FROM BREAKING BAD TO THE MANDALORIAN AND NOW THE ELECTRIC STATE,GIANCARLO ESPOSITO’S CHARACTERS ARE AS STRONG-WILLED AS IT GETS. AS WE DISCOVER OVER A NO-HOLDS-BARRED CONVERSATION, THIS IS NO ACCIDENT — AND NO COINCIDENCE…

WORDS AMON WARMANN

Giancarlo Esposito, photographed exclusively for Empire in Los Angeles on 17 February 2025.

ROBERT ASCROFT

Previous page: Full look: WAX London; Black suede boots: Scarosso.

“MY INTENTION IS TO SIT HERE AND TELL YOU ALL OF WHO I AM . ”

It’s not a sentiment one often hears expressed in an interview. It’s an even rarer thing for it to be meant, and felt. But that’s exactly the brand of direct, open honesty you get when you talk to Giancarlo Esposito. It’s part of his nature.

Esposito has long been that reassuringly reliable character actor who will always improve a project by a factor of approximately 27 per cent every minute he’s on screen. Roles in iconic films like Do The Right Thing, The Usual Suspects and Malcolm X were early indicators of his limitless talent. But it was his turn as the calm and collected drug kingpin Gus Fring in Vince Gilligan’s hit drama Breaking Bad (and later, Better Call Saul) that kicked his sputtering career into high gear, earned him much-deserved acclaim, and changed the trajectory of his life. It was the first of many roles that cast him as classy, complex and formidable bad guys in everything from The Mandalorian to The Boys and, more recently, Captain America: Brave New World and The Electric State.

In conversation, Esposito is far less intense than the characters he tends to play: our tête-à-tête features spot-on impersonations of Spike Lee, Laurence Fishburne and Anthony Hopkins, the occasional in-character line reading, and a whole lot of truth-telling on the industry, and himself. After nearly half a century in the business, he’s earned the right to be as sure of himself as he is. And with a memoir on the way, he’s more willing than ever to talk about “the good, the bad, the ugly, and the treacherous” moments of his singular journey.

Spike Lee calls you G-Money. Where did that nickname come from?

Do The Right Thing came up and Spike offered me a certain amount of money. I was willing to take it until I found out that there were others in the cast who were making more. I, with courage, said, “Spike, come on now. That’s not gonna cut it.” And he laughed at me, and we went back and forth. Then he came back and said, “I got you.” I said, “Where’d you get it?” He said, “I took it from my sister. Got it from Joie’s pile!” And I said, “Oh, man!” But he said, “It’s cool!” and then he said “G-Money!” and that was it. I think it was a really great sign of respect, and then that endeared us to each other. Spike has taught me so much, I gotta tell you. He’s an incredible businessman, and he does it with grace and aplomb. It was at that point in my life that I realised there’s a value on my talent.