Nestor Carbonell

Néstor Gastón Carbonell (; born December 1, 1967) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He came to prominence for his role as Luis Rivera in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan. He is known for his roles as Richard Alpert in the ABC drama series Lost, Sheriff Alex Romero in the A&E drama series Bates Motel, and Yanko Flores in the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show. Carbonell also starred as Mayor Anthony Garcia in Christopher Nolan's superhero films The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). He won the 2024 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role in the FX series Shōgun.

Early life Carbonell was born in New York City to Cuban parents Néstor Tulio Carbonell Cortina and Rosa Ramírez de Arellano Cárdenas. His parents are of Spanish descent (his grandparents were of Catalan, Basque, Navarran, and Andalusian origins). Carbonell was raised a Roman Catholic.

Nestor's father worked for PepsiCo, which required the family to live for periods of time in London, Mexico City, the Bahamas, and Caracas. His father is also active in the Cuban community, authoring the book And The Russians Stayed: The Sovietization of Cuba. Carbonell has an older sister, Rosa Maria "Mia" Carbonell, a Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Forbes. Former professional baseball player Rafael Palmeiro is his cousin. His paternal great-grandfather, José Manuel Cortina, was a noted Cuban orator and diplomat.

Carbonell was educated at The British School while living in Caracas. His family later moved back to the U.S., and he attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts with future Lost co-star Matthew Fox.

In 1990, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Harvard University (also the alma mater of his father and sister).

Career

Carbonell's first acting role was a guest starring part as Alberto Cordova in an episode of As the World Turns. He then appeared in episodes of Law & Order, Melrose Place, A Different World, Reasonable Doubts, Good Advice, Brotherly Love, and The John Larroquette Show. In 1995, he starred in a dual role, Roberto and one half of the Couple in Bar, in Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's play Getting Away with Murder. That same year, he appeared as a main cast member on the short-lived The WB sitcom Muscle. He subsequently portrayed the regular role of Luis Rivera on the Brooke Shields-led sitcom Suddenly Susan for four seasons (19962000).

For much of his early career, he played characters with thick Hispanic accents, and was so convincing that people often assumed that was his normal speaking voice. One of Carbonell's first obstacles in Hollywood was branching out from ethnic roles. In 2000, Carbonell made his debut as a screenwriter with the comedy film Attention Shoppers, in which he also starred as Enrique Suarez, the lead role. He has since had recurring roles on Resurrection Blvd., The Tick, Kim Possible (as the voice of Señor Senior Jr.), Century City, Strong Medicine, and Cold Case. He also guest starred on Scrubs (in the episode "My Moment of Un-Truth"), House (in the episode "Cursed"), Monk (in the episode "Mr. Monk Gets Married"), and Day Break (in the episode "What If He Can Change the Day?"). In 2006, he appeared alongside his future Lost co-star Matthew Fox, as assassin Pasquale Acosta, in the film Smokin' Aces.

Carbonell was cast as Richard Alpert on the third season of ABC's drama series Lost. The mysteries surrounding his ageless character were heavily discussed among the fan community throughout his arc in the season. While producing the final episodes of the third season, Carbonell was cast in a starring role as Frank Duque on the CBS series Cane. The writers of Lost modified their original story plan for the third season in anticipation for Carbonell's potential unavailability. Despite Carbonell's willingness to return to the ABC series, CBS president Nina Tassler ruled out another guest appearance. Cane was cancelled during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, freeing Carbonell from his contract with CBS. In 2008, Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse stated that Carbonell would reprise his role as Richard Alpert towards the end of the series' fourth season, as a result of Cane cancellation. and was upgraded to a main cast member of Lost for its sixth and final season.

In 2008, he landed the role of Mayor Anthony Garcia in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. His wife, Shannon Kenny, was previously involved in a Batman project, voicing the character Inque in the Batman Beyond television series. In 2010, Carbonell joined the series Psych for two episodes playing Declan Rand, a criminal profiler. In 2011, Carbonell starred in the CW series Ringer as FBI agent Victor Machado. Also in 2011, he was announced to guest star in FX comedy series Wilfred, a role which later turned into a recurring one. The following year, Carbonell briefly appeared in The Dark Knight Rises, reprising his role as Mayor Anthony Garcia in the final installment of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.

From 2013 to the series' ending in 2017, he portrayed Sheriff Alex Romero in the A&E Psycho prequel series Bates Motel, opposite Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore. In the first season, he starred in a recurring capacity, but was upgraded to a main cast member starting with the second season. Carbonell also directed three episodes of the series. In 2014, he guest starred on the CBS drama series Person of Interest in the episode "Most Likely to...", and on the CBS political drama series The Good Wife in the episode "The Deep Web". That same year, he began recurring as Raymond Navaro in NBC's espionage thriller series State of Affairs. In 2017, Carbonell directed the episode "Apple" of the ABC drama series The Good Doctor, starring his Bates Motel co-star Highmore.

In 2024, he appeared as Rodrigues in the FX series Shōgun, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role. The couple have two sons, Rafael (born 2002) and Marco (born 2005). A short skit during the Lost panel at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con featured Carbonell allegedly applying eyeliner before throwing a rant upon receiving the wrong color makeup from an assistant. In a season 5 episode of Lost, James "Sawyer" Ford refers to Carbonell's character as "your buddy out there with the eyeliner."

He is fluent in Spanish, a skill he put to use in the sixth-season episode of Lost, "Ab Aeterno", in which numerous scenes contain dialogue mostly or solely in Spanish. He also starred in a Spanish-language Heineken commercial.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2000 Attention Shoppers Enrique Suarez 2001 Jack the Dog Jack the Dog 2003 Manhood Jack the Dog 2005 The Lost City Luis Fellove 2006 Smokin' Aces Pasquale Acosta 2008 The Dark Knight Mayor Anthony Garcia Killer Movie Seaton Brookstone 2010 Noah's Ark: The New Beginning Leeu (voice) 2012 For Greater Glory Mayor Picazo The Dark Knight Rises Mayor Anthony Garcia 2013 Dead Drop Santiago 2016 Director's Cut CSI Perry Imperium Tom Hernandez 2017 Crown Heights Bruce Regenstreich 2022 Bandit Detective John Snydes Medicine Men Silas St. John 2023 Clawfoot Evan 2024 The Image of You David Getting Lost Himself 2025 Motherland Mateo 2026 The Rip Major Thom Vallejo Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Ignacio El Caido

Television Year Title Role Notes 1989 As the World Turns Alberto Córdova Episode: "1.8965" 1991 Law & Order Stuart Carradine Episode: "Out of Control" 1992 Melrose Place Alex Episode: "Lost & Found" A Different World Malik Velásquez 2 episodes 1993 Reasonable Doubts Tomasso López Episode: "The Ties That Bind (Part 1)" 1994 Good Advice Marco Episode: "Two Times Twenty" 1995 Muscle Gianni 13 episodes 1996 Brotherly Love Eduardo Episode: "Remember" The John Larroquette Show Felicio Episode: "Intern Writer" 1996–2000 Suddenly Susan Luis Rivera 93 episodes 1998 Veronica's Closet Tony Tony Episode: "Veronica's All Nighter" Encore! Encore! Marly Morrow Episode: "Mr. Joe's Wild Rose" 2000 Resurrection Blvd. Peter Terrano 6 episodes Noriega: God's Favorite Major Giroldi Television film Happily Ever After Sir Gooey (voice) Episode: "Robinita Hood" 2001 These Old Broads Gavin Television film 2001–2002 The Tick Batmanuel 9 episodes 2002 The Laramie Project Moisés Kaufman Television film Static Shock García (voice) Episode: "Pop's Girlfriend" Ally McBeal Miles Josephson Episode: "What I'll Never Do for Love Again" 2002–2007 Kim Possible Señor Senior Jr. (voice) 12 episodes 2003 Queens Supreme Benedetto Episode: "Supreme Heat" The Division Byron Johnson Episode: "Cold Comfort" 2004 Monk Dalton Padron Episode: "Mr. Monk Gets Married" Scrubs Dr. Ronny Ramírez Episode: "My Moment of un-Truth" Century City Tom Montero 9 episodes 2004–2006 Strong Medicine Jonas Rey 14 episodes2005 Dave the Barbarian Zit (voice) Episode: "The Way of the Dave/Beauty and the Zit" 2025 Pulse Dr. Ruben Soriano 8 episodes

Stage Year Title Role Location 1990 A Silent Thunder Cpl. Joe Santana Apple Corps Theatre, New York 1995 Getting Away with Murder Roberto / Couple in Bar Old Globe Theatre, San Diego

Other credits Year Title Functioned as Notes Director Writer Producer 2000 Attention Shoppers 2015–2017 Bates Motel 3 episodes 2017–2020 The Good Doctor 2 episodes 2018 Rise Episode: "The Petition" 2021–2022 New Amsterdam Episodes: "Seed Money", "All Night Long", "Big Day" 2023–2024 Law & Order Episodes: "Private Lives", "Report Card"

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1996 ALMA Awards Outstanding Individual Performance in a Comedy Series Suddenly Susan 1998 Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series 1999 2003 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival Star on the Horizon Himself 2009 ALMA Awards Best Actor on Television – Drama Lost 2010 Golden Nymph Awards Outstanding Actor – Drama Series Gold Derby Awards TV Ensemble of the Year Imagen Awards Best Actor – Television 2013 Best Supporting Actor – Television Bates Motel 2014 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Morning Show 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Shōgun