Giancarlo Esposito

education = Elizabeth Seton College occupation = years_active = 1968–present spouse = children = 4

Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is best-known for his portrayal of Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2009–2011), a role he reprised in the spin-off Better Call Saul (2017–2022). For this role, Esposito won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series twice and earned three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

His other television roles include federal agent Mike Giardello in the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street (1998–1999), Sidney Glass / Magic Mirror in the ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time (2011–2017), Tom Neville in the NBC series Revolution (2012–2014), Dr. Edward Ruskins in the Netflix series Dear White People (2017–2021), Stan Edgar in the Amazon series The Boys (2019–2026) and The Boys Presents: Diabolical (2022), and Moff Gideon in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019–2023), the lattermost of which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He also portrayed Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in the MGM+ series Godfather of Harlem (2019–2023), acted in the HBO drama series Westworld (2016), and starred in the Netflix television series Kaleidoscope (2023), The Gentlemen (2024), and The Residence (2025). In 2025, he also had a guest role in the second season of the crime mystery series Poker Face.

He is also known for his collaboration with Spike Lee, acting in several of his films, such as School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991) and Malcolm X (1992). His other major films include Taps (1981), King of New York (1990), Bob Roberts (1992), Fresh (1994), The Usual Suspects (1995), Ali (2001), Monkeybone (2001), Last Holiday (2006), Rabbit Hole (2010), Okja (2017), Megalopolis (2024), MaXXXine (2024), and Captain America: Brave New World (2025). He voiced Akela in the live-action remake of The Jungle Book (2016).

Early life and education Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. an American opera and nightclub singer from Alabama.

Esposito lived in Rome, Italy, until he was five, when his family moved to the United States, settling in Manhattan, New York City. He attended Elizabeth Seton College in New York and earned a two-year degree in radio and television communications. He was among the singers of The Electric Company original theme song and later appeared as Big Bird's camp counselor on Sesame Street. He was also a member of the youthful cast of the Stephen Sondheim–Harold Prince collaboration Merrily We Roll Along, which closed with 16 performances and 56 previews in 1981.

During the 1980s, Esposito appeared in films such as Maximum Overdrive, King of New York, and Trading Places. He also performed in TV shows such as Miami Vice and Spenser: For Hire. He played J. C. Pierce, a cadet in the 1981 movie Taps.

In 1988, he landed his breakout role as the leader ("Dean Big Brother Almighty") of the black fraternity "Gamma Phi Gamma" in director Spike Lee's film School Daze, exploring color relations at black colleges. Over the next four years, Esposito and Lee collaborated on three other movies: Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, and Malcolm X. During the 1990s, Esposito appeared in the acclaimed indie films Night on Earth, Fresh and Smoke, as well as its sequel Blue in the Face. 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. In 1996, Esposito was featured in a music video "California" by French superstar Mylène Farmer, directed by Abel Ferrara.

Esposito played FBI agent Mike Giardello on the TV crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street. That role drew from both his African American and Italian ancestry. He played this character during the show's seventh and final season, and reprised the role for its 2000 made-for-TV movie. He had another multiracial role as Sergeant Paul Gigante in the television comedy, Bakersfield P.D.

In 1997, Esposito played the film roles of Darryl in Trouble on the Corner and Charlie Dunt in Nothing to Lose. Other TV credits include NYPD Blue, Law & Order, The Practice, New York Undercover, and Fallen Angels: Fearless.

Esposito has portrayed drug dealers (Fresh, Breaking Bad, King of New York, Better Call Saul, The Gentlemen), policemen (The Usual Suspects, Derailed), political radicals (Bob Roberts, Do the Right Thing), and a demonic version of the Greek god of sleep Hypnos from another dimension (Monkeybone). In 2001, he played Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. in Ali, and Miguel Algarín, friend and collaborator of Nuyorican poet Miguel Piñero, in Piñero.

In 2002, Esposito was cast as a legal eagle in the David E. Kelley television drama Girls Club. 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. And I realized, 'Oh, okay, this is an opportunity.' It was really a great opening for me to show who I really was. And it's kept going like that."

From 2009 to 2011, Esposito appeared in seasons 2 through 4 of the AMC drama Breaking Bad, as Gus Fring, the head of a New Mexico-based methamphetamine drug ring. In the fourth season, he was the show's primary antagonist, and won critical acclaim for this role. He won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama award at the 2012 Critics' Choice Television Awards and was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series award at the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards, but lost to co-star Aaron Paul.

Esposito appeared in the film Rabbit Hole (2010). He also appeared in the first season of the ABC program Once Upon a Time, which debuted in October 2011. He portrayed the split role of Sidney Glass, a reporter for The Daily Mirror in the town of Storybrooke, Maine, who is really a genie trapped in the Magic Mirror, possessed by The Evil Queen in a parallel fairy tale world. Esposito would periodically reprise the role in later seasons as a guest star. Esposito appeared in Revolution as Major Tom Neville, a central character who kills Ben Matheson in the pilot. He escorts a captured Danny to the capital Philadelphia of the Monroe Republic.

Esposito also appeared in Community as a guest star for the episode titled "Digital Estate Planning". He performed again in the fourth season, in the episode titled "Paranormal Parentage". Esposito has additionally appeared in a video of the action role-playing sci-fi first-person shooter game Destiny. Esposito voices antagonist Faraday in the Netflix anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022). Esposito also voices Antón Castillo, the main antagonist of the video game Far Cry 6, who was modeled after Esposito's appearance. He was also included in the videogame Payday 2, as the supporting character, then antagonist "The Dentist".

He has joined the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series. He played Ra's al Ghul in Son of Batman and Eric Needham / Black Spider in Batman: Assault on Arkham. He also had a recurring role in the first season of The Get Down on Netflix. In 2017, Esposito reprised his role as Gus Fring in the Breaking Bad prequel series, Better Call Saul. In 2019, he appeared in the first-season finale of The Boys as Stan Edgar, and reprised the role in the second and third season.

In 2016, Esposito voiced Akela in the film The Jungle Book, which was directed by Jon Favreau. Esposito and Favreau would work together once again in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian in which Esposito appears in a starring role, while Favreau acts as an executive producer for the series and as its writer. He plays the role of New York congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in the 2019 Epix series Godfather of Harlem.

In July 2020, Esposito began teasing his role in "a huge video game". His role was later revealed as the main antagonist of Ubisoft's Far Cry 6, in which he would portray and voice Antón Castillo, the dictatorial ruler of the fictional Caribbean island country of Yara.

In 2022, Esposito played Taxi Driver in Euphoria, a film installation by Julian Rosefeldt.

In 2024, he launched his first graphic novel, The Venetian.

In December 2024, Esposito was announced as a cast member in independent drama Out Come the Wolves, based on the Rancid 1995 album of the same name.

In February 2025, Esposito appeared as Seth Voelker / Sidewinder of the Serpent Society in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Captain America: Brave New World. Esposito was added to the film's reshoots.

Esposito will appear in the upcoming Netflix limited series adaptation All the Sinners Bleed, based on the S. A. Cosby novel of the same name.

Personal life Esposito was married to Joy McManigal, with whom he has four daughters. After divorcing her, Esposito filed for bankruptcy. Before being cast in Breaking Bad, he considered arranging his own murder to provide insurance money for his children.

Esposito was raised Catholic and considered becoming a priest. After his work on the film 7 Dogs, he was seen praying the Islamic prayer (Salah) in Saudi Arabia, and it was later revealed that he had converted to Islam.

Acting credits

Film + Year Title Role Notes 1979 Running Puerto Rican teenager 1980 The Changeling Extra 1981 Taps Cadet Captain JC Pierce 1983 Trading Places Cellmate #2 1984 The Brother from Another Planet Man getting arrested The Cotton Club Bumpy Hood 1988 School Daze Julian 2005 Hate Crime Detective Esposito Batman: Assault on Arkham Eric Needham / Black Spider Poker Night Bernard 2025 Captain America: Brave New World Seth Voelker / Sidewinder The Electric State Colonel Marshall Bradbury 2026 The Only Living Pickpocket in New York Detective Warren Kill Me Dr. Singer 7 Dogs Roman MarksDebut Saudi Arabian film Vernon Dahmer Post-production Post-production Mr. Hoogeboom Voice, in-production 2027 Post-production William Tell Oliver Completed

Television + Year Title Role Notes 1981 The Gentleman Bandit Jamie Television film 2023 Kaleidoscope Leo Pap / Ray Vernon Miniseries; 8 episodes 2025 The Residence A. B. Wynter 8 episodes Poker Face Fred Finch Episode: "Last Looks" Gen V Stan Edgar Episode: "Cooking Lessons" Ezekiel WigginsLimited series

Other work Year Title Role Project Notes 1986 "Growing Up" Himself Music video Whodini song 1996 "California" Rich man Mylène Farmer song 2017 Better Call Saul:Los Pollos Hermanos Employee Training Gus Fring Web series Voice; 10 episodes 2020 Game Changer Himself Game show Episode: "Ham It Up" 2021 Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman Stan Edgar Web series Voice; episode Aug 2021 2022 The Big Lie Dr. Greco Podcast series 2025 "Cabin Talk" Himself Feature De La Soul song

Awards and nominations Year Association Category Nominated work Result 1995 Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Male Fresh National Board of Review Best Cast The Usual Suspects 1999 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Homicide: Life on the Street 2011 Breaking Bad Saturn Awards Best Guest Starring Role on Television 2012 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor on Television Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 2013 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor on Television Revolution 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Better Call Saul Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series 2020 Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series The Mandalorian 2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Better Call Saul MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Villain The Mandalorian Saturn Awards Best Guest Starring Role on Television Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The Game Awards Best Performance Far Cry 6 2022 New York Game Awards 2022 Great White Way Award for Best Overall Acting in a Game Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama Better Call Saul 2023 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series Better Call Saul (for "Axe and Grind") Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Better Call Saul 2024 Saturn Awards Best Guest Star in a Television Series The Mandalorian Prize for American-Italian Relations (PAIR) Arts & Culture 2025Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Screen Combo Megalopolis Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series The Boys