Giancarlo Esposito Breaks Good on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Originally posted at 11:16 p.m. April 29, 2014. Edited with new details.

Actor Giancarlo Esposito received the 2,523rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today, honored for a career best known for his Emmy- nominated portrayal of drug kingpin Gustavo "Gus" Fring on "Breaking Bad."

"As a child, I walked these streets and I looked at all of these people that were immortalized here and I never realized that I could be one of them," Esposito said in the late-morning ceremony at 6351 Hollywood Blvd., across the street from Beso restaurant.

"But it was through the impressions that were made on me and shared with me by other great lifetime actors, the encouragement, the support that allowed me to persevere and follow my dream. It was through the support of my friends and my family that I'm standing here today."

Oscar-winner Timothy Hutton, who Esposito described as "my oldest professional friend," recalled when they first met, in 1981 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on the set of the military school drama "Taps."

"There was this really intensely focused, deeply committed actor at the table read," Hutton recalled. "We all thought, 'Who is this guy?' Everyone went around and introduced themselves and he said, 'My name is Giancarlo Esposito.'

"We thought, 'Wow, what a name. He better be good with a name like that.' Then we saw his work and we were all blown away."

Hutton called Esposito's "body of work truly extraordinary."

"He's moved and inspired people all over the world and moved and inspired many, many actors," Hutton said

"There are often times when I've been working and I've thought, 'I just can't figure out what I want to do with this scene.' I think, 'What would Giancarlo do?"'

Esposito stars on the NBC adventure series "Revolution" as Maj. Tom Neville, a mild-mannered insurance agent turned ruthless and cunning militia leader after the world loses all sources of power.

Esposito's other television credits include "Community," "Once Upon a Time," "Homicide: Life on the Street," "Law & Order," "Bakersfield PD," "Touched by an Angel" and "Kidnapped."

Esposito appeared in four films directed by Spike Lee -- "Do the Right Thing," "Mo' Better Blues," "School Daze" and "Malcolm X." He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his portrayal of a drug dealer in the 1994 film "Fresh."

Esposito's other film credits include "Rabbit Hole," "The Usual Suspects," "Smoke," "The Last Holiday," "Sherry Baby," "Ali," "Nothing to Lose," "Waiting to Exhale," "Bob Roberts," "King of New York" and "The Cotton Club."

Esposito is set to direct the historical drama "Patriotic Treason," the story of abolitionist John Brown and portray Frederick Douglass.

Esposito made his Broadway debut as a 10-year-old in the 1968 musical "Maggie Flynn." His other Broadway credits include "Sacrilege," "Seesaw," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Lost in The Stars," and the 2008 production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

--City News Service