Line #33 Creator/GiancarloEsposito


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-Giancarlo_Esposito_2012_cropped_9779.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:[[Series/BreakingBad He hides in plain sight, just like you.]]]]
3
4	->''"To be a character actor is to be open, to be a chameleon."''
5
6	Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (born April 26, 1958) is an American[[note]]albeit born in UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}}[[/note]] actor of part Italian, part African-American descent.
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8	He has been active in film and television since the age of six. He's been seen in films such as ''Film/DoTheRightThing, Film/TheUsualSuspects, Film/MalcolmX, Film/MaximumOverdrive, Film/TradingPlaces'' and ''Film/KingOfNewYork''. He is also a familar face on television with regular and recurring roles on ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet, Series/OnceUponATime'' and ''Series/{{Revolution}}'', and in 2019 joined the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise as former Imperial Security Bureau Moff Gideon on ''Series/TheMandalorian''. He is perhaps best known for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Chilean-American drug kingpin [[Characters/BreakingBadGustavoFring Gustavo 'Gus' Fring]] on the hit series ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul''.
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10	He has four daughters with his ex-wife, Joy [=McManigal=].
11	----
12	!!Film Roles
13	* 1981 ''Film/{{Taps}}'' as Cadet Captain J.C. Pierce
14	* 1983 ''Film/TradingPlaces'' as Cellmate
15	* 1984 ''Film/TheCottonClub'' as Bumpy Hood
16	* 1985 ''Film/DesperatelySeekingSusan'' as Street Vendor
17	* 1986 ''Film/MaximumOverdrive'' as Videoplayer
18	* 1988 ''Film/SchoolDaze1988'' as Julian
19	* 1989 ''Film/DoTheRightThing'' as Buggin' Out
20	* 1990 ''Film/KingOfNewYork'' as Lance
21	* 1990 ''Film/MoBetterBlues'' as Left Hand Lacey
22	* 1992 ''Film/BobRoberts'' as John Alijah "Bugs" Raplin
23	* 1992 ''Film/MalcolmX'' as Thomas Hayer
24	* 1994 ''Film/{{Fresh}}'' as Esteban
25	* 1995 ''Film/TheUsualSuspects'' as Jack Baer
26	* 1995 ''Film/WaitingToExhale'' as David Matthews
27	* 1997 ''Film/NothingToLose'' as Charlie Dunt
28	* 2001 ''Film/{{Monkeybone}}'' as Hypnos
29	* 2001 ''Film/{{Ali}}'' as Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr.
30	* 2005 ''Film/{{Derailed}}'' as Detective Franklin Church
31	* 2006 ''Film/LastHoliday'' as Senator Dillings
32	* 2006 ''Film/SherryBaby'' as Parole Officer Hernandez
33	* 2007 ''Film/TheBox'' as Detective Dwayne Burkhalter
34	* 2010 ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' - [[Recap/LeverageS03E04TheScheherazadeJob "The Scheherazade Job"]] as Alexander Moto
35	* 2012 ''Film/AlexCross'' as Daramus Holiday
36	* 2014 ''WesternAnimation/SonOfBatman'' as Ra's Al Ghul
37	* 2014 ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAssaultOnArkham'' as Black Spider
38	* 2014 ''Film/PokerNight'' as Detective Bernard
39	* 2016 ''Film/{{The Jungle Book\|2016}}'' as Akela
40	* 2017 ''Film/ThisIsYourDeath'' as Mason Washington
41	* 2019 ''Film/{{Coda\|2019}}'' as Paul
42	* 2023 ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMutantMayhem'' as Baxter Stockman
43	* 2024 ''Film/{{Abigail\|2024}}''
44	* 2024: ''Film/{{Maxxxine}}''
45
46	!!Television Roles
47	* 1982 ''Series/SesameStreet'' as Mickey
48	* 1998–1999 ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' as FBIAgent Mike Giardello
49	* 2000–2001 ''Series/TheStreet'' as Tom Divack
50	* 2003 ''Series/StreetTime'' as Jesse Haslim
51	* 1996–2005 ''Series/LawAndOrder'' as Mr. Baylor and Rodney Fallon
52	* [[Characters/BreakingBadGustavoFring Gustavo "Gus" Fring]]
53	** 2009–2011 ''Series/BreakingBad''
54	** 2017–2022 ''Series/BetterCallSaul''
55	* 2011–2014 ''Series/OnceUponATime'' as Sidney Glass/Magic Mirror/Genie of Agrabah
56	* 2012–2013 ''Series/{{Community}}'' as Gilbert Lawson
57	* 2012–2014 ''Series/{{Revolution}}'' as Tom Neville
58	* 2013 ''WesternAnimation/AxeCop'' as Army Chihuahua
59	* 2016–2017 ''Series/TheGetDown'' as Ramón Cruz
60	* 2017–present ''Series/DearWhitePeople'' as Narrator
61	* 2018 ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' as El Lazo II.
62	* 2019 ''Series/{{Creepshow}}'' as Doc in "Gray Matter"
63	* 2019 ''Series/GodfatherOfHarlem'' as Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
64	* 2019–present ''Series/{{The Boys\|2019}}'' as Stan Edgar
65	* 2019–present ''[[Series/TheMandalorian Star Wars: The Mandalorian]]'' as Moff Gideon
66	* 2019 ''WesternAnimation/{{Harley Quinn\|2019}}'' as ComicBook/LexLuthor
67	* 2020 ''WesternAnimation/{{Duck Tales\|2017}}'' as The Phantom Blot
68	* 2020 ''Series/HomeMovieThePrincessBride'' as The Grandfather
69	* 2022 ''Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners'' as Faraday
70	* 2023 ''Series/{{Kaleidoscope\|2023}}'' as Leo Pap
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72	!!Video Game Roles
73	* 2014 ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' as The Dentist, a contractor for the gang.
74	* 2021 ''VideoGame/FarCry6'' as "El Presidente" Anton Castillo, dictator of the island country of Yara.
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76	!!Tropes, or Lies?
77	* IronyAsSheIsCast: Esposito, who is half-Italian, plays characters in ''Film/DoTheRightThing'' and ''Series/GodfatherOfHarlem'' who are incredibly hostile towards Italians.
78	* PlayingAgainstType: Baxter Stockman in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMutantMayhem''. While Stockman in most adaptations is a villainous MadScientist, and the Stockman in ''Mutant Mayhem'' is indirectly responsible for the main villains of the movie, he's [[AdaptationalHeroism more or less a good person]], as well as less physically imposing or dominating than Esposito's usual roles.
79	* PlaysGreatEthnics: His earlier roles has him usually playing Black guys, while his later ones (especially after ''Series/BreakingBad'') are usually Hispanic. He is half-Black and half-Italian.
80	* SesameStreetCred: By way of RetroactiveRecognition.
81	* StarMakingRole: His role as Gustavo Fring, the terrifyingly cold and efficient leader of a drug smuggling operation from ''Series/BreakingBad'' more or less made him a household name, and he has reappeared in similar roles since.
82	* TheStoic: His intense, ominous, blank stare is famous for being able to terrify other characters and the audience. It's practically his signature move (one ''Far Cry 6'' used in its advertising)
83	* TranquilFury: The unflappability of his characters is practically a trademark in itself, with many of his characters becoming ''[[DissonantSerenity calmer]]'' the angrier they get. And, in the event that he ''does'' snap, then you know that [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness the feces has officially impacted the air circulator]].
84	* TypeCasting: Ever since ''Series/BreakingBad'' he seems to take a lot of roles where he's some sort of [[TheStoic stoic]] criminal mastermind or EvilOverlord. And if it's a work with superpowers involved, he'll almost always play the BadassNormal.
85	** In ''VideoGame/Payday2'' his role is literally just an {{Expy}} of Gus Fring, only he runs a legitimate dentist business as his front for criminal activity, instead of being a fast food chain owner.
86	** ''Series/TheMandalorian'' has him basically playing Gus Fring as an {{Expy}} of [[Film/ANewHope Grand Moff Tarkin]], albeit more unhinged and with a little Darth Vader thrown in for good measure.
87	** In ''VideoGame/FarCry6'' his role as Anton Castillo, "El Presidente" of a Cuba {{Expy}}, the tropical island of Yara. He evokes Gus Fring as he seeks to cement "paradise" in his country via a brutal dictatorship involving creating and selling an anti-cancer drug on the global market and using the enslaved population to help create it, naturally inviting resistance from local guerilla forces. Even the advertisements of ''Far Cry 6'' [[LampshadedTrope lampshaded]] this, by making note of his long list of villains that he portrayed and centering the entire appeal of the game around fighting him.
88	** Giancarlo voices ComicBook/LexLuthor in ''WesternAnimation/{{Harley Quinn\|2019}}'', though unlike the other roles above, he's more AffablyEvil with a cool demeanor, rather than outright calm and calculating at all times.
89	** [[Series/TheBoys2019 Vought CEO Stan Edgar]] is very much an {{expy}} of Lex Luthor, who can intimidate [[BewareTheSuperman Homelander]] and his superteam like children.
90	** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Duck Tales\|2017}}'', he voices the Phantom Blot.
91	** A variant in ''{{Film/Okja}}'': he's an intelligent and suave CorruptCorporateExecutive, but as TheDragon to Nancy Mirando, quietly working against her sister [[ALighterShadeOfBlack Lucy]].

Context Creator / GiancarloEsposito