Pablo Schreiber

Pablo Schreiber
Schreiber at the First Man film premiere in October 2018
Born
Pablo Tell Schreiber

(1978-04-26) April 26, 1978 (age 46)
Ymir, British Columbia, Canada
EducationCarnegie Mellon University (BFA)
OccupationActor
Years active2001–present
Spouse
Jessica Monty
​
​
(m. 2007; div. 2014)​
Children2
RelativesLiev Schreiber (half-brother)

Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978)[1][2] is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on The Wire (2003, 2008), William Lewis on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2013–2014), Mad Sweeney on the Starz series American Gods (2017–2020), and as George "Pornstache" Mendez on Orange Is the New Black (2013–2017), for which he received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He stars as Master Chief in the Paramount+ live-action series Halo (2022–2024) which is based on the franchise of the same name.

His film roles include minor roles in Bubble Boy (2001), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Lords of Dogtown (2005), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Nights in Rodanthe (2008), Allegiance (2012), and Preservation (2014). He co-starred in the 2016 war film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi directed by Michael Bay. In 2018, he starred in the action heist film Den of Thieves opposite Gerard Butler and in Skyscraper with Dwayne Johnson. In 2020, he starred in the drama film Lorelei with Jena Malone.

He is also known for his dramatic stage work including his performance in Awake and Sing! (2006) on Broadway which earned him a nomination for a Tony Award. In 2008, he starred in reasons to be pretty where he won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. He narrated the audiobook version of Brett Easton Ellis’ American Psycho.

Early life

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Schreiber was born to parents Tell Carroll Schreiber (1941–2021), an American actor, and Lorraine Reaveley, a Canadian body-based[a] psychotherapist.[3] He was born in a hippie commune in Ymir, British Columbia and he and his family moved to the unincorporated rural community of Winlaw, British Columbia when he was six months old.[4] His older half-brother is actor Liev Schreiber with whom he shares a father.

Schreiber's father, having a strong interest in literature, named Pablo after Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.[5] His parents separated when he was 12 and Schreiber moved to Seattle with his father.[5]

After high school Schreiber enrolled at the University of San Francisco hoping to win a spot on its basketball team.[6] He later transferred to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and graduated in 2000 with a degree in theatre.[7]

Career

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Television

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Schreiber's first television appearance was as Nick Sobotka in season 2 of the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire (2003).[8] After his final appearance in the last episode of season 2, he also made a cameo appearance in the season 5 episode "The Dickensian Aspect". He went on to play minor roles in the series Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order before playing the recurring guest role of serial rapist William Lewis on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He appeared in an eight episode arc playing the antagonist to Olivia Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) character.[9][10]

From 2008 to 2009, he appeared in multiple series including Dirt, Army Wives, The Beast, Numbers, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.[9] In 2011, he was cast as Johnny Leary in the FX series Lights Out which only aired for one season.[11] From 2011 to 2012, he played both Demetri Ravitch in the Showtime series Weeds and Anton Little Creek on the show A Gifted Man.[12][13] BuddyTV ranked him #77 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011".[14]

In October 2012, Schreiber was cast in the recurring role of George "Pornstache" Mendez on the Netflix original drama series Orange Is the New Black.[15] For his role on the show, he won the "We Love to Hate You Award" at the 2014 Young Hollywood Awards and received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2015.[16] He played the role from 2013 to 2017 and had a guest appearance in a 2019 episode.

In February 2013, he co-starred as Virgil in NBC's drama pilot Ironside, a reboot of the 1967 series of the same name.[17] However ratings and reviews were unfavorable and it was canceled after only four episodes had aired.[18]

Schreiber at New York Comic Con in October 2017

Schreiber was cast as Mad Sweeney in the 2017 Starz series American Gods, based on the novel of the same name written by Neil Gaiman.[13] His character is a self-described leprechaun unwillingly endebted to Mr. Wednesday, played by Ian McShane. By the end of season 2, Sweeney remembers that he is Buile Shuibhne, the king of the Dál nAraidi driven insane by the curse of Saint Rónán Finn. Schreiber appears in seasons 1 and 2 with flashback appearances in the third and final season. His character became a favourite of viewers during the series.[19]

In April 2019, he was cast as Master Chief / John-117 in the Halo live-action series, based on the video game franchise of the same name.[20] The series was released on March 24, 2022, by Paramount+ and has received mostly positive reviews with 71% on Rotten Tomatoes.[21] To prepare for his role in the series, Schreiber worked with a trainer and a chef to bulk up adding muscle to play the supersoldier.[22] Paramount confirmed that the series was renewed for season 2 with Schreiber reprising the main role of Master Chief.[23]

Schreiber co-starred in the biographical crime drama streaming television miniseries Candy as Allan Gore, opposite Jessica Biel's character, Candy Montgomery. It is based on the true story of how Candy Montgomery was accused of the axe murder of her neighbor, Betty Gore in 1980 in Texas. The series premiered May 9, 2022, with the last episodes airing on May 13, 2022.[24]

Film

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Schreiber's first film was a minor role in the 2001 American black comedy film Bubble Boy. He appeared in the 2004 film The Manchurian Candidate which starred his half-brother Liev Schreiber. He had supporting roles in the films Lords of Dogtown (2005), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Nights in Rodanthe (2008), and Happythankyoumoreplease (2010). In 2016, he co-starred as Kris "Tanto" Paronto, GRS team member and former U.S. Army Ranger in the American biographical war film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, opposite John Krasinski and James Badge Dale. The film was directed and co-produced by Michael Bay, written by Chuck Hogan, and is based on Mitchell Zuckoff's 2014 book of the same name.[25]

In 2018, he starred in the American action heist film Den of Thieves with Gerard Butler. He played Ray Merrimen, a MARSOC Marine veteran who is the crew's leader and schemer, and one of the robbers who sets out to rob the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles. Schreiber underwent extensive military training for his role in the film, saying "... with the weapons training, we had extensive military movement, team movement, weapons training boot camp, a couple of weeks before we started shooting".[26] In the same year he co-starred with Dwayne Johnson in the action thriller film Skyscraper.[27] He played the role of American astronaut Jim Lovell in the biographical drama First Man which was also released in 2018.[28]

Schreiber starred in the 2021 drama film Lorelei with Jena Malone. It received mostly positive reviews from critics. Brian Tallerico from RogerEbert.com said of Schreiber, "Schreiber uses his massive size in an interesting way in that he’s such an imposing figure but he allows himself to also be fascinatingly vulnerable at the same time... He has remarkable range".[29]

Theater

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Schreiber's stage work includes both Broadway and off-Broadway plays. In 2006, he starred in the Broadway play Awake and Sing!, earning him a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.[30][31] He also starred in the 2008 Broadway play reasons to be pretty with Piper Perabo and Alison Pill. For that role he won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.[32] He played Eben in the 2009 play Desire Under the Elms opposite Carla Gugino's Abbie.[33] In 2011, Schreiber starred in the Off-Broadway play Gruesome Playground Injuries at Second Stage Theatre.[34]

Personal life

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Schreiber married yoga teacher Jessica Monty in 2007. She filed for divorce in 2014, citing irreconcilable differences. They have two sons together, born in 2009 and 2012.[35]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 Bubble Boy Todd
2003 The Mudge Boy Brent
2004 The Manchurian Candidate Eddie Ingram
2004 Invitation to a Suicide Kazimierz "Kaz" Malek
2005 Lords of Dogtown Stecyk
2006 Jimmy Blue Jimmy Short film
2008 Quid Pro Quo Brooster
2008 Vicky Cristina Barcelona Ben
2008 Nights in Rodanthe Charlie Torrelson
2008 Favorite Son David Paxton Also co-producer
2009 Breaking Upwards Turner
2009 Tell-Tale Bernard Cochius
2010 Happythankyoumoreplease Charlie
2012 Allegiance Lieutenant Alec Chambers
2014 Preservation Sean Neary
2014 Fort Bliss Staff Sergeant Donovan
2014 After Christian Valentino
2015 The Dramatics Bryan Macy
2016 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Kris "Tanto" Paronto
2017 All Summers End Older Conrad Stevens
2017 Thumper Wyatt Rivers
2017 Big Bear Dude
2018 Den of Thieves Ray Merrimen
2018 Beast of Burden Bloom
2018 Skyscraper Ben Gillespie
2018 First Man Jim Lovell
2019 The Devil Has a Name Ezekiel
2020 Lorelei Wayland
2022 The King's Daughter Dr. Labarthe
TBA Motor City TBA

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2003, 2008 The Wire Nick Sobotka Recurring role (season 2), guest (season 5)
2003 A Painted House Hank Spruill Television film
2005, 2007 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Ed Lang
TJ Hawkins 		2 episodes
2005 Into the Fire Sandy Manetti Television film
2006, 2008 Law & Order Kevin Boatman
Sean Hauser 		2 episodes
2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Dan Kozlowski Episode: "Haystack"
2007 The Black Donnellys Mitchell Carr Episode: "When the Door Opens"
2008 Dirt Jason Konkey 3 episodes
2008 Fear Itself Mattingley Episode: "Eater"
2008 Army Wives Tim 3 episodes
2008 Life on Mars Kim Trent Episode: "The Real Adventures of the Unreal Sam Tyler"
2009 The Beast Officer Delaney Episode: "Capone"
2009 Numbers Tal Feigenbaum 2 episodes
2009 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Ricky Falcone Episode: "A Very Sunny Christmas"
2009 Three Rivers Nick Episode: "The Kindness of Strangers"
2010 Medium Jeremy Kiernan Episode: "An Everlasting Love"
2011 Lights Out Johnny Leary Main cast
2011 The Good Wife Gregory Mars Episode: "Ham Sandwich"
2011–2012 Weeds Demetri Ravitch Recurring role (season 7)
2011–2012 A Gifted Man Anton Little Creek Main cast
2012 Person of Interest Tommy Clay Episode: "Matsya Nyaya"
2012 Made in Jersey Luke Aaronson Episode: "Pilot"
2013 White Collar JB Bellmiere Episode: "The Original"
2013–2014 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit William Lewis Recurring role (seasons 14–15)
2013 Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight Covert Becker Television film
2013–2015,
2017, 2019 		Orange Is the New Black George "Pornstache" Mendez Recurring role (seasons 1–3)
Guest (seasons 5, 7)
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2013 Ironside Virgil Main cast
2015 The Brink Lt. Cmdr. Zeke "Z-Pak" Tilson Main cast
2017–2019 American Gods Mad Sweeney Main cast (seasons 1–2)
2020 Defending Jacob Neal Logiudice Main cast, miniseries
2022–2024 Halo John-117 / Master Chief Main cast; also producer
2022 Candy Allan Gore Miniseries

Video games

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Year Title Voice role
2007 Manhunt 2 The Asylum Staff

Audiobooks

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Year Title Voice role
2009 American Psycho Narrator
2018 The Call of the Wild Narrator
2019 Daisy Jones & The Six Narrator / Billy Dunne

Explanatory notes

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  1. ^ Body-based therapy seeks to restore a connection between body and mind.

References

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  1. ^ @officialpabloschreiber (April 26, 2017). "You only get to wear it once a year... #ItsMyBirthdaySuit" – via Instagram.
  2. ^ "How Pablo Schreiber Got into Master Chief Shape for 'Halo'". Men's Health. May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Island Theatre: The Best Damn Theatre Company in the World". www.islandtheatre.org. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  4. ^ "Winlaw-raised actor appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live!". Nelson Star. Nelson, British Columbia: Black Press. June 17, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Sessums, Kevin (February 1, 2011). "Pablo Schreiber on His New Off-Broadway Play". The Daily Beast. New York City. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  6. ^ "BROADWAY STAR PABLO SCHREIBER MAKES HIS NAME". MSN Wonderwall. May 21, 2009. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  7. ^ Lee, Kristen (May 22, 2009). "Humble CMU grad makes name with O'Neill". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  8. ^ Guerrasio, Jason (January 26, 2016). "The actor who played this unforgettable role on 'The Wire' was almost fired on his very first day". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Stahler, Kelsea (June 6, 2014). "'OITNB' Villain Pablo Schreiber (AKA Pornstache) Has Been Just About Everywhere On TV". Bustle. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  10. ^ Towers, Andrea (March 12, 2014). "Pablo Schreiber returning to Law & 'Order: SVU'". EW.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Wightman, Catriona (March 1, 2011). "Schreiber 'relates to Lights Out role'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  12. ^ Gioia, Michael (June 25, 2011). "Pablo Schreiber Joins Cast of CBS Series "A Gifted Man"". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Falconer, Daniel (June 19, 2017). "Pablo Schreiber Wants To Play Wolverine". Contactmusic.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2011". BuddyTV. December 7, 2011. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  15. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (October 5, 2012). "'Weeds' Alums Join Netflix's 'Orange Is the New Black' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, Californiua. Archived from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  16. ^ Bayley, Leanne (July 28, 2014). "Young Hollywood Awards 2014: The FULL winners list". Glamour. New York City. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 26, 2013). "Patrick Flueger Cast In NBC Pilot 'Hatfields & McCoys', Pablo Schreiber Joins 'Ironside'". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  18. ^ Bibel, Sara (October 18, 2013). "'Ironside' & 'Welcome to the Family' Canceled by NBC; 'Community' to Premiere January 2, 'Chicago P.D.' January 8". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  19. ^ Sinha-Roy, Piya (April 22, 2019). "'American Gods': Pablo Schreiber on Mad Sweeney's true identity and [SPOILER]". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  20. ^ "Pablo Schreiber to Play Master Chef in Showtime's 'Halo' Live-Action Series". The Hollywood Reporter. April 17, 2019. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  21. ^ "Halo". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  22. ^ Godfrey, Chris (June 13, 2022). "'I put on 40 pounds of muscle. Holy mackerel!' Pablo Schreiber on playing Halo's ripped hero". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  23. ^ Gulati, Shivam (May 19, 2022). "Halo Season 2 - Everything You Need to Know About the Show's Renewal". DualShockers. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  24. ^ Knolle, Sharon (May 13, 2022). "'Candy': Pablo Schreiber and Tim Simons Interview". Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  25. ^ Kroll, Justin (February 3, 2015). "'Orange is the New Black' Actor Pablo Schreiber Joins Michael Bay's '13 Hours' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  26. ^ "Pablo Schreiber had military training for Den of Thieves". Celebretainment. February 1, 2018. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  27. ^ O'Keefe, Meghan (March 2, 2019). "'Skyscraper' on HBO: We Need to Talk About That Boss Kitchen Fight Scene". Decider. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  28. ^ White, James (February 10, 2017). "Pablo Schreiber Joins First Man As Jim Lovell". Empire. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  29. ^ Tallerico, Brian. "Lorelei movie review & film summary (2021)". Rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  30. ^ Isherwood, Charles (April 18, 2006). "Defying Poverty's Everyday Despair in Odets's 'Awake and Sing!'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  31. ^ Fierberg, Ruthie (October 3, 2017). "Tony Nominee Pablo Schreiber Joins Ryan Gosling, Brian d'Arcy James, and More in First Man". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  32. ^ Horwitz, Simi (November 4, 2019). "Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play". Backstage. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  33. ^ Ng, David (April 28, 2009). "'Desire Under the Elms' on Broadway: What did the critics think?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  34. ^ "Exclusive Photos: A Day with Gruesome Playground Injuries Star Pablo Schreiber". Broadway.com. January 13, 2011. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  35. ^ Carvajal, Edduin (April 4, 2022). "'Halo' Star Pablo Schreiber's Marriage Ended in Custody Battle over 2 Sons - Inside His Messy Divorce". news.amomama.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
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