He appeared in New Amsterdam and CSI: Miami. my brother and I were accepted. Often he lost the roles once his face was known, but as he grew up in the stage, screen and TV industry during the 1970s and 80s, he fought hard to avoid being typecast as a street thug. 2023 Cond Nast. His father, an Italian stage carpenter, and his mother, an African American opera singer, met while working in Italy. He is famous for portraying the role of Gus Firing in the AMC drama series called ' Breaking Bad .'. However the series finale ends, one of the most enduring icons of Breaking Bad is the character Gustavo 'Gus' Fring, the suave and ruthless drug kingpin portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito. From 2009 to 2011, Esposito appeared in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad as Gus Fring, the head of an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based methamphetamine drug ring. Watching him grandstand, sermonize, womanize, and blackmail Dixiecrats in Congress, I found myself wishing that more directors would let him flex his talents as a showman. ? he recalled. They want it, just like children want discipline, the actor told Conan OBrien during a recent interview. Between 1993 and 1994, he portrayed Det. The director and actor clearly enjoyed a mutual admiration, and over the next four years, they collaborated on 3 further projects: 1989s Do the Right Thing, an account of racial tensions in Brooklyn, Mo Better Blues, Lees 1990s musical drama, and Malcolm X, the epic biographical drama about black activist Malcolm X. My karmic journey is to be told what to do and accept that and do it the best I can, he said. Shayne Lyra Esposito with her younger sister, Syrlucia and father, Giancarlo Esposito at 71st Emmys Governors Ball. Returning to the seat reserved for antagonists, Esposito makes his debut in the Star Wars franchise as Moff Gideon. According to CNW, Esposito was taking home an estimated $65 thousand per episode when he filmed Better Call Saul. He spent his childhood in Copenhagen and various cities in Europe before his family finally settled in New York. Esposito also appeared in Community as a guest star for the episode titled "Digital Estate Planning". Yet before he can accomplish this transformation, White must outmaneuver Gustavo (Gus) Fring, a local immigrant businessman. His Neapolitan father worked as a stagehand and carpenter while his African American mother sang in operas and nightclubs. She had to be in her seventies. 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). [20], He was raised Catholic and considered becoming a priest. He also appeared in the first season of the ABC program Once Upon a Time, which debuted in October 2011. and for me, what I do is pay so much attentionto my breathing, to my tone of voice. Every morning, he woke up at five to serve as an altar boy, and he considered a priestly vocation before realizing that he wanted to wear those vestments inside.. Growing up too fast as a child on Broadway, as a performer who always had to be on, who always had to delivermany of the things I missed, I havent given back to myself yet.. The role of Zooman represents a broad departure from Giancarlo's previous roles. The lack of work also raised the spectre of a second bankruptcy. Ad Choices. So, its no surprise that he has a net worth of $8 million. NYPL has Breaking Bad seasons 1-5 in their entirety and all the bonus material goodness that entails. Giancarlo Esposito is a German-born American actor. One canvas reminded him of the Hindu goddess Kali: Shes gonna destroy me as I knew me, and therell be a new me thatll emerge, he exulted. He acted alongside Nicole Kidman in the 2010 film Rabbit Hole. Now the actor wants you to see him as himself", "Giancarlo Esposito heads to Reggae Film Festival", "Giancarlo Esposito Joins Cast of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', "TV BITS: Giancarlo Esposito To Join ABC Series, Howie Mandel To Produce Reality Format, Ben Silveran To Publish Comic", "Exclusive: Giancarlo Esposito Talks About His, "The Boys showrunner unpacks the finale cliffhanger, cameos, and season 2 plans", "Disney's 'Jungle Book' Adds Christopher Walken & Giancarlo Esposito", "Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito Is Working On A Big Video Game That He Can't Tell You About", "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Anime Reveals English Dub Cast, NSFW Trailer", "AMC Networks Greenlights New Series, The Driver, Starring Giancarlo Esposito", "Giancarlo Esposito to Star in AMC Drama Series 'The Driver', "Far Cry 6 Confirmed With Clip Featuring Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito", "Angela Bassett 'Did The Thing' & Is Crowned As Entertainer Of The Year At NAACP Image Awards Complete Winners List", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giancarlo_Esposito&oldid=1141675804, Denotes works that have not yet been released, Episode: "The Big Employee Benefits Episode", Episode: "Night Mission: Stealing Friends Back", Likeness, vocal performance, and motion capture performance, Great White Way Award for Best Overall Acting in a Game, Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 06:33. Paul Gigante in Foxs short-lived sitcom Bakersfield P.D. In 1995, he shared screen space with Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, and Kevin Spacey in Bryan Singers The Usual Suspects. A true NYC moment: Giancarlo and brother Vincent take a sidewalk hotdog break during the musical The Me Nobody Knows, 1971. According to IMDB, Espositos mother, Elizabeth, was gigging at a nightclub with legendary entertainer, Josephine Baker, around the time of his birth. His brother is Giancarlo Esposito, (Gus Fring, for all you Breaking Bad fans). In Taps, Esposito plays a student officer at a fictional military academy, whose cadets stage an uprising to prevent its sale to real-estate interests. Esposito, a graceful sixty-four-year-old with sharp dimples and slicked back salt-and-pepper curls, seems to be everywhere these days. He left in tears, but after learning to draw back his Broadway presence in small plays, as Rich had suggested, he got the part. Giancarlo's award-winning performance in Zooman and the Sign, 1980. Who told you to be in my neighborhood? Giancarlo Esposito, as Gus Fring, stares down a sniper in the TV series Breaking Bad, 2011. His breakout role came in 1988 when he appeared in the Spike Lee film School Daze, when he played Julian Dean Big Brother Almighty Evans. In 2017, Esposito reprised his role as Gus Fring in the Breaking Bad prequel series, Better Call Saul. 5 ft 8 in or 173 cm. In 1997, Esposito played the film roles of Darryl in Trouble on the Corner and Charlie Dunt in Nothing to Lose. In 2016, he also lent his voice to Akela in Jon Favreaus Jungle Book. He dreamed of acting in dramas in film and television, determined not to become a song-and-dance man, but also hedged his bets, enrolling at a two-year college and working as a cameraman at local basketball games. (Even on Sesame Street, where, in his early twenties, he guest-starred as a camp counsellor, Esposito laid down the law for a homesick Big Bird.) And I realized, 'Oh, okay, this is an opportunity.' 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. We dont always win. Born on April 26, 1958, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Giancarlo Esposito is the son of Giovanni Esposito and Elizabeth Foster. By day, Gus owns and operates a fast-food chain, Los Pollos Hermanos, where, all smiles and pious platitudes, he works shifts alongside his staff and caters charity events for the Albuquerque police department. His mother played an active role in Giancarlo's dramatic training. Get back to work., Gus was written as a marginal character, but Esposito doesnt believe in small parts. At that point, his parents decided to abandon Denmark for the Big Apple, and Esposito spent the remainder of his formative years in Manhattan, New York. Esposito would periodically reprise the role in later seasons as a guest star. I was surprised when, just a few minutes into our conversation, he started tearing up, remembering a hug with his youngest daughter during a difficult stretch in the two-thousands. 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. [17], In 2022, Esposito played Taxi Driver in Euphoria, a film installation by Julian Rosefeldt. Lived in Europe, New York City, and Cleveland until he; his older brother, Vincent; and their parents moved to Manhattan when Giancarlo was six. Giancarlo Esposito shares what he misses about portraying Breaking Bad 's celebrated villain Gustavo Fring. Weight. His Neapolitan father worked as a stagehand and carpenter while his African American mother sang in operas and nightclubs. Giancarlo has a brother named Vincent Esposito. And I said, I just need to be touched. Esposito channelled that feeling in the last season of Better Call Saul, for which he won a Critics Choice Award. Giancarlo performs with Ken Howard and Michelle Lee in the musical Seesaw, 1973. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing more the $966 million worldwide to become the 42nd highest-grossing film of all time. If it's anything Shawshank Redemption, Seinfeld, or Kevin Bacon game related he's way more interested. Photo: Gerry Goodstein. Soon enough Esposito won the Obie Award and Theatre World Award in 1980 for his role as a predatory criminal in the Negro Ensemble Company production Zooman and the Sign. 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