I started to play bosses. . His television appearances increased in the 1990s and included Homicide: Life on the Street, Chicago Hope, NYPD Blue, Law & Order, The Practice, and New York Undercover. Who told you to be in my neighborhood? In 1998, he was cast as FBI agent Mike Giardello in the final season of NBCs critically acclaimed police procedural drama series Homicide: Life on the Street. Elizabeth told her son to go out and buy a single red rose; that night, they sat close to the stage during the performance. Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito became a popular face thanks to his portrayal of Gustavo Gus Fring on the AMC TV series Breaking Bad. The actor who strikes fear into the hearts of strangersonce, a Breaking Bad fan tried to yield him her place in the bathroom linewould seem to have little in common with the exuberant, demonstrative man who approaches his profession with such joy and humility. Esposito has directed two films to date, Gospel Hill and The Show. Aside being an actor with close to 180 acting credits, he is also a director. He is widely known for portraying major methamphetamine distributor Gus Fring in the famous AMC TV series Breaking Bad. He simply bears up and he does it. who manufactures superheroes in Amazons Marvel satire The Boys? The parents of Giancarlo are Giovanni Esposito and Elizabeth Foster . Moreover, he has devoted much of his personal time to countering the problem of racial stereotyping and enjoys roles that explore minority and immigrant issues. It was Vince that inspired me by writing in the stage directions, hiding in plain sight, he told me. To this day, he continues to be an active member of the Atlantic Theater Company, an off-Broadway, non-profit theater whose mission is to empower simple and honest storytelling that fosters greater understanding of our shared world. The company was founded in 1985 by playwright, David Mamet, fellow actor and Shameless star, William H Macy, and 30 students from New York University. The Esposito sisters and brother Vincent were the children of Gigante's long-running relationship with his Upper East Side mistress Olympia Esposito. I made my living on that little tinge of anger inside me, that allowed me to be an angry young Black man and rob some white lady onscreen, he told me. Esposito walked right past it, beelining to a series of celestial multimedia paintings whose textures he found enchanting. Beyond movies, Esposito goes to college campuses and prisons as part of a motivational speaking circuit talking about racism, color-blind casting, and human empowerment. Elizabeth responded by enrolling Giancarlo in Catholic parochial schools and then in a military academy; surprisingly, he loved both, confessing that the routines of cadet life had nourished his fastidious personality. I realize one of my strengths is to control the chaos.. He also appeared in the mainstream films Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man with Mickey Rourke, Reckless with Mia Farrow, and Waiting to Exhale starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. Another interesting fact is that even though Esposito was cast to play in the show, he wasnt supposed to be the main antagonist. Slim. Photo: Bert Andrews. I almost wanted you to switch, the actor told me; from a young age, hes struggled with hypervigilance, a tendency that became acute during the pandemic. Esposito was only eight when he made his Broadway debut. Giancarlo Esposito Ethnicity And Nationality Esposito is a socially different individual, for the most part because of his heritage. He and his brother Vincent starred as orphaned children of refugee slaves in the 1968 musical Maggie Flynn opposite showbiz legends. Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to an Italian carpenter/stagehand father from Naples, Italy, and an African-American opera singer mother from Alabama. His parents, working in Europe at the time of his birth, settled in Manhattan by the time he was 6, and that's where he grew up. The ruthless drug kingpin he portrayed calculated the violent removal from the world of those who displeased him after flashing a cold stare. However, the couple has since parted ways. I hadnt seen her in four months, and she said, Papa, are you O.K. Plus: each Wednesday, exclusively for subscribers, the best books of the week. Giancarlo Esposito, who considers himself "an Italian black" that can also pass for Latino, encountered racism early on in his life and more subtler shades of prejudice while auditioning. Maybe theyd seen him in Do the Right Thing, shouting a question as contentious in contemporary-art museums as it was in Spike Lees Bed-Stuy pizzeria: How come you aint got no brothers up on the wall? But Esposito, a tenacious veteran of stage and screen who has become one of the most familiar faces in television, has played so many dastardly bosses and charismatic troublemakers that it almost didnt matter which one. The role of Zooman represents a broad departure from Giancarlo's previous roles. He appeared in four Broadway musicals before hed turned fifteen. In July 2020, Esposito began teasing his role in "a huge video game". Barely two minutes into our interview, Giancarlo Esposito drops a bombshell. Now a regular in the TV show Revolution, Giancarlo Esposito continues to be a versatile and in-demand actor, and despite his attempt to avoid bad guy roles, he's just too good at it. Esposito's other major films include Taps (1981), King of New York (1990), Bob Roberts (1990), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Fresh (1994), The Usual Suspects (1995), Ali (2001), Last Holiday (2006), Gospel Hill (2008), Rabbit Hole (2010), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Money Monster (2016), Okja (2017), Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018), and Stargirl (2020). On Broadway, his biggest role came in 2008 when he appeared as Gooper in Tennessee Williams Pulitzer prize-winning drama, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which was directed by Debbie Allen and starred James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, and Terrence Howard. And, his full name is Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito. He was born in Copenhagen on April 25, 1958. . [12] Esposito has additionally appeared in a video of the action role-playing sci-fi first-person shooter game Destiny, as well as plays The Dentist, a non-playable story character, in the game Payday 2. 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