Mohamed Ghalayini (born February 15, 1966) is an American film and television actor, known by his
stage name
A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
Mo Gallini.
Biography
Gallini was born Mohamed Ghalayini on February 15, 1966, in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
.
His father was from
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, and his mother was of
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n descent.
He attended the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
from 1983 to 1985
before moving to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
with his family.
After moving, Gallini met director
David Anspaugh
David Anspaugh (born September 24, 1946) is an American television and film director.
Professional career
After earning a bachelor's degree from Indiana University Bloomington, Anspaugh moved to Aspen, Colorado, where he worked as a substitute t ...
, who offered him his first role as a Notre Dame football player in the 1993 film ''
Rudy''.
Gallini has portrayed over fifty characters in television and film, including the roles of Enrique in ''
2 Fast 2 Furious
''2 Fast 2 Furious'' is a 2003 action film directed by John Singleton from a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, based on a story by Brandt, Haas, and Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to '' The Fast and the Furious'' (2001) and ...
'' (as "Matt Gallini"), Abdul Manesh on the fourth season of the hit series ''
24'', and Interrogator in ''
Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden''.
He was awarded Best Supporting Actor honors at the 2008 BendFilm Festival for his portrayal of identity thief Wesley Stone in ''Selfless''.
Gallini appeared in the recurring role of firefighter Jose Vargas in season 1 of the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television series ''
Chicago Fire''.
Filmography
References
External links
Official website*
1966 births
American male television actors
American entertainers of Cuban descent
American people of Lebanese descent
Living people
Male actors from Miami
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