Carlo Rota
Encyclopedia
Carlo Rota is a British-born Canadian actor, best known to Canadian audiences for his role on Little Mosque on the Prairie
and to international audiences for starring on the FOX series 24
.
and the critically acclaimed Canadian independent film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
. Because of his experience prior to acting, he also hosted the Great Canadian Food Show
for CBC television in Canada, a series which was nominated for the prestigious James Beard
Award for Excellence in Culinary Journalism.
He has appeared in numerous popular TV series including 24
, Queer as Folk (US version)
, Castle
, La Femme Nikita, Relic Hunter
, Adventure Inc, A Nero Wolfe Mystery
, The Gospel of John
and Traders
. Rota co-starred in the CBC
sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie
, playing Lebanese-Canadian construction contractor Yasir Hamoudi. Rota also played a journalist for The Herald in the horror flick, Saw V
.
On 24, Rota stars in the recurring role of Morris O'Brian
, the arrogant but brilliant computer scientist husband of Chloe O'Brian
. He has appeared in a few episodes of seasons 5
and 7
but appeared for the entire length of season 6
. He has appeared in a couple episodes On the TV series La Femme Nikita he had a recurring role as the smarmy greenlisted terrorist informant Mick Schtoppel (later revealed to be Mr. Jones, a high-ranking member of Section), and in the 1999 movie The Boondock Saints
, Rota starred as crime boss Giuseppe "Papa Joe" Yakavetta.
He lives in Los Angeles, California part time and spends time filming in Saskatchewan, Canada. He recently finished filming Shark City
in Toronto.
He also appears in Stargate Universe
, playing Carl Strom, head of the International Oversight Advisory, the civilian oversight committee that heads up the Atlantis expedition and its funding.
He has also made an appearance as a villain named The Ghost in the new hit series on channel USA Network, White Collar
. In 2010 he appeared in one episode of CSI: NY
.
Carlo guest starred on Human Target on Fox in the episode "Imbroglio/Cool Hand Guerrero" as Eli. He made a guest appearance on the Fox TV series Bones
"The Finder".
He also appeared on NCIS: Los Angeles in the episode "Found" as Kalil Abramson.
He married 24 co-star Nazneen Contractor
on April 1, 2010.
Rota made an appearance as an arrogant drug cartel chemist on AMC's show, "Breaking Bad
", Season 4, Episode 10 "Salud". He also appeared on the Canadian cooking show, "Carlo's Crazy Canadian Cooking Cucina!" He prepared vegan chili dogs but accidentally used real chili and hot dogs.
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures. It is filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Indian Head, Saskatchewan...
and to international audiences for starring on the FOX series 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
.
Early life
Rota was born in London, England of Italian origin, the son of Rina, who worked in the restaurant business, and Dante Rota, a world-renowned chef. He grew up in Soho with two sisters and one brother. Through his life he has lived in many places of the world, including Hong Kong, Bahamas, and England before his family settled in Toronto. Rota worked in the culinary industry for many years until he decided to abruptly switch careers to acting. According to his interview in the book Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita, he said of this decision:Career
Almost immediately thereafter, Rota landed roles in the Canadian TV series Street LegalStreet Legal (TV series)
Street Legal is a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1987 to 1994.-Synopsis:A spinoff from the 1985 television movie Shellgame, Street Legal focused on the professional and private lives of the partners in a small Toronto, Ontario law firm, Barr, Robinovitch and Tchobanian...
and the critically acclaimed Canadian independent film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould is an award-winning 1993 film about the piano prodigy Glenn Gould played by Colm Feore. The film's screenplay was written by François Girard and Don McKellar....
. Because of his experience prior to acting, he also hosted the Great Canadian Food Show
Great Canadian Food Show
The Great Canadian Food Show is a Canadian television series, which has aired on CBC Television, with repeats later seen on Food Network Canada.Hosted by Carlo Rota, the series travels across Canada to profile the many varieties of Canadian cuisine....
for CBC television in Canada, a series which was nominated for the prestigious James Beard
James Beard
James Andrew Beard was an American chef and food writer. The central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity, Beard was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s...
Award for Excellence in Culinary Journalism.
He has appeared in numerous popular TV series including 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
, Queer as Folk (US version)
Queer as Folk (US TV series)
Queer as Folk is an American and Canadian television series co-production, produced by Showtime and Temple Street Productions, which was based on the British series of the same name, created by Russell T Davies...
, Castle
Castle (TV series)
Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...
, La Femme Nikita, Relic Hunter
Relic Hunter
Relic Hunter is an anglophone Canadian television series, starring Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt. Actress Lindy Booth also starred for the first two seasons; Tanja Reichert replaced her for the third...
, Adventure Inc, A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
, The Gospel of John
The Gospel of John (film)
The Gospel of John is a 2003 film that is the story of Jesus' life as recounted by the Gospel of John. It is a motion picture that has been adapted for the screen on a word-for-word basis from the American Bible Society's Good News Bible...
and Traders
Traders (TV series)
Traders is a Canadian television drama series, which was broadcast on Global Television Network from 1995 to 2000.-Overview:Although Global had locked up most of NBC's "Must See Thursday" situation comedies for their Thursday night broadcasts, they lost the rights to broadcast the medical drama ER...
. Rota co-starred in the CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures. It is filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Indian Head, Saskatchewan...
, playing Lebanese-Canadian construction contractor Yasir Hamoudi. Rota also played a journalist for The Herald in the horror flick, Saw V
Saw V
Saw V is a 2008 Canadian-American horror film directed by David Hackl and written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor and Scott Patterson...
.
On 24, Rota stars in the recurring role of Morris O'Brian
Morris O'Brian
Morris O'Brian is a fictional character from the TV series 24. He is portrayed by actor Carlo Rota. As shown in Day 6 , Morris can speak and understand at least some of the Russian language.-Characterization:...
, the arrogant but brilliant computer scientist husband of Chloe O'Brian
Chloe O'Brian
Chloe O'Brian is a fictional character played by actress Mary Lynn Rajskub on the US television series 24. An analyst at CTU Los Angeles , she is Jack Bauer's most trusted colleague, often doing unconventional and unauthorized favors for him, even at personal risk to herself...
. He has appeared in a few episodes of seasons 5
24 (season 5)
Season Five, also known as Day 5 of the television series 24 premiered on January 15, 2006 and aired its season finale on May 22, 2006.The Season Five storyline starts and ends at 7:00 a.m. It is the same time frame as the previous season....
and 7
24 (season 7)
Season Seven, also known as Day 7 of the American serial television series 24, was to premiere on January 13, 2008, but was delayed for one year due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. On November 23, 2008, Fox aired 24: Redemption, a two-hour TV movie set between seasons. Season...
but appeared for the entire length of season 6
24 (season 6)
Season Six, also known as Day 6, of the television series 24 premiered in the United States on Sunday, January 14, 2007, the UK on January 21, 2007 and in Australia on January 30, 2007.The season's storyline began and ended at 6:00 a.m...
. He has appeared in a couple episodes On the TV series La Femme Nikita he had a recurring role as the smarmy greenlisted terrorist informant Mick Schtoppel (later revealed to be Mr. Jones, a high-ranking member of Section), and in the 1999 movie The Boondock Saints
The Boondock Saints
The Boondock Saints is a 1999 American action comedy film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Irish fraternal twins, Connor and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense...
, Rota starred as crime boss Giuseppe "Papa Joe" Yakavetta.
He lives in Los Angeles, California part time and spends time filming in Saskatchewan, Canada. He recently finished filming Shark City
Shark City
Shark City is a comedy written by Evan Shear starring Jefferson Brown, David Phillips, Carlo Rota, Corey Haim, Vivica A. Fox, Jordan Madley, Samantha Gutstadt, and Tony Nappo; with Skye Collyer, Adam Rodness, Sean Tweedley, Michael Gelbart, and Dylan Ramsey.-Plot:At the infamous club Shark City,...
in Toronto.
He also appears in Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way...
, playing Carl Strom, head of the International Oversight Advisory, the civilian oversight committee that heads up the Atlantis expedition and its funding.
He has also made an appearance as a villain named The Ghost in the new hit series on channel USA Network, White Collar
White Collar (TV series)
White Collar is a USA Network television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke. It premiered on October 23, 2009. In December 2009, White Collar was renewed for a second season that began on July 13, 2010...
. In 2010 he appeared in one episode of CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
.
Carlo guest starred on Human Target on Fox in the episode "Imbroglio/Cool Hand Guerrero" as Eli. He made a guest appearance on the Fox TV series Bones
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
"The Finder".
He also appeared on NCIS: Los Angeles in the episode "Found" as Kalil Abramson.
He married 24 co-star Nazneen Contractor
Nazneen Contractor
Nazneen Contractor is a Canadian film actress, best known for her role as Layla Hourani on CBC's The Border, and, more recently, as Kayla Hassan on 24 .She married fellow Canadian actor and 24 co-star Carlo Rota on April 1, 2010...
on April 1, 2010.
Rota made an appearance as an arrogant drug cartel chemist on AMC's show, "Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
", Season 4, Episode 10 "Salud". He also appeared on the Canadian cooking show, "Carlo's Crazy Canadian Cooking Cucina!" He prepared vegan chili dogs but accidentally used real chili and hot dogs.
External links
- Carlo Rota Interview on The Hour with George StroumboulopoulosGeorge StroumboulopoulosGeorge Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...
- Little Mosque's Carlo Rota a Chameleon, Interview - AOL Entertainment