Michael Mando

Michael Mando (born July 13, 1981) is a Canadian actor, writer, director and singer with a background in contemporary and classical theatre. He became known for his role as Vaas Montenegro, an antagonist in the video game Far Cry 3 (2012), Victor "Vic" Schmidt in the science fiction series Orphan Black (2013–2014) and Mac Gargan/Scorpion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Mando currently plays Nacho Varga on AMC's Better Call Saul (2015–present).

Michael Mando
Mando at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con International
Born (1981-07-13) July 13, 1981
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
OccupationActor, writer, director
Years active2000–present
Websitewww.michaelmando.com

Early life

Mando was born in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. He was raised by his father, and is the middle child of three brothers. Their family frequently travelled, living in more than 10 cities, across four continents and in more than 35 different homes; all before his mid-20s.[1][2][3] His family is of Mexican descent.[4] His native language is French, and he also speaks English and Spanish fluently.[1][2][3]

Mando was enrolled in many fields, including international relations, at the University of Montreal before discovering the performing arts at The Dome Theatre Program (Dawson College) in 2004.[2] Despite having no prior training, Michael went on to play the male lead in all five productions of the program.[2][3] He graduated with excellence in 2007.[1] His Dome credits include Orlando in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Professor Katz in David Edgar’s Pentecost, and Valentine Xavier in Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending.[1][2] Upon graduation, Steven W. Lecky, the Chairman of the program, proudly stated Michael to be "one of the finest talents to emerge from the program in the past 25 years."[1][3]

Career

After playing the leading character in two award-winning professional theatre productions in Montreal,[1][3] Mando founded Red Barlo Productions.[2][3][5] The company’s first film, Conditional Affection [6] (which Mando starred in, directed and wrote) was released in 2010 and officially selected to Fantasia,[7][8] Bare Bones,[8][9] ACTRA Short Films,[2][8] and the New Hope International Film Festivals.[8][10]

Mando’s television debut simultaneously followed with a wide range of contrasting characters. His credits include guest appearances in the crime series The Bridge,[11] the medical drama mini-series Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures,[12] as an MS-13 gang member in The Border,[13] and as a close friend of the character Kenzi (played by Ksenia Solo) in the sci-fi series Lost Girl.[14]

Mando has had repeated collaborations with directors John Fawcett and Eric Canuel as well as producer David Barlow.[15][16] He had a starring role in the 2010 feature film Territories.[17][18] In 2011, he had a recurring role in Les Bleus de Ramville[17][19] and a guest appearance on the series King.[1][17] In 2012, he featured in Far Cry 3 where he voiced and inspired one of the main villains: Vaas Montenegro,[20] a vicious and twisted antagonist who arguably became the main face of the video game. He also starred in a webseries called "The Far Cry Experience"[21] where he plays Vaas who captures and tortures a celebrity (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who has been challenged to survive the island.

In 2012, Mando was cast in the first season of the science fiction television series Orphan Black, which began airing in 2013.[22] He played Vic, an abusive drug-dealer and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for his work on the series.[23] He reprised his role of Vic in the second season in a recurring role. In 2014, Mando joined the cast of Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad spin-off, portraying Nacho, a career criminal.[24]

Personal life

Mando grew up wanting to be a writer or an athlete.[2][25] In his mid-twenties he suffered a knee injury and consequently decided to change direction.[2] He then pursued an academic scholarship at the University of Montreal in international relations, but shortly afterward decided to go into acting.[1][2]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2010 Conditional Affection Jack Short film
Also director, writer and producer
2010 Territories Jalii Adel Kahlid
2011 Abyss of the Mind Johnny H.
2012 The Good Lie Orville
2013 The Colony Cooper
2013 Make Your Move Raphael
2013 Elysium Rico Uncredited
2016 Wake Up Johnny H. / Alter Ego Short film
Also director, writer and producer
2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming Mac Gargan / Scorpion
2018 The Hummingbird Project Mark Vega

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2008; 2010 The Border Mirza, Marco 2 episodes
2009 The Last Templar Necia First Mate 2 episodes
2009 Web of Lies Danny Wilcox Television film
2009 Flashpoint Felipe Episode: "Eagle Two"
2010 Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures Dr. Manolas 2 episodes
2010 The Bridge K9 Episode: "Voices Carry"
2010 Lost Girl Neville Episode: "(Dis)Members Only"
2011 King Esteban Demarco Episode: "T-Bone"
2011 Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays Alain Episode: "Unscripted Conversation"
2012 The Pregnancy Project Javier Rodriguez Television film
2012 Les Bleus de Ramville Marc-Andre David 8 episodes
2012 Psych Chuy Episode: "Let's Doo-Wop It Again"
2012 The Killing Vasquez Episode: "Off the Reservation"
2013 The Listener Len Gazicki Episode: "Buckle Up"
2013 Rookie Blue Cesar Medina Episode: "The Kids Are Not Alright"
2013 Covert Affairs Eduardo Episode: "Into the Blue"
2013–2014 Orphan Black Victor "Vic" Schmidt 9 episodes
2014 La marraine Alvaro Pessoa 5 episodes
2015–present Better Call Saul Nacho Varga Main cast; 29 episodes
2016 The Crossroads of History Gaum Episode: "Columbus"

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2010 Shaun White Skateboarding Francisco Crystobal
2012 Far Cry 3 Vaas Montenegro Also motion capture

Web
Year Title Role Notes
2012 Far Cry Experience Vaas Montenegro 5 episodes

Accolades
Year Award Category Work Result
2012 NAVGTR Award Lead Performance, Drama Far Cry 3 Nominated
2014 Canadian Screen Award Best Guest Performance in a Dramatic Series Rookie Blue Nominated
2014 Canadian Screen Award Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Program or Series Orphan Black Nominated
gollark: This is why they are good at writing, and often fail at world models and real-world reasoning.
gollark: Nobody has. They're an ascended chatbot created as part of an osmarks.net project last year.
gollark: (ß good)
gollark: Intereßting.
gollark: I agree. I said "wrong, in the sense of worse at achieving goals." afterward.

References
  1. "Michael Mando Biography". Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
  2. "GUEST: Michael Mando". Friday Night Live!. October 29, 2010. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  3. "Trivia". Michael Mando Official Site. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14.
  4. http://www.looper.com/74118/scorpion-spider-man-homecoming-looks-familiar/
  5. "Team". Red Barlo Productions Official Site. Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  6. IMDb,Conditional Affection
  7. 2010 Fantasia Film Festival
  8. "Conditional Affection". Red Barlo Productions Official Site. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  9. Bare Bones Film Festival Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Profile: Michael Mando". Kim Vaincourt Site. Archived from the original on 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  11. IMDb, The Bridge: Voices Carry
  12. IMDb, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures: All Souls
  13. IMDb, The Border: No Refuge
  14. IMDb, Lost Girl: (Dis)Members Only
  15. IMDb, John Fawcett
  16. IMDb, Eric Canuel
  17. "Filmography". Michael Mando Official Site. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  18. IMDb, Territories
  19. "Backstage help needed on Francophone TV Series", Northern Life, August 20, 2010. Accessed December 30, 2010.
  20. "Far Cry 3".
  21. "The Far Cry Experience".
  22. "SPACE, BBC America, and Temple Street Productions Announce Canadian-Born Actor Tatiana Maslany as the Lead in New Original Series ORPHAN BLACK" (Press release). Bell Media. September 17, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  23. "2014 CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS Television Nominations". Canadian Screen Awards. January 13, 2014. pp. 1, 17, 20, 27, 28, 33, 40, 41, 44. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  24. Andreeva, Nellie (May 8, 2014). "Patrick Fabian, Rhea Seehorn & Michael Mando Cast In 'Breaking Bad' Prequel Series 'Better Call Saul'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  25. "Interview with Michael Mando – The Voice of Vaas". Unfinished Man. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
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