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Brian Jordan Alvarez

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Brian Jordan Alvarez
Born (1987-07-09) July 9, 1987 (age 37)
New York City, US
EducationUniversity of Southern California (BFA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • writer
  • producer
  • director
Years active2009–present
Known for

Brian Jordan Alvarez (born July 9, 1987)[1][2] is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for creating and starring in the FX comedy series English Teacher.[3] He is also known for his original songs, recurring roles as Estéfan in Will & Grace (2018–2020) and Wesley in Jane the Virgin (2015–2016), appearances in such films as M3GAN and 80 for Brady, and his own self-produced films and series, most notably his 2016 web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo.[4]

Early life

Alvarez was born in Manhattan, New York City to Paul Jordan and Angela Jordan Alvarez, an electrical engineer and Spanish instructor, respectively.[5][6] He has a sister, Catalina.[6] He is of Colombian descent matrilineally and has roots from the American South from the other side of his family. He speaks Spanish fluently.[6][7]

He spent his childhood in Winchester, Tennessee,[7] where he began acting and making movies.[5] In middle school, he was teased and bullied for his sexuality.[4] He went on to attend Saint Andrew's Sewanee School and then the high school program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[5][8] Heavily involved in his school's theater program, he continued to study acting at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.[4] He graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and settled down in Los Angeles the following year.[9]

Career

YouTube

In 2012, Alvarez collaborated with CollegeHumor on an episode titled "Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends".[10][11][12] In 2016, Alvarez wrote, produced, directed and starred in the five-part web comedy series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo. The series played at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival as part of its New Online Work.[13] The series was nominated for the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Series – Shortform and was named Indiewire's number-one web series for the year.[13][14]

Early television roles

He has performed roles in several television shows including: Will & Grace, Life in Pieces, Jane the Virgin, and Go-Go Boy Interrupted.[4] In October 2014, he was cast in a supporting role in the MTV scripted comedy pilot Self Promotion.[15] The show, directed by Zach Braff, was ultimately not picked up by the network.[16]

On April 22, 2015, Alvarez co-starred on season 6, episode 18 of Hot in Cleveland titled "Cleveland Calendar Girls." He played the photographer who took engagement photos for Joy (played by Jane Leeves) and nude photos for Elka (played by Betty White) and her friends as they put together a nude calendar of elderly women to raise money for the Cleveland Animal Shelter.[17]

On October 17, 2016, Alvarez was on season 6, episode 3 of 2 Broke Girls titled "That '80s Movie" directed by Fred Savage. Alvarez played Tad, one half of a gay couple Caroline (played by Beth Behrs) called her "hot gay guys" that she was trying to use to lure cool clientele into her new bar.[18]

From 2018 - 2020, Alvarez played the recurring role of Estéfan Gloria, Jack McFarland's fiancé and later husband, in all three seasons of the 2010s revival of NBC's Will & Grace.[19]

In August 2020, it was announced Alvarez was cast in the Netflix quarantine anthology series Social Distance. He appeared in the episode "Zero Feet Away" opposite Max Jenkins.[20] Alvarez has also made appearances on Australian television due to his ability to do a convincing Australian accent.[21]

Social media

Alvarez has gained prominence for his viral videos on Instagram and TikTok, in which he often portrays a rotating cast of absurdist characters using thick accents and distorting facial filters.[22] In September 2023, he posted a video featuring his character TJ Mack performing an improvised song titled "Sitting", which quickly became an online sensation, accumulating millions of views and being remixed and covered by fans in various genres.[23][24][25] Versions of "Sitting" have appeared on the radio in both the United States and Australia, and Vanity Fair has described it as possibly 2023's "song of the summer."[25][26]

In November 2024, he went viral for daily shirtless dancing videos promoting his show English Teacher.[27] He dances to a trending audio clip from "Teach Me Tonight," episode 19 of season two of Gilmore Girls. In the audio, the character Kurt says, "I love your daughter," and when his father responds, "What do you have to offer her?" Kurt replies, "Nothing, only this," and then music starts. Sometimes Alvarez takes off articles of clothing while dancing, with one journalist making a compilation of twenty-two different shirtless videos of Alvarez doing that trend that went viral.[28]

Alvarez has a 'signature move' of lifting one leg at some point during each dancing video. He initially started posting the videos because he wanted to drum up more buzz and viewership for English Teacher, and after posting show clips, reviews, and the more traditional posts to get the word out, without any of them seeing much traction, he tried the dancing angle saying, "Desperation is a powerful thing."[29]

English Teacher

Main article: English Teacher (TV series)

Around 2021, Alvarez said that he was retiring from writing and producing to focus on acting, but Paul Simms, now one of the executive producers of English Teacher convinced Alvarez otherwise. Simms had been impressed after watching old episodes of The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo and asked Alvarez to creative a TV show. Alvarez said of their meeting that he told Simms "'I tried to make TV shows in the system; I don't know how to get through the notes process,' and Paul said, 'I'm going to be your guide, you're coming out of retirement, we're making a TV show.' This is what you want in your life, this divine voice to float down from heaven and say, 'You can do it, I believe in you.'"[30]

When coming up with the idea for English Teacher, Alvarez leaned on inspiration from his family as his mom and sister and both teachers. Having grown up in a blue dot in a red state (Tennessee), he thought setting the show in the suburbs of Austin, Texas would be fertile ground for having all types of characters and opinions, saying "There's no set of opinions you can really avoid in a public high school, so I knew all of that in one place could make for good comedy."[30]

In November 2023, it was announced that FX had ordered Alvarez's 2022 English Teacher comedy pilot to series. Alvarez created the series and stars as the protagonist, an English teacher working at a high school in Austin, Texas.[31] He is also a writer, director, and producer on the show.[32]

In September 2024, the first season of English Teacher premiered to critical acclaim. The New York Times called it one of "Best TV Shows of 2024."[33] Entertainment Weekly said the show got an "A+ grade."[34]

On February 7, 2025, English Teacher was renewed for a second season.[35][36]

In 2025, Alvarez played on Celebrity Jeopardy! against Roy Wood Jr. and Phoebe Robinson. Alvarez played for the charity Communities in Schools and won $30,000 on their behalf, coming in second to Roy Wood Jr.[37][38]

Personal life

When speaking of how The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo relates to his experience as a gay man in Los Angeles, Alvarez said, "It's pretty easy to be queer in the city. The show can look like a gay utopia maybe because I kind of live in a queer utopia."[39]

He almost didn't graduate college due to alcohol and drug use and got sober because "he was scared not knowing if he was going to be as successful as he knew he wanted to be."[39]

Allegations of sexual assault

While a student at University of Southern California, Alvarez allegedly stalked a female friend's boyfriend who later filed a no-contact order against him.[40] Another student alleged that Alvarez groped him without consent, saying, "It got to the point where I was so uncomfortable I didn't want to be in the same room with him".[41][42]

In August 2024, Alvarez's The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo co-star Jon Ebeling, who played Billy in the series, posted an Instagram Story alluding to having been sexually assaulted by Alvarez, comparing his experiences working with him to the plot of the Netflix series Baby Reindeer.[43] The following month, the day before English Teacher's premiere, Ebeling filed a sexual assault report against Alvarez with the Los Angeles Police Department for the 2016 incident, which Vulture covered in a December 2024 story. Ebeling alleged that Alvarez sexually assaulted Ebeling by performing nonconsensual oral sex on him during the shooting of a 2016 episode. Alvarez denied the story through a spokesperson alleging that "all interactions with Ebeling were always entirely consensual" and that he believed the 2016 incident to be consensual because of their prior sexual history.[44][45][46]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Hot in Cleveland Ian Episode: "Cleveland Calendar Girls"
Life in Pieces Jorge Episode: "Interruptus Date Breast Movin'"
RocketJump: The Show Sherlock Episode: "Fan Friction"
Self Promotion Wyatt TV pilot
2015–2016 Jane the Virgin Wesley Masters 4 episodes (season 2)
2016 Gay Skit Happens Various characters 2 episodes; Logo TV sketch comedy show
2 Broke Girls Tad Episode: "And the 80's Movie"
The Great Indoors Brian Episode: "No Bad Ideas"
2017–2019 Get Shorty Jayson / Robert 9 episodes (seasons 1 & 3)
2018 Grace and Frankie Willy Episode: "The Rats"
2018–2020 Will & Grace Estéfan Gloria 13 episodes (seasons 9–11)
2019 Special Shay Episode: "Chapter Three: Free Scones"
Grand Hotel Topher Episode: "Long Night's Journey Into Day"
Black Jesus Phil Osterfawk Episode: "The Real Jesus of Compton"
2020 Corporate Bonan Marrow Episode: "The Wind of God"
Social Distance Marco Episode: "Zero Feet Away"
2023 Ten Year Old Tom (voice) Episode: "Sweet Home Cancún"
Praise Petey Emmett (voice) 10 episodes
2024 Grimsburg (voice) Episode: "The Flute-itive"
Hailey's On It! David (voice) Episode: "Out of Body Slam Experience/Get Whale Soon"
English Teacher Evan Marquez 8 episodes; also creator, writer, executive producer, and director
2025 StuGo Van (voice) Episode: "Moon Moon"

Films

Year Title Role Functioned as Notes
Director Screenwriter Producer
2008 Ted White-Knockelby Pursues the American Dream — Yes Short film
2009 In The Dark Alex Emerson Short film
2009 Herpes Boy DragonSlayer1985
2010 Consent Seth
2011 Come Visit — Yes Yes Yes Short film
2014 The Setup Elliot
2014 Wave Tim Yes Short film
2016 The Operator Allen (Voice) Short film
2016 Paco Paco Short film
2016 The Happys Patrick
2016 Going Together Griffin Short film
2017 Everything is Free Ivan Yes Yes Yes Also composer and editor; distributed in 2019
2017 How to Be a Slut in America Brian Yes Yes Yes Also editor; released in three parts
2018 Grandmother's Gold Danny Yes Yes Yes Also composer and editor
2018 Are You Still Singing? Office Manager Short film
2018 Stuck Raymond
2019 Web Series: The Movie Dave Stdert Yes Yes Yes Also editor
2019 Simply Having Remly LaMore Yes Short film
2021 A Spy Movie Jack Johnson Yes Short film. Producer and actor.
2022 M3GAN Cole
2023 80 for Brady Derek
2025 M3GAN 2.0 Cole Post-production

Web series and shorts

Selected credits

Year Title Role Producer Notes
2012 Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends Garden Guy CollegeHumor Originals Short
2012 Charlie's Gayngels Charlie Brian Jordan Alvarez Short
2012 You Are What I Want Nelson Adams Short
2014 It's Just a Question Frank Short
2014 For Auld Lang Syne Matt Short
2014–2016 Go-Go Boy Interrupted Eliot Jimmy Fowlie 8 episodes
2015 Ryan Gosling Responds to Haters Zac Efron Brian Jordan Alvarez Short
2016 Unreleased Robert Durst Third Interview Andrew Jarecki Short
2016 The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo Caleb 5 episodes; also director, writer, producer, and editor
2016 Neonate Fest Shane Lucas Funny or Die Episode: "Vape Battle of the Century"
2016 JoJoHead CW Seed Episode: "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time"
2016 Made in China Emil Ken Kirby Web series pilot
2017 Catching a Break Ray Episode: "All Day Adventure"
2017 Stupid Idiots Brian Stephanie Koenig Miniseries; 6 episodes[47]
2019 Lovelytheband: "Maybe, I'm Afraid" Brian Music video
2019 Matt and Dan Bartholemew Matt & Dan Episode: "Deal Breaker" web series
2019 Stellar People Antares Unreleased web series
2022 Superorganism: "Teenager" Dancer Verdigris Management Music video

Awards and nominations

Organization Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
Gotham Awards 2016 Breakthrough Series – Short Form The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo Nominated [48]
Independent Spirit Awards 2025 Best New Scripted Series English Teacher Pending [49]
Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series Pending

References

  1. ^ "Brian Jordan Alvarez â€" Bio, Birthday, Age, Video | Cameo".
  2. ^ Levin, Gary. "Brian Jordan Alvarez dissects FX's subversive school comedy 'English Teacher'". USA Today. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Lloyd, Robert (September 2, 2024). "'English Teacher' Review: Brian Jordan Alvarez delivers a sharp and witty new comedy on FX". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Horowitz, Steven J (June 29, 2016). "Catching Up With the Creator of the Best Queer Web Series Out There". Paper. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Brian Jordan Alvarez". Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020 – via Vimeo. Brian was born in NYC, then moved at age five to the sticks of Tennessee where he grew up. He then left Tennessee to go to high school at North Carolina School of the Arts, followed by college at University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, where he got his BFA. He's been making movies and acting since he was a kid.
  6. ^ a b c Zall, Alexis (2019). Brian Jordan Alvarez + His Parents Paul and Angela (podcast).
  7. ^ a b Corner, Ruby (May 1, 2017). "Brian Jordan Alvarez: Advocate". A&U: America's AIDS Magazine. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  8. ^ Betancourt, Manuel (February 23, 2017). "From YouTube to 'Jane the Virgin,' Brian Jordan Alvarez Is Conquering Hollywood on His Own Terms". Remezcla. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  9. ^ "Alumni Q&A: Brian Jordan Alvarez BFA '09 · School of Dramatic Arts · USC". dramaticarts.usc.edu.
  10. ^ Dropout (November 20, 2012). Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends. Retrieved November 19, 2024 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "Straight Men Beware: 'Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends'". out.com. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  12. ^ Blazenhoff, Rusty (November 13, 2012). "Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends if You Don't Support Gay Marriage". Laughing Squid. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Alex, Jonathan (October 5, 2018). "Going for Gold: The Work and Career of Brian Jordan Alvarez". Los Angeles Review of Books. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  14. ^ Hipes, Patrick (October 20, 2016). "Gotham Awards Nominations: 'Manchester By The Sea', 'Moonlight' Lead Way". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  15. ^ "MTV Pilot 'Self Promotion' Casts 3; Jeremy Shamos Joins 'Nurse Jackie'". Deadline. October 17, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 20, 2015). "MTV Passes On 'Self Promotion' Pilot". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  17. ^ Cadiff, Andy (November 5, 2014). Hot in Cleveland Season 6 Episode 18: Hot in Cleveland - Cleveland Calendar Girls. Retrieved February 8, 2025 – via paramountplus.com.
  18. ^ Savage, Fred (October 17, 2016). "And the 80's Movie". Two Broke Girls.
  19. ^ Pedersen, Erik (March 26, 2020). "'Will & Grace' Series Finale Date Set; NBC Also Will Air Retrospective Special". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  20. ^ Petski, Denise (August 26, 2020). "'Social Distance': Danielle Brooks, Mike Colter Among Cast For Netflix Quarantine Anthology Series From Jenji Kohan & Hilary Weisman Graham". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  21. ^ Williams, Carly (November 12, 2020). "Will & Grace Actor Brian Jordan Alvarez Perfects Australian Accent In Viral Election Video". Huffington Post Australia. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  22. ^ Klee, Miles (September 29, 2023). "Mad Genius Behind the Viral Song 'Sitting' Actually Prefers to Stand". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  23. ^ Kornhaber, Spencer (September 27, 2023). "The Weirdos Living Inside Our Phones". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  24. ^ Mendez, Moises II (September 29, 2023). "How Viral Fame Is Sitting With Brian Jordan Alvarez". Time. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  25. ^ a b Murphy, Chris (September 29, 2023). "Brian Jordan Alvarez Wants to Keep "Sitting"—And Partying—On the Internet". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  26. ^ Restrepo, Manuela López (September 28, 2023). "T.J. Mack wants you to know it's OK to sit". NPR. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  27. ^ Sarner, Lauren (November 18, 2024). "How 'English Teacher' star Brian Jordan Alvarez danced his way to success with shirtless viral videos". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  28. ^ "All 22 videos of Brian Jordan Alvarez grinding shirtless on TikTok for your viewing pleasure". Yahoo Entertainment. November 1, 2024. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  29. ^ I, Isabella (December 2, 2024). "Brian Jordan Alvarez Says Dancing Videos Key to Success". Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  30. ^ a b Rosen, Lisa (November 22, 2024). "Multifaceted Brian Jordan Alvarez decided to focus on acting. Then came 'English Teacher'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  31. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 16, 2023). "Brian Jordan Alvarez Comedy 'English Teacher' Picked Up To Series At FX". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  32. ^ "English Teacher (TV Series 2024) - Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  33. ^ Loofbourow, Lili (September 2, 2024). "English Teacher: FX's new comedy is a masterclass in subversive humor". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  34. ^ Kaur, Brahmjot (February 7, 2025). "The 2025 Critics Choice Awards TV Nominations Are Finally Here". E!. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  35. ^ Otterson, Joe; Hailu, Selome (February 7, 2025). "'English Teacher' Renewed for Season 2 at FX Despite Sexual Assault Allegation Against Brian Jordan Alvarez". Variety. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  36. ^ "Brian Jordan Alvarez's 'English Teacher' renewed for season 2 by FX". ABC7 New York. September 3, 2024. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  37. ^ ABC Entertainment. "Celebrity Jeopardy: Quarterfinal #4: Roy Wood Jr., Brian Jordan Alvarez and Phoebe Robinson (1/29)". Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  38. ^ "Celebrity Jeopardy!". Hulu. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  39. ^ a b Betancourt, Manuel. "From YouTube to 'Jane the Virgin,' Brian Jordan Alvarez Is Conquering Hollywood on His Own Terms". Remezcla. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  40. ^ "The Allegations Looming of Brian Jordan Alvarez's breakout". Vulture. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  41. ^ "Creator and Star of Hit 'English Teacher' Series Accused of Sexual Assault". MovieWeb. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  42. ^ "English Teacher creator Brian Jordan Alvarez accused of assault by former collaborator". A.V. Club. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  43. ^ Kelly, Keegan (August 9, 2024). "Former Co-Star of FX's 'English Teacher' Creator Accuses Him of 'Baby Reindeer'-Type Behavior". Cracked. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  44. ^ Jung, E. Alex (December 17, 2024). "Friends Like These". Vulture. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  45. ^ Fu, Eddie (December 17, 2024). "English Teacher creator Brian Jordan Alvarez accused of sexual assault by former collaborator". Consequence. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  46. ^ Morrow, Brendan (December 17, 2024). "'English Teacher' star Brian Jordan Alvarez accused of sexual assault: Report". USA Today. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  47. ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Hipes, Patrick (July 18, 2017). "'Stupid Idiots' Web Series Getting TV Adaptation By Paramount TV & Anonymous Content". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  48. ^ "Independent Filmmaker Project". November 5, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  49. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 4, 2024). "Spirit Awards Best Feature Nominees Include 'Anora', 'I Saw The TV Glow', 'Nickel Boys', 'Sing Sing' & 'The Substance'". Deadline. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
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