Carlo Rota

Carlo Dante Rota (born 17 April 1961) is a British-Canadian-American actor, best known to Canadian audiences for his role on Little Mosque on the Prairie and to international audiences as systems analyst Morris O'Brian on the FOX series 24. He also co-starred as Emilio Solano in Jane the Virgin.

Not to be confused with Gian-Carlo Rota.
Carlo Rota
Rota in 2007
Born
Carlo Dante Rota[1]

(1961-04-17) 17 April 1961
London, England, U.K.
OccupationActor, producer
Years active1992–present
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2010)​
Children2

Early life

Rota was born in London, England, to Italian parents, Rina, who worked in the restaurant business, and Dante Rota, a world-renowned chef.[2] He grew up in Osterley with two sisters and one brother. Through his life he has lived in many places of the world, including Hong Kong (where he attended Island School), the Bahamas and the UK before his family settled in Toronto. Rota worked in the culinary industry for many years until he decided to abruptly switch careers to acting.[3] According to his interview in the book Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita, he said of this decision:

To turn around and tell everyone at the tender age of 30, "Now I'm going to be an actor", most people just think that you're going through something.

Career

Almost immediately thereafter, Rota landed roles in the Canadian TV series Street Legal and the critically acclaimed Canadian independent film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. Because of his experience prior to acting, he also hosted the Great Canadian Food Show for CBC television in Canada, a series which was nominated for the prestigious James Beard Award for Excellence in Culinary Journalism.

He has appeared in numerous popular TV series including 24, Queer as Folk (US version), Castle, La Femme Nikita, Relic Hunter, Adventure Inc, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, The Gospel of John, and Traders. Rota co-starred in the CBC sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie, playing Lebanese-Canadian construction contractor Yasir Hamoudi. In 2008, Rota portrayed Charles, who was a journalist for The Herald, in Saw V.

On 24, Rota portrayed the recurring role of Morris O'Brian, the arrogant but brilliant computer scientist husband of Chloe O'Brian, appearing most extensively in season 6.[4]

Rota had a recurring role on the TV series La Femme Nikita as the smarmy, green-listed terrorist informant, Mick Schtoppel; later revealed to be Mr. Jones, a high-ranking member of Section. In the 1999 movie The Boondock Saints, Rota starred as crime boss Giuseppe "Papa Joe" Yakavetta. He also played film director Tyler Jesseman in the 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie Phantom of the Megaplex.

He has made guest appearances in many other television series, including Stargate Universe, playing Carl Strom, head of the International Oversight Advisory, the civilian oversight committee that heads up the Atlantis expedition and its funding,[5] as a villain named "The Ghost" on White Collar, as well as roles on CSI: NY, Human Target, Castle, The Mentalist, Bones, and Grimm. He also appeared on NCIS: Los Angeles in the episode "Found" as Kalil Abramson, as well as on AMC's show, Breaking Bad. He was a guest on episode 11 of the second season of Top Chef Canada, the episode dedicated to Italian cuisine 1. He acts as Edmund Wooler, in World Without End on Reelz Channel.

In 2013, he was announced as the new host of Recipe to Riches, a Canadian reality show.[6]

He provided the voice and motion-capture performance for Majid Sadiq, leader of The Engineers and the main antagonist in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

In 2014, he recurred as Ivan on the hit ABC television show Scandal.

In 2014, he began co-starring in Jane the Virgin as Emilio Solano.

In 2017, he played in Ransom as Damian Delaine. He resumed that role for his second season in 2018.

Also in 2018, Rota hosted and narrated the CBC series Back in Time For Dinner.[7]

He appeared in the 2019 film Cliffs of Freedom, directed by Van Ling.[8]

In 2020 he provided the voice performance for Basim, a member of the Hidden Ones (a precursor to the Assassins) and reincarnation of the Isu Loki in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. [9]

Personal life

Rota married 24 co-star Nazneen Contractor on 1 April 2010[10] They have two children, a son and a daughter.[11]

References
  1. "Carlo Rota". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  2. "Carlo Rota Biography ((?)-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  3. "Carlo Rota". CBC.ca.
  4. Salem, Rob (1 October 2008). "Carlo Rota returns to 24 and Little Mosque". Toronto Star.
  5. Andreeva, Nellie. (2009-04-15) Stargate Universe nabs guest stars. Reuters.
  6. "'Recipe to Riches': CBC Names Carlo Rota As Hit Culinary Show's New Host". Huffington Post, 20 June 2013.
  7. "'Back In Time For Dinner' takes Canadian family on a journey through the decades". CBC.ca. CBC Life. 3 May 2018.
  8. "Cliffs of Freedom Cast and Crew". mubi. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  9. "Assassin's Creed Valhalla Voice Actors". thegamer.
  10. "Goodbye, Mr. Bauer | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  11. Girn, Raj (April 2014). "Open Chest Interview with Actress, Nazneen Contractor". Open Chest. Anokhi. Retrieved 23 January 2015.

Bibliography
  • Heyn, Christopher. "A Conversation with Carlo Rota." Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita. Introduction by Peta Wilson. Los Angeles: Persistence of Vision Press, 2006. 82–87. ISBN 0-9787625-0-9. In-depth conversation with Carlo Rota about his role as Schtoppel on La Femme Nikita, as well as his culinary background and early acting experiences.
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