Michael Mando | |
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Michael Mando in 2015
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Born |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
July 13, 1981
Occupation | Actor, Writer, and Director |
Years active | 2008—present |
Website | www.michaelmando.com |
Michael Mando (born July 13, 1981) is a Canadian film and television actor, writer, and director with a background in contemporary and classical theatre. He is well known for his role as Vaas Montenegro, one of the main antagonists of the video game Far Cry 3, and for his role as Victor "Vic" Schmidt in the sci-fi thriller television series Orphan Black. He currently portrays Ignacio "Nacho" Varga in the AMC television series, Better Call Saul.
Mando was born in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. He was raised by his father, and is the middle child of three brothers. He is of Spanish descent. Their family traveled a lot, and lived in over 10 cities, across 4 continents, and in over 37 different homes all before he reached his mid-twenties. His native language is French, and he also speaks English and Spanish fluently.
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. Despite no prior training, Michael went on to play the male lead in all 5 productions at the program. He graduated with excellence in 2007. 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. 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.”
After playing the leading character in two award winning professional theatre productions in Montreal, Mando promptly 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,Bare Bones,ACTRA Short Films, and the New Hope International Film Festivals.