Raúl Esparza

Infobox actor
name = Raúl Esparza
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imagesize = 190px
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birthname =
birthdate = Birth date and age|1970|10|24|df=y
birthplace = Wilmington, Delaware
deathdate =
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yearsactive =
spouse = Michele Esparza (married 1993, separated 2000) [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/theater/26wadl.html?pagewanted=all]
partner =
children =
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website = http://www.raulesparza.com
tonyawards =
awards = 2000: Theatre World Award for "The Rocky Horror Show"
2001: Drama Desk Award for "Taboo"

Raúl Esparza (born October 24, 1970) is a Cuban-American stage actor.

Born in Wilmington, Delaware and raised in Miami, Florida, Esparza graduated from Belen Jesuit in 1988 [ The International Jesuit Alumni Directory Belen (Forum Press Inc., 1994)] and later received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He first drew attention with his performance in the 2000 Broadway revival of "The Rocky Horror Show", which won him the Theatre World Award. The following year he appeared off-Broadway in "tick, tick... BOOM!" by Jonathan Larson, garnering a Drama Desk Award nomination as Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He received a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award for his performance in the ill-fated musical "Taboo".

Additional Broadway credits include "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (2005) and Sondheim's "Company" (2006), for which he received his second Tony nomination as well as his second Drama Desk award. His off-Broadway work includes "Comedians" (2003) and "The Normal Heart" (2004). Beginning in November 2007, Raúl appeared in Harold Pinter's play The Homecoming and earned his third Tony nomination, this time as Best Featured Actor in a Play.

In 1999, Esparza portrayed Che in the national tour of "Evita". In regional theatre he has appeared in two other Stephen Sondheim musicals, "Sunday in the Park with George" and "Merrily We Roll Along".

He currently has a recurring role on the show "Pushing Daisies" as traveling salesman Alfredo Aldarisio, a role originally given to Paul Reubens. In 2009, Raúl will appear as Abel Plenkov in the Wes Craven film 25/8.

Esparza will next be seen on Broadway in the upcoming revival of David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" with Jeremy Piven and Elisabeth Moss.

Esparza was the subject of a New York Times profile in which he revealed that he is bisexual. [Wadler, Joyce. (26 November 2006) [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/theater/26wadl.html?ex=1322197200&en=bc42caf60e48bf95&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Breaking Character for the First Time in His Life] "New York Times". Accessed 26 November 2006.] Since 1993, he has been married to Michele Esparza, his high-school girlfriend, though they have been separated "off and on", the actor has said, since 2000; in 2006 Esparza said that he was involved with an unnamed male actor. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/theater/26wadl.html?pagewanted=all] [http://broadwayworld.com/people/galleryphoto.php?photoid=39001&personid=10591]

References

External links

* [http://www.raulesparza.com/ Raúl Esparza Official Website]
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* [http://www.thehomecomingonbroadway.com Official "The Homecoming" on Broadway website]
* [http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=541001 Q&A: Raúl Esparza] at [http://www.broadway.com Broadway.com]
* [http://www.americantheatrewing.org/downstagecenter/detail/raul_esparza/ Raúl Esparza] "Downstage Center" XM radio interview at American Theatre Wing, April 2005
* [http://www.americantheatrewing.org/seminars/detail/performance_05_05 Performance] "Working in the Theatre" seminar video at American Theatre Wing, 2005