Brian Jordan Alvarez
Brian Jordan Alvarez | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brian Jordan Alvarez July 10, 1987 New York City, U.S. |
| Education | University of Southern California |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Known for |
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Brian Jordan Alvarez (born July 10, 1987) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his recurring roles as Estéfan in Will and Grace (2018–2020) and Wesley in Jane the Virgin (2015–2016), as well as for his own self-produced films and series, most notably his 2016 Gotham Award-nominated web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo.[1] A prolific creator of comedic web videos, he has developed a dedicated internet following and frequently collaborates with actress Stephanie Koenig.[2]
Early life[]
Alvarez was born in Manhattan, New York City to Paul and Angela Jordan Alvarez, an electrical engineer and Spanish instructor, respectively.[3][4] He has a sister, Catalina.[4] He spent his childhood in Winchester, Tennessee,[5] where he began acting and making movies.[3] In middle school, he was teased and bullied for his sexuality.[1] He went on to attend Saint Andrew's Sewanee School and then the high school program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[6][3] Heavily involved in his school's theatre program, he continued to study acting at the USC School of Dramatic Arts where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting.[1]
Alvarez is of Colombian and Spanish descent matrilineally, and has roots from the American South from the other side of his family. He speaks Spanish fluently.[5][4]
Career[]
For years, Alvarez formed part of numerous theater productions growing up in Winchester. Since his days in the South, he has been part of several projects big and small. While at USC, he continued to be a part of plays and cinematic projects collaborating with many of the film students. He was involved in short films, music videos, and several other acting projects.
He collaborated with College Humor on an episode titled, "Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends". He has performed roles in several television shows including: Will & Grace, Hot in Cleveland, Life in Pieces, Jane the Virgin, Go-Go Boy Interrupted, and 2 Broke Girls.[1] In October 2014, he was cast in a supporting role in the MTV scripted comedy pilot Self Promotion.[7] The show, directed by Zach Braff, was ultimately not picked up by the network.[8]
In 2016, Alvarez wrote, produced, directed and starred in the five-part web comedy series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo. The series played at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival as part of its New Online Work.[9] The series was nominated for the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Series – Shortform and was named Indiewire’s number-one web series for the year.[10][9]
Alvarez had the recurring role of Estéfan Gloria, Jack McFarland's fiancé and later husband, in all three seasons of the 2010s revival of NBC's Will & Grace.[11] In August 2020, it was announced Alvarez was cast in the Netflix quarantine anthology series Social Distance. He is set to star in the episode "Zero Feet Away" opposite Max Jenkins.[12]
Alvarez has had viral videos and made appearances on Australian TV due to his ability to do a convincing Australian accent.[13]
Personal life[]
Alvarez is openly gay.[5]
Filmography[]
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Hot in Cleveland | Ian | Episode: "Cleveland Calendar Girls" |
| 2015 | Life in Pieces | Jorge | Episode: "Interruptus Date Breast Movin'" |
| 2015 | RocketJump: The Show | Sherlock | Episode: "Fan Friction" |
| 2015 | Self Promotion | Wyatt | TV pilot |
| 2015–2016 | Jane the Virgin | Wesley Masters | 4 episodes (season 2) |
| 2016 | Gay Skit Happens | Various characters | 2 episodes; Logo TV sketch comedy show |
| 2016 | 2 Broke Girls | Tad | Episode: "And the 80's Movie" |
| 2016 | The Great Indoors | Brian | Episode: "No Bad Ideas" |
| 2017–2019 | Get Shorty | Jayson / Robert | 9 episodes (seasons 1 & 3) |
| 2018 | Grace and Frankie | Willy | Episode: "The Rats" |
| 2018–2020 | Will & Grace | Estéfan Gloria | 13 episodes (seasons 9–11) |
| 2019 | Special | Shay | Episode: "Chapter Three: Free Scones" |
| 2019 | Grand Hotel | Topher | Episode: "Long Night's Journey Into Day" |
| 2019 | Black Jesus | Phil Osterfawk | Episode: "The Real Jesus of Compton" |
| 2020 | Corporate | Bonan Marrow | Episode: "The Wind of God" |
| 2020 | Social Distance | Marco | Episode: "Zero Feet Away" |
Films[]
| Year | Title | Role | Functioned as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | ||||
| 2008 | Ted White-Knockelby Pursues the American Dream | n/a |  |
Short film | ||
| 2009 | In The Dark | Alex Emerson | Short film | |||
| 2009 | Herpes Boy | DragonSlayer1985 | ||||
| 2010 | Consent | Seth | ||||
| 2011 | Come Visit | n/a | |
|
|
Short film |
| 2014 | The Setup | Elliot | ||||
| 2014 | Wave | Tim | |
Short film | ||
| 2016 | The Operator | Allen (Voice) | Short film | |||
| 2016 | Paco | Paco | Short film | |||
| 2016 | The Happys | Patrick | ||||
| 2016 | Going Together | Griffin | Short film | |||
| 2017 | Everything is Free | Ivan | |
|
|
Also composer and editor; distributed in 2019 |
| 2017 | How to Be a Slut in America | Brian | |
|
|
Also editor; released in three parts |
| 2018 | Grandmother's Gold | Danny | |
|
|
Also composer and editor |
| 2018 | Are You Still Singing? | Office Manager | Short film | |||
| 2018 | Stuck | Raymond | ||||
| 2019 | Web Series: The Movie | Dave Stdert | |
|
|
Also editor |
| 2019 | Simply Having | Remly LaMore | |
Short film | ||
| 2020 | Boys Who Like Books | Bjorn | |
Pre-production | ||
Web series and shorts[]
Selected credits
| Year | Title | Role | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends | Garden Guy | CollegeHumor Originals | Short |
| 2012 | Charlie's Gayngels | Charlie | Brian Jordan Alvarez | Short |
| 2012 | You Are What I Want | Nelson Adams | Short | |
| 2014 | It's Just a Question | Frank | Short | |
| 2014 | For Auld Lang Syne | Matt | Short | |
| 2014–2016 | Go-Go Boy Interrupted | Eliot | Jimmy Fowlie | 8 episodes |
| 2015 | Ryan Gosling Responds to Haters | Zac Efron | Brian Jordan Alvarez | Short |
| 2016 | Unreleased Robert Durst Third Interview | Andrew Jarecki | Short | |
| 2016 | The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo | Caleb | 5 episodes; also director, writer, producer, and editor | |
| 2016 | Neonate Fest | Shane Lucas | Funny or Die | Episode: "Vape Battle of the Century" |
| 2016 | JoJoHead | CW Seed | Episode: "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" | |
| 2016 | Made In China | Emil | Ken Kirby | Web series pilot |
| 2017 | Catching a Break | Ray | Episode: "All Day Adventure" | |
| 2017 | Stupid Idiots | Brian | Stephanie Koenig | Miniseries; 6 episodes[14] |
| 2019 | Lovelytheband: "Maybe, I'm Afraid" | Brian | Music video | |
| 2019 | Matt and Dan | Bartholemew | Matt & Dan | Episode: "Deal Breaker" web sries |
| 2019 | Stellar People | Antares | Unreleased web series |
References[]
- ^ a b c d Horowitz, Steven J (29 June 2016). "Catching Up With the Creator of the Best Queer Web Series Out There". Paper. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- ^ Petski, Denise (2020-09-01). "Stephanie Koenig Joins CBS Comedy Pilot 'The Big Bad Wolfes' From 'Will & Grace' Creators". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ a b c "Brian Jordan Alvarez". Vimeo. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
Brian was born in NYC, then moved at age five to the sticks of Tennessee where he grew up. He then left Tennessee to go to high school at North Carolina School of the Arts, followed by college at University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, where he got his BFA. He's been making movies and acting since he was a kid.
- ^ a b c Zall, Alexis (2019). Brian Jordan Alvarez + His Parents Paul and Angela (podcast).
- ^ a b c Corner, Ruby (1 May 2017). "Brian Jordan Alvarez: Advocate". A&U. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- ^ "From YouTube to 'Jane the Virgin,' Brian Jordan Alvarez Is Conquering Hollywood on His Own Terms". Remezcla. 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ "MTV Pilot 'Self Promotion' Casts 3; Jeremy Shamos Joins 'Nurse Jackie'". Deadline. 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2015-02-20). "MTV Passes On 'Self Promotion' Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ a b Alex, Jonathan. "Going for Gold: The Work and Career of Brian Jordan Alvarez". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (2016-10-20). "Gotham Awards Nominations: 'Manchester By The Sea', 'Moonlight' Lead Way". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (2020-03-26). "'Will & Grace' Series Finale Date Set; NBC Also Will Air Retrospective Special". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ Petski, Denise (2020-08-26). "'Social Distance': Danielle Brooks, Mike Colter Among Cast For Netflix Quarantine Anthology Series From Jenji Kohan & Hilary Weisman Graham". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ Williams, Carly (November 12, 2020). "Will & Grace Actor Brian Jordan Alvarez Perfects Australian Accent In Viral Election Video". Huffington Post Australia. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick; Andreeva, Nellie (2017-07-18). "'Stupid Idiots' Web Series Getting TV Adaptation By Paramount TV & Anonymous Content". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- 1987 births
- Living people
- American filmmakers
- American gay actors
- LGBT people from Tennessee
- USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
- American people of Colombian descent
- People from Winchester, Tennessee
- University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni
- Hispanic and Latino American male actors
- LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people
- 21st-century LGBT people