Michael Mando
Michael Mando is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Nacho Varga on the AMC series "Better Call Saul" (2015–2022), Vaas Montenegro in the video game "Far Cry 3" (2012), Vic Schmidt in the sci-fi series "Orphan Black" (2013–2014), and Mac Gargan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Early life. Mando is of Mexican Canadian descent. He was raised by his father and is the second of three brothers. The family frequently travelled, living in more than 10 cities across four continents and in more than 35 homes, all before Mando's mid-20s. His  native language is French, and he also speaks English and Spanish fluently. He grew up wanting to be a writer or an athlete. In his mid-20s, he suffered a knee injury and consequently decided to change paths. He was enrolled in many fields, including international relations, at the University of Montreal, before discovering the performing arts at the Dome Theater Program (Dawson College) in 2004. Despite having no prior training, he went on to play the male lead in all five productions of the program. He graduated in 2007. His Dome credits included Orlando in Shakespeare's "As You Like  It", Professor Katz in David Edgar's "Pentecost", and Valentine Xavier in Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending". Steven W. Lecky, the chairman of the program, called Mando "one of the finest talents to emerge from the program in the past 25 years." Career. After playing the leading character in two award-winning professional theater productions in Montreal, Mando 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 Érik 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. Years later, he would reprise his role as Vaas for Far Cry 6. 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 Varga, a career criminal.