Andre Royo

Andre Royo is an American actor, producer, and writer born on July 18, 1968, in the Bronx, New York City. Of African-American and Cuban heritage, Royo attended Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx from 1982 to 1986. He is married to Jane Choi, and the couple has one daughter named Stella.

Royo made his screen debut in a minor role in the 1998 film L.A. Without a Map, followed by single-episode guest appearances on Law & Order and Third Watch in 1999. In 2000, he appeared in John Singleton's remake of Shaft, and in 2002 he had a role in G, a film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. His Broadway career spans 2003 to 2007, with credits including The 24 Hour Plays 2003 and The 24 Hour Plays 2004.

Royo is most widely recognized for portraying Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins, a drug addict and confidential informant, on the HBO crime drama The Wire, a role he held from the series' first season. His performance was sufficiently convincing that during on-location filming in Baltimore, a resident approached him in character and handed him a package of heroin, saying "Man, you need this more than I do." Royo has referred to this incident as his "street Oscar." During his career, some casting directors told him he was "not Black enough" or "not Latino enough" for certain roles.

In 2008, Royo appeared in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as a soldier sent back in time, joined the cast of Heroes in its third season as Stephen Canfield, and played a drug-addicted homeless serial killer in the Criminal Minds season four episode "Catching Out." That October, he participated in a Harvard University panel discussion alongside Wire cast members Sonja Sohn and Michael K. Williams, addressing the series' value as a resource for at-risk youth. In 2010, he guest starred on the Starz series Party Down and appeared in multiple episodes of Fox's Fringe during its third season, playing a cab driver in a parallel universe.

In 2012, Royo portrayed accused murderer Santana Cordero in the NBC police drama Prime Suspect and appeared as Antwan "Coffee" Coleman in the film Red Tails. The following year, he played geometry teacher Mr. Aster in the romantic-comedy drama The Spectacular Now. He also contributed voice work to Bob's Burgers, playing himself in the episode "Nude Beach" and voicing an exterminator named Marcus in the 2014 episode "Tina and the Real Ghost." In 2015, Royo appeared in the drama film Lila & Eve alongside Jennifer Lopez and Viola Davis, portrayed Spider Raymond in Agent Carter, played Barry in Showtime's Happyish, and appeared as Mayor Robert "Bobo" Boston in Amazon Prime's Hand of God. That same year, he joined Fox's Empire as Thirsty Rawlings, Lucious Lyon's defense attorney.

In 2016, Royo received a Special Jury Award at the SXSW Film Festival for his performance in Hunter Gatherer. He subsequently appeared alongside Octavia Spencer in the Apple TV+ series Truth Be Told, portraying an attorney. In 2024, he appeared in Chris Stapleton's music video for "Think I'm in Love with You."