Mohamed Ghalayini (born February 15, 1966) is an American film and television actor, known by his
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Mo Gallini.
Biography
Gallini was born Mohamed Ghalayini on February 15, 1966, in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
.
His father was from
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...
, and his mother was of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
n descent.
He attended the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
from 1983 to 1985
before moving to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
with his family.
After moving, Gallini met director
David Anspaugh
David Anspaugh (born September 24, 1946) is an American television and film director.
Professional career
After earning a bachelor's degree from Indiana University Bloomington, Anspaugh moved to Aspen, Colorado, where he worked as a substitute t ...
, who offered him his first role as a Notre Dame football player in the 1993 film ''
Rudy''.
Gallini has portrayed over fifty characters in television and film, including the roles of Enrique in ''
2 Fast 2 Furious
''2 Fast 2 Furious'' is a 2003 action film directed by John Singleton from a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, from a story by Brandt, Haas, and Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to ''The Fast and the Furious'' (2001), and is ...
'' (as "Matt Gallini"), Abdul Manesh on the fourth season of the hit series ''
24'', and Interrogator in ''
Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden''.
He was awarded Best Supporting Actor honors at the 2008 BendFilm Festival for his portrayal of identity thief Wesley Stone in ''Selfless''.
Gallini appeared in the recurring role of firefighter Jose Vargas in season 1 of the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
television series ''
Chicago Fire''.
Filmography
References
External links
Official website*
1966 births
American male television actors
American people of Cuban descent
American people of Lebanese descent
Living people
Male actors from Miami
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