American actor Nestor Carbonell was born on December 1, 1967 in New York City. Of Cuban descent, he entered Deerfield Academy and moved on to Harvard University in the 1980s. He began his acting career in 1991, playing a guest role in the long-running police drama Law & Order. After numerous guest roles, he took his first regular role on television, appearing as photographer Luis Rivera in the sitcom Suddenly Susan. He played the role until 2000, surviving a show overhaul made as a response to the suicide of co-star David Strickland.
After a recurring role in the drama series Resurrection Blvd., Carbonell took a recurring role in the comedy series The Tick, a live-action adaptation of the comic series. He played Batmanuel, a parody of Batman; he has no obvious superpowers, yet thinks very highly of himself. In 2004, he took the lead role in the short-lived series Century City; he played the law firm’s newest partner, Tom Montero, who like the others has to deal with new technological advances and the problems they may cause to a future-era United States. The same year, he joined the cast of the medical drama Strong Medicine, where he played Jonas Rey, the good-hearted billionaire owner of an otherwise soulless corporation.
More recently, Carbonell has starred in the drama series Cane, where he played Frank Duque, the impulsive firstborn of rich sugar magnate Pancho (Hector Elizondo) and Amalia Duque (Rita Moreno). He joined the program on the back of his role in Lost; there, he played Richard Alpert, the seemingly ageless advisor to Ben Linus (Michael Emerson). Although the character was well-received and Carbonell was happy with the role, he was taken off the series after he took on his role in Cane. When it was cancelled, Lost’s producers announced that he will reprise his role in future episodes.
Carbonell is also an accomplished voice talent, having done voiceover duties for Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, American Dragon: Jake Long, and most notably, Kim Possible, where he voiced unwilling accomplice Se?or Senior, Jr. He has also appeared in several films, including The Lost City, Manhood, The Laramie Project and Attention Shoppers.
- In 1996, Nestor was nominated for a NCLR Bravo Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Comedy Series for "Suddenly Susan".
- Nestor won the President Award Star on the Horizon at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival in 2003.
- Nestor won two ALMA Award for outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series ("Suddenly Susan") in 1999 and in 1998.
- I would not have been able to work on The Tick had it not been for Suddenly Susan.
(On The Movie "The Lost City")
- It doesn’t only speak to the Cuban- American community, but ultimately is a story of an impossible love with the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution and the aftermath.
(On the Movie "Smokin Aces")
- I think that the reason the movie works so well is because the violence is so well balanced with the comedy. On my first day I got to take a blow torch to a man's genitals, which was only funny when I saw it onscreen. But I mean, how often do you get to play something as dark as that and still make it funny? So, for me, it was just a dream to get this job and to be able to work with this phenomenal cast.