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Carlo Alban

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carlo Albán (born October 3, 1979) is an Ecuadorian actor, best known as "Carlo" from Sesame Street (1993–98). He played the role of Luis "McGrady" Gallego on Prison Break (2007–08). He has since gone on to perform in a variety of mediums, including plays and television shows.

Early life

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Albán arrived in the U.S. at the age of 7 with his family on a travel visa.[1] However, his family intended to stay in the United States despite the potential consequences, living on an expired visa with the risk of deportation always prevalent.[2] When he was 12 he got his first role in Oliver! as the title character. He then went on to other roles in New York until he was cast on Sesame Street.[3]

Raised in Sayreville, New Jersey, Albán graduated from Sayreville War Memorial High School in 1996; he was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2019.[4] He attended Rutgers University, majoring in visual arts.

Sesame Street

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Albán was on Sesame Street from 1993 to 1998 and during that time his being in the U.S. was against the law.[2] In response to the reasoning for him being on Sesame Street while lacking proper documentation, he said, "what better place to hide than in the spotlight where no one would suspect you?"[5] During these teenage years Albán had several formative experiences that he later talked about in his play Intringulus, including an instance involving the situation of his immigration.

Career

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Film & Television

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He has had recurring roles in Strangers with Candy, Thicker Than Blood, and The Tavern. He has guest starred on Law & Order, The Jury, Touched by an Angel, the HBO prison-themed series Oz, Deadline, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and in Prison Break as Luis "McGrady" Gallego. He played "Birdman" in the film Whip It.

Theater

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Albán has made appearances on the stage, including multiple Off-Broadway shows and on Broadway in Sweat.[6][7] He originated the role of Oscar in the world premiere production of Sweat at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015.

Sweat

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Alban starred in Sweat, the Pulitzer Prize Winner for Drama 2017.[8][9] Sweat ran on Broadway through June 2017 and tackles the issues that a group of friends and coworkers must deal with as their jobs are threatened.[8][10]

Filmography

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Production Date Role
Black Bird 2022 Chris Drysdale
Mile 22 2018 William Douglas
The Night Of (TV Mini-Series) 2016
H.O.M.E. 2016 Manny
Sleeping with Other People 2015 Microcenter Employee
Palladium (Short) 2014 Stefon Alexander
The Bravest, the Boldest (Short) 2014 Chaplain Lieutenant Torres
Girls (TV Series) 2014
The Sonnet Project (TV Series) 2013
Cannonball Beautiful (Short) 2011 Bear
Margaret 2011 Rodrigo
The Big Deal (Short) 2011 Auggie
Hector is Gonna Kill Nate (Short) 2010 Hector
Whip It 2009 Birdman
Fringe (TV Series) 2008 FBI Tech Agent
Glow Ropes: The Rise and Fall of a Bar Mitzvah Emcee 2008 Barry
Prison Break (TV Series) 2007-2008 McGrady
The Tape Recorder (Short) 2007 Man
Life Support (TV Movie) 2007 Andre
Dentist Visit (Short) 2007 Juan
Live Free or Die 2006 Todd Thomas
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) 2005 James Raphael
Strangers with Candy 2005 Megawatti
The Jury (TV Series) 2004 Douglas Santago
21 Grams 2003 Lucio
Snipes 2001 Bugsy
Deadline (TV Series) 2000 Manny
Center Stage 2000 Eva's Friend
Law & Order (TV Series) 1996-2000 Ramon Soriano / Damien
Touched by an Angel (TV Series) 1999 Tino Morante
The Tavern 1999 Tommy
Oz (TV Series) 1999 Luis Ricardo
Hi-Life 1998 Ricky
Thicker Than Blood (TV Movie) 1998 Lee Cortez
Sesame Street (TV Series) 1993-1998 Carlo
Hurricane Streets 1997 Benny
Imagine That! (Video short) 1996 Carlo
Sesame Street: Cookie Monster's Best Bites (Video) 1995

Performances

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Regional Theatre Productions[11]

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Title Venue
Sweat OSF, Public Theater, Broadway
A Parallelogram Center Theatre Group
Lydia Denver, Yale, Center Theatre Group
Hurricane Asolo Repertory Theatre
All About Us Westport
Dreamlandia Dallas Theatre Center
Night of the Iguana Guthrie Theater

New York Productions[11]

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Title Venue
Tamburlaine Parts I & II Theatre for a New Audience
Intríngulis Solo show - writer/performer
A Small Melodramatic Story Labyrinth Theater Company
References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot The Public Theater, NYSF
A Summer Day Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
Alice in Slasherland, Living Dead in Denmark Vampire Cowboys
Flipzoids Ma-Yi

Awards and nominations

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For television, Alban has been nominated for two Young Artist Awards for his work in Touched by an Angel and Thicker Than Blood. He also received a nomination for an ALMA award for his work in Thicker Than Blood, and Thicker Than Blood received an ALMA award for Outstanding Made-For-Television Movie or Mini-Series.[12] He has also received the New Dramatists' Charles Bowden Award,[13] and a 2017 Theatre World Award for an outstanding Broadway debut for Sweat.

References

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  1. ^ Horwitz, Simi (March 2017). "From 'Sesame Street' to solo star: Carlo Alban". Back Stage West. 9.
  2. ^ a b Dailey, Kate (2011-11-25). "I is for Illegal: Acting on Sesame Street without a visa". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  3. ^ Saltz, Rachel (October 19, 2011). "Carlo of 'Sesame Street,' on Being an Illegal Immigrant in Real Life". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Sockol, Matthew. "Sayreville Hall of Fame ceremony is April 27", CentralJersey.com, March 19, 2019. Accessed April 8, 2021. "Alban is from the Class of 1996 and has had a career in the arts for over 25 years. As a teenager, he portrayed the character Carlo on Sesame Street and has appeared on several other television series, including as a member of the cast of Prison Break."
  5. ^ "Undocumented and Unafraid: Carlo Alban". Latino USA. 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  6. ^ "'Sweat': Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  7. ^ "Carlo Albán Theatre Credits". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  8. ^ a b SpotCo. "Sweat Broadway - Official Site". Sweat Broadway - Official Site. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  9. ^ "2017 Pulitzer Prizes". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  10. ^ Clement, Olivia (June 13, 2017). "Broadway's Sweat Announces Closing". Playbill. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Carlo Alban". Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
  12. ^ "1999 NCLR ALMA AWARDS" (PDF). Alma Awards.
  13. ^ "Carlo Alban". Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 2017-04-28.
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