Laz Alonso

Possessing a flair for acting from a very early age, Alonso spent his childhood entertaining his family and friends with his great imitations and mimicry. He went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Howard University and had a stint in the Wall Street, in an investment banking firm. He went on to start his own marketing business, alongside several partners. He finally decided to pursue his passion for acting, by enrolling himself in evening acting classes. And soon enough, he started bagging roles in various videos and commercials. He began his journey as a TV host on the BET Network and even featured in music videos by Aaliyah and Toni Braxton. In 2009, he landed the role of Fenix ‘Rise’ Calderon, who is the main antagonist in the fourth ‘Fast & Furious’ film. But his most notable role still remains his role in the sci-fi hit ‘Avatar’. He has also appeared in films such as ‘Stomp the Yard’, ‘Down for Life’, ‘Jarhead’, ‘Miracle at St. Anna’, and ‘Just Wright’. He has appeared in a number of television series such as ‘Breakout Kings’, ‘Deception’, ‘Southland’, ‘Bones’, ‘CSI: Miami’, ‘NCIS’ and ‘The Practice’ as well. Alonso is known for playing one of the main characters on the NBC series ‘The Mysteries of Laura’.

Although Laz Alonso hasn’t been involved in any big controversy regarding him, he did make news for voicing out ‘politically incorrect’ opinions that received a lot of media scrutiny. His views on the Donald Sterling controversy gained him a lot of unwarranted attention. He tweeted his opinion as to how Sterling’s conversation with his girlfriend (which was deemed racist) was not meant that way by him. Though Alonso probably didn’t mean to come across as supporting a racist, the media used his words against him. He then clarified his stance by tweeting the fact that couples usually say things they don’t mean while angry, and that is what he meant. He clarified that he isn’t a facilitator of racism, and that his words were misinterpreted.

Laz Alonso was born on 25 March 1974, in Washington DC. He is of Afro-Cuban descent and is bilingual, as he can speak both English and Spanish fluently. He participated in ABC’s ‘Diversity Showcase’. He is an alumnus of Howard University and is unmarried. Little is known about his personal life, beside the fact that he was once in a long-term relationship with Claudia Jordan. He is a pious Christian and currently lives in Los Angeles.