Who Is Giancarlo Esposito? Who Are His Parents, His Net Worth and Family

Quick Facts

Giancarlo Esposito is as talented as he is handsome. The charismatic actor has certainly made an imprint on the television side of entertainment in recent years. He is perhaps best known for playing the fascinating villain on Breaking Bad. He also appeared in several notable shows including Once Upon A Time, Dear White People and Better Call Saul.

Who Is Giancarlo Esposito?

Critically acclaimed American actor, Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito, was born in Copenhagan, Denmark, on the 26th of April 1958. He lived in Europe till he was 6; he later moved to Manhattan, New York with his family to start a new life

Coming from a theatrical background, Giancarlo started acting stage plays from an early age of 8. His debut into Broadway was in 1966 when he acted as a slave child alongside Shirley Jones in the musical Maggie Flynn.

The actor also bagged a two-year degree in Radio and Television Communication in Elizabeth Seton College in New York. A lot of theatre plays followed after this and he also secured roles in movies and television shows in the 60’s, early 70’s and 80’s where he got to play more significant roles on TV.

Giancarlo Esposito: Career

This actor is no newbie when it comes to theatrical performance and TV productions. After his childhood Broadway debut, other TV show gigs came up in the 80’s like Miami Vice and Spenser: For Hire. What brought him to the limelight was his role as Agent Mike Giardello in the TV series Homicide: Life on the Street.

He appeared in films like Tap (1981) as Cadet J.C. Pierce, Maximum Overdrive, King of New York, Reckless, and Waiting to Exhale, starring and . He also landed a lead role in the film School Daze as leader of the black fraternity Gamma Phi Gamma, directed by ; this is largely considered to be his breakout role. Four years down the line, they both worked on three more movies namely: Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues and Malcolm X.

Giancarlo is also a respected name in indie side of entertainment; some indie films he has appeared in are Night on Earth, Fresh, Smoke and its sequel Blues in the Face. His first exploit into directing was his 2008 racially charged drama Gospel Hill. He directed, produced and also starred in it.

The talented actor got New York theatre credits with performances in The Me Nobody Knows, Lost in the Stars, Seesaw, Merrily We Roll Along and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof where he played Gooper.

He is most popularly known for his most iconic role as villain Gustavo Fring in the hit series Breaking Bad. He also reprised the role in Better Call Saul. The role landed him two awards for Best Supporting Actor in the 2012 Critics Television Awards and Outstanding Supporting Actor at the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Giancarlo portrayed Sidney Glass and the Magic Mirror on the ABC show Once Upon a Time as well. In 2010, he landed a role in the film Rabbit Hole alongside fellow acting heavyweights, and Aaron Eckhart. He was also a guest star on the popular NBC sitcom, Community.

The American actor has lent his voice to several animations, videos games and live action films, one of which includes his role as Akela, the leader of the WWolfpackin the Disney’s 2015 live-action film The Jungle Book. He joined the DC Universal Animated Original movie series where he played Ra’s Al Ghul in Son of Batman and Black Spider in Batman: Assault on Arkham.

There’s no denying the fact that Giancarlo Esposito is one talented actor and director.

Who Are His Parents?

Giancarlo Esposito is of both Italian and African-American heritage. His father Giovanni Esposito is an Italian stagehand and set builder from Napoli and his mother, Elizabeth Foster, was an African-American Opera singer from Alabama. The actor has a brother named Vincent Esposito.

Because of his parents’ nature of work, the family moved from Rome to Hamburg and then Germany before relocating to Manhattan when he was six.

As previously mentioned, he got his first Broadway gig in 1966; but what was not mentioned was that he got the role through his parent’s influence.

Personal Life & Family

Giancarlo has four daughters with his ex-wife, Joy McManigal, who is a producer. The names of his daughters are Syrlucia Esposito, Kale Lyn Esposito, Shayne Lyra Esposito and Ruby Esposito. The couple had been together for over 20 years, since 1995, before their divorce. However, the date of their divorce has been kept away from the media’s prying eyes. He hasn’t dated anybody since then.

Giancarlo Esposito: Net Worth

According to research, his net worth is 6 million dollars. A totally expected amount considering he was making $65,000 dollars per episode on Breaking Bad. Beyond that, his extensive body of work and years in the industry speak for themselves.

Height, Weight and Body Measurements

Giancarlo Esposito’s height is recorded at 5 feet 8.11 inches, his weight is also listed to be 63kg. Presently, his diet and workout routine –if he has any, is not known to the public; the same goes for his other body measurements. What is known, however, is that the actor has not been required to make any significant changes in his body weight for any of his roles so far.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.