Giancarlo Esposito is an American actor, director, and producer. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to an Italian carpenter and stagehand father from Naples, Italy, and an African American opera singer mother from Alabama.

He is well known by television audiences for his iconic portrayal of drug kingpin 'Gustavo "Gus" Fring' in AMC's critically acclaimed BREAKING BAD, for which he won the 2012 Critics' Choice Award and earned a 2012 Emmy nomination.

Esposito reprised his role as 'Gus Fring' on AMC's BETTER CALL SAUL, which earned him 2019 and 2020 Emmy Award nominations in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series as well as a 2023 Critics' Choice Award win in the category of Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The show was nominated in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2022 for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Drama Series and for the 2019, 2021, and 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards in the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. The show was also nominated for a 2023 Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Television Series, Drama. The sixth and final season concluded airing in 2022 and includes Esposito's television directorial debut for episode 606, for which he won a 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series.

Most recently, Esposito was seen as 'Stan Edgar' in the fifth and final season of Amazon Prime Video's critically acclaimed series THE BOYS, which premiered on April 8, 2026, and concluded on May 20, 2026. He also returned as Edgar in the second season of the spinoff series GEN V in 2025.

Esposito stars as 'Moff Gideon' in the Disney+ Star Wars universe series THE MANDALORIAN, for which he was nominated for a 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series and a 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The third season premiered in March 2023, earning him a 2024 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama or Comedy Series.

He joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as 'Seth Voelker / Sidewinder' in CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, released February 14, 2025. That same spring he was seen in the Russo Brothers' Netflix film THE ELECTRIC STATE and in Netflix's mystery-drama series THE RESIDENCE, which revolves around an eccentric detective who arrives at the White House to solve a murder that happened during a state dinner. He also starred in Francis Ford Coppola's alternate-history sci-fi epic MEGALOPOLIS, which premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival before its 2024 theatrical release, and in A24's MAXXXINE, the third installment of Ti West's X trilogy opposite Mia Goth. Additional recent credits include Destry Allyn Spielberg's PLEASE DON'T FEED THE CHILDREN opposite Michelle Dockery and a guest turn in the second season of Peacock's POKER FACE.

Up next, Esposito appears in a recurring role in Netflix's series adaptation of S.A. Cosby's ALL THE SINNERS BLEED, and in THE PRINCE, a drama feature from director Cameron Van Hoy, starring alongside Scott Haze, Nicolas Cage, J.K. Simmons, and Andy Garcia.

Esposito also starred in AMC's PARISH, where he served as an executive producer. The series centers on 'Gracián "Gray" Parish' (Esposito), a family man and proud owner of a luxury car service in New Orleans. After his son is violently murdered and his business collapses, an encounter with an old friend from his days as a wheelman resurfaces old habits, sending Gray on a high-stakes collision course with a violent criminal syndicate. The series premiered in 2024 on AMC and is available to stream on AMC+.

He led the cast of Netflix's heist drama series KALEIDOSCOPE, which took a nonlinear approach to storytelling across eight parts ranging from 24 years before the heist to one year after it, and claimed the number one spot on Netflix's top 10 list following its release. He starred as 'Adam Clayton Powell Jr.' in MGM+'s GODFATHER OF HARLEM, earning NAACP Image Award nominations in 2020, 2022, and 2024 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He was also seen in Universal's monster thriller ABIGAIL and opposite Theo James and Kaya Scodelario in Netflix and Guy Ritchie's THE GENTLEMEN series, a follow up to Ritchie's 2019 film of the same name. In 2024 he added author to his resume with the release of his debut graphic novel, THE VENETIAN.

Esposito had a recurring role as the Narrator in all three seasons of Netflix's DEAR WHITE PEOPLE. Additional TV credits include WESTWORLD, ONCE UPON A TIME, THE GET DOWN, DRUNK HISTORY, and COMMUNITY.

He can also be seen in films such as BEAUTY, STARGIRL, OKJA, CODA, MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS, RABBIT HOLE, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, SMOKE, THE LAST HOLIDAY, and Spike Lee's films DO THE RIGHT THING, MO' BETTER BLUES, SCHOOL DAZE, and MALCOLM X. Esposito's additional film credits include THE JUNGLE BOOK, MONEY MONSTER, STUCK, POKER NIGHT, ALEX CROSS, SHERRYBABY, ALI, NOTHING TO LOSE, WAITING TO EXHALE, BOB ROBERTS, KING OF NEW YORK, and COTTON CLUB.

Esposito began his career working in theater, making his Broadway debut in the 1968 musical MAGGIE FLYNN, starring opposite Shirley Jones. He also starred in the original cast of the Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince production MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. His other stage credits include CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, SACRILEGE, and DON'T GET GOD STARTED, among others.