Giancarlo Esposito speaking to students at CU Boulder’s Macky Auditorium on Tuesday (Scott Tan/CU Independent)
From Gustavo Fring to Moff Gideon, Emmy-nominated actor, director and producer Giancarlo Esposito’s true character is one of much more warmth than the villainous characters he is best known for. Speaking to students and staff at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Macky Auditorium on Tuesday, Esposito’s self-proclaimed “larger than life personality” came out as he emphasized the importance of authenticity, creativity and perseverance in any career path.
Esposito is mostly known for his roles in the hit TV series “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul” and “The Mandalorian.” In each series, his character is powerful, calculated and menacing. When he spoke to CU Boulder students on Tuesday, he was lively, quick to respond and friendly, often cracking jokes with CU Boulder’s Distinguished Speakers Board moderators.
CU Boulder student Oliver McKinney described Esposito as ecstatic and funny.
“He kind of just got everyone excited,” McKinney said.
With an early career start on Broadway, Esposito said performing on a stage gave him the audience connection tools he needed to shift into a career in film. Having completed runs in 13 Broadway musicals, he said he had to figure out a way to connect with people in the audience he was unable to see.
“I have to feel as if I’m communicating not just with one person, but I have to communicate with many people and have you feel like I’m speaking directly to you,” Esposito said.
Giancarlo Esposito engaging with students after his talk at CU Boulder’s Macky Auditorium on Tuesday (Scott Tan/CU Independent)
Esposito grew up in a multicultural environment surrounded by creativity, and said he feels thankful for it. That creativity, he believes, shaped his youth, taught him to see the world differently and helped him find himself through the arts.
Throughout the night, Esposito offered the crowd, mostly full of students, many pieces of advice as they step into their professions and attempt to further their careers.
“How you do anything is how you do everything.”
“If you want to be the best, work with the best.”
“Think about taking control of your destiny.”
He became particularly impassioned, standing out of his chair, looking directly into the audience, when discussing what he calls the “connection of life.”
“In order to think for all of us, you got to start thinking that you are a part of everyone,” Esposito said. “That is the energetic divinity of what we all share. It’s what’s missing in our world right now.”
He went on to express that, if people went back to feeling connected with others, they could see the energy within each other and “be a mirror for each other.”
CU Boulder student AJ Tannenbaum knew about Esposito’s backstory: the typecasting, financial struggles and depression he overcame. He came to the talk hoping for inspiration. He left feeling just that.
“The thing he said about the balance in life between work, play and love really resonated with me, because a lot of times we forget to think about ourselves, and it’s just like, work, work, work,” said Tannenbaum. “So I’m definitely gonna take that and apply that to me.”
Esposito often emphasized the importance of balance in life, as well as learning to “take your own temperature.” Because he often jumps into things quickly, he learned to take his own temperature when tasked with playing villainous characters — an essential part of creating his roles.
Giancarlo Esposito speaking to students at CU Boulder’s Macky Auditorium on Tuesday (Scott Tan/CU Independent)
ChatGPT said:
This is what Gus Fring from “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” was born out of.
“That was the only way I could allay my anxiety to be in my body and to look at someone, and to hold their gaze right, not try to intimidate them, but to allow them to take me in as I’m allowing myself to take them in,” Esposito said.
As he snapped out of his lively and goofy self into Gus Fring’s deep, monotoned voice, delivering some of his most iconic lines, the audience roared at his ability to snap into character. Esposito shared stories of using this tactic to test if people are as good at reading other people’s energy and spirit as he is.
Throughout his life, he said has learned to take control of the chaos in the world as well as inside himself as he moved into producing, directing and making deals with “grace and compassion, but also with a definitive angle.”
Esposito built his career despite early struggles, yet he still feels surprised when people tell him, “You made it.”
At CU Boulder, as he reflected on this decades-long career, Esposito reminded the audience that every challenge played a part in shaping who he is today — a message that resonated deeply with the students in the crowd, many of whom are just beginning their own journeys.
“Enjoy the moment. Enjoy all of it. Be true to yourself and go forth and prosper,” he said. “Everything you need to know is inside you. What you do today determines your tomorrow.”
Contact CU Independent News Editor Camryn Montgomery at camryn.montgomery@colorado.edu
