Raúl Esparza
Photo: Hoebermann Studios
The Tony Award nominee is a key part of the cast in two NBC drama: Law & Order: SVU and Hannibal…and it’s been a long time coming
Raúl Esparza has been a star on Broadway for more than ten years; he’s been nominated for Tony Awards four times, and he’s performed in everything from Stephen Sondheim musicals to David Mamet dramas. Still, even though he’s appeared in everything from serious films to horror flicks, and he’s guested or had regular roles on a wide range of TV shows, he’s never had the recognition he’s deserved.
So maybe–just maybe–he’ll get noticed now that he’s going to be in two places at once.
This Cuban-American actor/singer/director has done some amazing stuff already. He first got noticed in the 2000 Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show, followed by Cabaret and Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang. He received his second Tony nomination for the revival of Sondheim’s Company on Broadway in 2006; then went on to do Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming and David Mamet’s Speed the Plow. All in all, he’s garnered four Tony nominations.
L-r: Mariska Hargitay, Raúl Esparza and Danny Pino
His TV appearances have been less intermittent at best, but always interesting. He did a few episodes of Pushing Daises with some of his Broadway friends like Kristin Chenoweth. Last year we saw him in a regular (and thankless) secondary role in the short-lived CBS series A Gifted Man, And we were pleased and surprised to see him as the awful Dr. Chilton in a few episodes of last year’s NBC series Hannibal.
This season he’s landed an every-episode slot on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit alongside Danny Pino, Mariska Hargitay, and the rest of the gift cast. And now word’s come down that he’ll be returning as Dr. Chilton on a more regular basis when Hannibal returns to the air early next year. That’s his best opportunity so far to get at least a little of the notice he deserves.
The only truly unfortunately thing is that none of his TV appearances have given him a chance to show off his truly extraordinary singing gifts, or his Cuban-American heritage (and fluent Spanish) until recently in an episode of Law & Order: SVU. Here’s a glimpse of what he’s capable of. Let’s hope he gets a chance to show more of it on TV soon:
You can keep track of Raul’s further exploits here, on his own website.
