Néstor Carbonell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Néstor Carbonell
Carbonell at GalaxyCon Columbus in 2022
Born	Néstor Gastón Carbonell (1967-12-01) December 1, 1967 (age 57) New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	Harvard University (AB)
Occupation	Actor director screenwriter
Years active	1989–present
Spouse(s)	Shannon Kenny ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	2

Néstor Gastón Carbonell (born December 1, 1967) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He became well-known for playing Luis Rivera in the TV show Suddenly Susan. He is also famous for his roles as Richard Alpert in the drama series Lost, Sheriff Alex Romero in Bates Motel, and Yanko Flores in The Morning Show. Carbonell also played Mayor Anthony Garcia in Christopher Nolan's superhero movies The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). In 2024, he won an Emmy Award for his role in the FX series Shōgun.

Early Life and Education

Néstor Carbonell was born in New York City. His parents were from Cuba. His family has Spanish roots, with grandparents from different parts of Spain like Catalonia and Andalusia.

Néstor's father worked for PepsiCo, which meant the family lived in many different places. They spent time in cities like London, Mexico City, and Caracas. His father also wrote a book about the Cuban community. Néstor has an older sister, Rosa Maria "Mia" Carbonell, who works at Forbes. The famous baseball player Rafael Palmeiro is his cousin. His great-grandfather, José Manuel Cortina, was a well-known Cuban speaker and diplomat.

Carbonell went to The British School when his family lived in Caracas. Later, they moved back to the U.S., and he attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He even went to school with Matthew Fox, who would later be his co-star in Lost. In 1990, he graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English. His father and sister also went to Harvard.

Acting Career Highlights

Carbonell promoting Lost in 2010

Néstor Carbonell's first acting job was a small role in the TV show As the World Turns. After that, he appeared in many other TV series, including Law & Order and Melrose Place. In 1995, he was a main actor in the TV show Muscle. He then played Luis Rivera on the sitcom Suddenly Susan for four years, from 1996 to 2000.

Early in his career, Néstor often played characters with strong Hispanic accents. People sometimes thought that was his real voice! In 2000, Carbonell also started writing. He wrote a comedy movie called Attention Shoppers, where he also played the main character, Enrique Suarez. He has had many other roles, including voicing Señor Senior Jr. in Kim Possible. He also appeared in popular shows like Scrubs and House. In 2006, he acted with Matthew Fox in the movie Smokin' Aces.

Carbonell and Sarah Michelle Gellar at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con

Carbonell became very famous for his role as Richard Alpert in the ABC drama series Lost. His character was mysterious because he seemed to never age, and fans talked a lot about this. While working on Lost, he also got a main role in the CBS series Cane. Because of this, the writers of Lost had to change their plans for his character. However, Cane was later canceled, which allowed Carbonell to return to Lost. He appeared in many episodes of the fourth and fifth seasons and became a main cast member for the sixth and final season.

In 2008, he played Mayor Anthony Garcia in Christopher Nolan's movie The Dark Knight. His wife, Shannon Kenny, had also worked on a Batman project before. In 2010, Carbonell joined the show Psych for two episodes. In 2011, he starred in the CW series Ringer as FBI agent Victor Machado. He also had a recurring role in the FX comedy series Wilfred. In 2012, he returned as Mayor Anthony Garcia in The Dark Knight Rises, the last movie in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight series.

Carbonell with the cast of Bates Motel in 2013

From 2013 to 2017, Néstor Carbonell played Sheriff Alex Romero in the A&E series Bates Motel. This show was a prequel to the famous movie Psycho. He acted alongside Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore. He started as a recurring actor but became a main cast member in the second season. Carbonell also directed three episodes of Bates Motel. In 2014, he appeared in Person of Interest and The Good Wife. He also had a recurring role in the NBC series State of Affairs. In 2017, Carbonell directed an episode of The Good Doctor, which starred his Bates Motel co-star Freddie Highmore.

In 2024, he appeared as Rodrigues in the FX series Shōgun. For this role, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

Personal Life

Néstor Carbonell has been married to Australian actress Shannon Kenny since January 3, 2001. They first met while working on the TV series Muscle in 1995. They also acted together in the 2000 film Attention Shoppers, which Néstor wrote. The couple has two sons, Rafael (born in 2002) and Marco (born in 2005).

People often notice Carbonell's very dark eyelashes. He and the producers of Lost have said that he doesn't wear any makeup to make them look that way. There was even a funny skit at a Comic-Con event where he pretended to put on eyeliner. In an episode of Lost, another character joked about his "eyeliner." Also, in an episode of Psych, a character mentioned his "impossibly dark eyelashes."

Néstor Carbonell speaks Spanish fluently. He used this skill in an episode of Lost called "Ab Aeterno", where many scenes had dialogue mostly in Spanish. He also appeared in a Spanish-language commercial for Heineken.

Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Stage Performances

Other Work

Awards and Recognition

See also

In Spanish: Nestor Carbonell para niños