Raúl Eduardo Esparza (born October 24, 1970) is an American stage and television actor, singer, and voice artist, best known for his role as New York Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Rafael Barba in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit whom he had a recurring role in season 14 and promoted to a series regular in seasons 15 to 19. He has received Tony nominations for his role as Philip Salon in the Boy George musical Taboo in 2004; Robert in the musical comedy Company in 2006; a lazy and snarky man in Harold Pinter\'s The Homecoming; and an aggressive volatile movie producer in David Mamet\'s Speed the Plow. He played the role of Riff Raff on Broadway in the revival of The Rocky Horror Show and the role of Caractacus Potts in the Broadway musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.\n', '

Esparza has been nominated in all Tony categories for which an actor is eligible. He is widely regarded for his versatility on stage, having performed musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Kander and Ebb, Boy George, and the Sherman Brothers and plays by Mamet, Pinter, William Shakespeare, Tom Stoppard, and more. His film work includes Sidney Lumet\'s Find Me Guilty and Wes Craven\'s My Soul to Take and his television credits include roles on The Path, Medium, Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He narrated the audiobook for Stephen King\'s Under the Dome, as well as several others, and sings in concerts all over the country.\n', '

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Cuban parents, and raised in Miami, Florida, Esparza graduated from Belen Jesuit in 1988 and won a Silver Knight Award in Drama that same year. In 1992, Esparza received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama and a Bachelor\'s degree in English from New York University\'s Tisch School of the Arts.\n', '

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