Michael Mando Biography

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.

Early life

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."?

Acting career

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.

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

Mando has had repeated collaborations with directors John Fawcett and Eric Canuel as well as producer David Barlow. He had a starring role in the 2010 feature film Territories. In 2011, he had a recurring role in Les Bleus de Ramville and a guest appearance on the series King. In 2012, he featured in Far Cry 3 where he voiced and inspired one of the main villains: Vaas Montenegro, 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" 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. He played Vic, an abusive drug-dealer and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for his work on the series. 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 "Spanish-speaking career criminal".

Personal life

Mando grew up wanting to be a writer or an athlete. In his mid-twenties he suffered a knee injury and consequently decided to change directions. He then pursued an academic scholarship at the University of Montreal in International Relations, but shortly afterward decided to go into acting.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Conditional Affection	Jack	Short film Also director, writer, 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, producer
2017	Spider-Man: Homecoming	Beetle/Abner Jenkins	In post - production

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	Vic	9 episodes
2014	La marraine	Alvaro Pessoa	5 episodes
2015-present	Better Call Saul	Nacho Varga	Main Cast 11 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Shaun White Skateboarding	Francisco Crystobal	Voice
2012	Far Cry 3	Vaas Montenegro	Voice and Motion capture

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Far Cry Experience	Vaas	5 episodes