Michael Mando (born July 13, 1981)
is a Canadian actor. He played
Nacho Varga
Ignacio "Nacho" Varga is a fictional character who appears in the AMC television series ''Better Call Saul'', a prequel spin-off of ''Breaking Bad''. He is portrayed by Michael Mando and was created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould.
Dialog ...
on the
AMC series ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
'' (2015–2022),
Vaas Montenegro in the video game franchise ''
Far Cry'' (2012, 2021), Vic Schmidt in the sci-fi series ''
Orphan Black
''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identical ...
'' (2013–2014), and
Mac Gargan
MacDonald "Mac" Gargan is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary of the superhero Spider-Man. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The ...
in ''
Spider-Man: Homecoming'' (2017). He is a two-time
Canadian Screen Award
The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series ...
and
Screen Actors Guild Award
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
nominee.
Early life
Mando was born in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
. He was raised by his father and is the second of three brothers. The family frequently travelled, living in more than 10 cities across four continents and in more than 35 homes, all before he was in his mid-20s.
His native language is French, and he speaks English and Spanish fluently.
He grew up wanting to be a writer or an athlete.
In his mid-20s he suffered a knee injury and consequently decided to change paths.
He was enrolled in many fields, including
international relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such ...
, at the
University of Montreal
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
, before discovering the performing arts at the Dome Theatre Program (
Dawson College
Dawson College (French: ''Collège Dawson)'' is an English-language public general and vocational college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately 12 ac ...
) in 2004.
Despite no training he went on to play the male lead in all five productions of the program.
He graduated in 2007. His Dome credits included Orlando in Shakespeare's ''
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 h ...
'', Professor Katz in
David Edgar's ''Pentecost'', and Valentine Xavier in Tennessee Williams' ''
Orpheus Descending''.
Steven W. Lecky, the chair of the program, called Mando "one of the finest talents to emerge from the program in the past 25 years."
Career
After playing the leading character in two award-winning professional theatre productions in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
Mando founded Red Barlo Productions.
The company’s first film, ''Conditional Affection'' (which Mando starred in, directed and wrote) was released in 2010 and officially selected to
Fantasia
Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...
,
Bare Bones,
ACTRA Short Films,
and the New Hope International Film Festivals.
Mando’s television debut simultaneously followed with a wide range of contrasting characters. His credits include guest appearances in the crime series ''
The Bridge'', the medical drama mini-series ''
Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures
''Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures'' is a short story collection by Vincent Lam, published in 2006. The book, inspired by Lam's own experiences in medical school and as a professional physician, is a volume of interconnected short stories about t ...
'', as an
MS-13 gang member in ''
The Border'', and as a close friend of the character Kenzi (played by
Ksenia Solo) in the sci-fi series ''
Lost Girl
''Lost Girl'' is a Canadian supernatural drama television series that premiered on Showcase on September 12, 2010, and ran for five seasons. It follows the life of a bisexual succubus named Bo, played by Anna Silk, as she learns to control ...
''.
Mando has had repeated collaborations with directors
John Fawcett and
Érik Canuel
Érik Canuel (born 1961) is a film director and actor from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Canuel, the son of actor Yvan Canuel, began his career in the mid-1980s making music videos for such artists as Paul Piché, Sass Jordan, Norman Iceberg, Vila ...
as well as producer David Barlow. He had a starring role in the 2010 feature film ''Territories''.
In 2011, he had a recurring role in ''
Les Bleus de Ramville
''Les Bleus de Ramville'' (The Blues of Ramville) is a Canadian television series, which premiered on TFO in January 2012.
Set in the fictional town of Ramville near North Bay, Ontario, the series focuses on Gordie, Julie, Maureen and Christian, ...
''
and a guest appearance on the series ''
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
''.
He is the voice and likeness of
Vaas Montenegro, a major character of the 2012 video game ''
Far Cry 3''. He also starred in a webseries called ''The Far Cry Experience'' as Vaas, who captures and tortures
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (; born June 20, 1989) is an American actor and comedian. He has performed roles such as Fogell (McLovin) in '' Superbad'' (2007), Augie Farcques in ''Role Models'' (2008), and Chris D'Amico in '' Kick-Ass'' (201 ...
as himself. In the 2020s, Mando would reprise his role as Vaas for ''Far Cry VR: Dive Into Insanity'' and ''
Far Cry 6''.
In 2012, Mando was cast in the first season of the
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
''
Orphan Black
''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identical ...
'', which began airing in 2013.
He played Vic, an abusive drug-dealer and was nominated for a
Canadian Screen Award
The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series ...
for his work on the series.
He reprised his role of Vic in the second season in a recurring role. In 2014, Mando joined the cast of ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
'', the ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited h ...
''
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...
, portraying
Nacho Varga
Ignacio "Nacho" Varga is a fictional character who appears in the AMC television series ''Better Call Saul'', a prequel spin-off of ''Breaking Bad''. He is portrayed by Michael Mando and was created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould.
Dialog ...
, a career criminal.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Web
Accolades
References
External links
Michael Mando Official Site*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mando, Michael
Living people
Canadian male film actors
Canadian male television actors
Canadian male video game actors
Canadian male voice actors
21st-century Canadian male actors
Francophone Quebec people
Université de Montréal alumni
Male motion capture actors
1981 births