Arlen Escarpeta
| Arlen Escarpeta | |
|---|---|
| Born | Arlen Alexander Escarpeta April 9, 1981 Belize, Central America |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse | Benita K. Nall (2011-present) |
| Website | |
| http://www.arlenescarpeta.com/ | |
Arlen Alexander Escarpeta (born April 9, 1981) is a Belizean actor. He is best known for his roles as Lawrence in the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th and as Mike in the 2010 drama Brotherhood. He appeared in the 5th installment of the Final Destination franchise: Final Destination 5.
Contents |
[edit] Early life and family
Escarpeta is a native to Belize, Central America who came to the United States after his father, construction worker, died when he was at the age of 3. His mother, a manager at a dental office, settled in Los Angeles where he began to sing and dance in the Young Saints Scholarship Foundation. At 9, Escarpeta was cast in the title role of his elementary school's stylized production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet and was won over by the applause he received at the final curtain.
[edit] Career
[edit] Education and sports
Escarpeta attended several arts-magnet schools in Los Angeles until he arrived at Hollywood High School, where he honored his skills in dance, theatre and drama. He was also the captain of his football team. After high school, Escarpeta attended Pasadena City College for more than two years while studying sociology. Despite swift times of 21.8 seconds running the 200-yard dash and a personal best of 47' -2 1/2" in the triple jump, he opted to concentrate on acting rather than dedicate the necessary amount of time to the junior college's track team. Escarpeta currently plays for Hollywood Knights, a celebrity basketball team.
[edit] 2000-2005
In 2000, Escarpeta received his first, on-screen role in Greg Morgan's The Playaz Court. In the following years, he appeared in various television programs such as Boston Public, The Shield, Judging Amy and Boomtown. In 2002, Escarpeta appeared in Carl Franklin's courtroom-thriller High Crimes, starring Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd. In that same year, he was cast as Sam Walker in the historical drama series American Dreams, which aired on NBC.
[edit] American Dreams
Set in the 1960s, Escarpeta played the role of Sam Walker. Sam was the fragile, African-American teen growing up in a highly racial era known as the Civil Rights Movement. On the show, he had a platonic-turned-romantic friendship/relationship with Meg Pryor (portrayed by Brittany Snow) which later ended due to disapproving opinions from their friends and family, and also because of the interracial relationship status. The series lasted for three seasons, ending in 2005 due to low ratings.
[edit] Post-Dreams-present
[edit] 2005-2006
Escarpeta earned critical acclaim for his breakout film role as Jay, an honor student caught with a handgun at school in the independent drama American Gun. The film, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, also starred veteran actors Forrest Whitaker, Marcia Gay Harden and Donald Sutherland. He also appeared television shows ER and Cold Case. The following year, he co-starred with Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox in true-life drama We Are Marshall, based on the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed Marshall University's football team.
[edit] 2007-2009
In 2007, Escarpeta appeared in David Wain's comedy film, The Ten, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. He made appearances on Law and Order: SVU and Without a Trace, respectively. In 2009, he starred in Preston Whitmore's Dough Boys. He also starred as a young LAPD officer on patrol during the racial gang war in the drama 818, on which Escarpeta also serves co-producer. He reached worldwide acclaim as Lawrence in the horror film remake Friday the 13th. He followed the film with an additional television appearance on the short-lived medical drama, Mental.
[edit] 2010-present
Escarpeta followed Friday the 13th with leading roles in several features, including the critically acclaimed, 2010 fraternity drama Brotherhood. In the film he plays Mike, a store clerk who has a platonic friendship with one of the pledging brothers (Trevor Morgan) who kidnaps him to protect his fraternity. Recently, Escarpeta had a role in Final Destination 5 as Nathan. It was the fifth film in the horror franchise, and was featured in 3D.
In November 2011, Escarpeta made an appearance on The CW's The Secret Circle.
[edit] Personal life
In May 2011, Escarpeta married longtime girlfriend and actress Benita Nall. The couple's wedding was featured on My Fair Wedding with David Tutera. The episode, "Hollywood Glam Bride", aired in 2011. The couple later divorced due to controversy and they figured out they weren't meant for each other.
