Pablo Schreiber
Schreiber in 2025
Born	Pablo Tell Schreiber (1978-04-26)April 26, 1978 (age 47) Ymir, British Columbia, Canada
Education	Carnegie Mellon University (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2001–present
Spouse	Jessica Monty ​ ​ (m. 2007; div. 2014)​
Children	2
Relatives	Liev Schreiber (half-brother)

Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978)^[1][2] is a Canadian-born American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portrayingNick Sobotka onThe Wire (2003, 2008), William Lewis onLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit (2013–2014),Mad Sweeney on theStarz seriesAmerican Gods (2017–2021), and as George "Pornstache" Mendez onOrange Is the New Black (2013–2017), for which he received aPrimetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He starred as theMaster Chief in theParamount+ live-action seriesHalo (2022–2024) which is based on thefranchise of the same name.

His film roles include minor roles inBubble Boy (2001),The Manchurian Candidate (2004),Lords of Dogtown (2005),Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008),Nights in Rodanthe (2008),Allegiance (2012), andPreservation (2014). He co-starred in the 2016 war film13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi directed byMichael Bay. In 2018, he starred in the action heist filmDen of Thieves oppositeGerard Butler and inSkyscraper withDwayne Johnson. In 2020, he starred in the drama filmLorelei withJena Malone.

He is also known for his dramatic stage work including his performance inAwake and Sing! (2006) onBroadway which earned him a nomination for aTony Award. In 2008, he starred inreasons to be pretty where he won the 2009Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. He narrated the audiobook version ofBrett Easton Ellis’American Psycho.

Schreiber was born to parents Tell Carroll Schreiber (1941–2021), an American actor, and Lorraine Reaveley, aCanadian body-based^[a]psychotherapist.^[3] He was born in ahippiecommune inYmir, British Columbia and he and his family moved to theunincorporated rural community ofWinlaw,British Columbia when he was six months old.^[4] His older half-brother, via their father, is actorLiev Schreiber.

Schreiber's father, having a strong interest inliterature, named Pablo afterChilean poetPablo Neruda.^[5] His parents separated when he was 12 and Schreiber moved toSeattle with his father.^[5]

After graduating from high school, Schreiber enrolled at theUniversity of San Francisco hoping to win a spot on its basketball team.^[6] He later transferred toCarnegie Mellon University inPittsburgh and graduated in 2000 with a degree in theatre.^[7]

Schreiber's first television appearance was asNick Sobotka in season 2 of the critically acclaimedHBO seriesThe Wire (2003).^[8] After his final appearance in the last episode of season 2, he also made a cameo appearance in the season 5 episode "The Dickensian Aspect". He went on to play minor roles in the seriesLaw & Order: Criminal Intent andLaw & Order before playing the recurring guest role of serial rapist William Lewis onLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit. He appeared in an eight episode arc playing theantagonist toOlivia Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) character.^[9][10]

From 2008 to 2009, he appeared in multiple series includingDirt,Army Wives,The Beast,Numbers, andIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.^[9] In 2011, he was cast as Johnny Leary in theFX seriesLights Out which only aired for one season.^[11] From 2011 to 2012, he played bothDemetri Ravitch in the Showtime seriesWeeds and Anton Little Creek on the showA Gifted Man.^[12][13]BuddyTV ranked him #77 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011".^[14]

In October 2012, Schreiber was cast in the recurring role of George "Pornstache" Mendez on theNetflix original drama seriesOrange Is the New Black.^[15] For his role on the show, he won the "We Love to Hate You Award" at the2014 Young Hollywood Awards and received aPrimetime Emmy nomination forOutstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2015.^[16] He played the role from 2013 to 2017 and had a guest appearance in a 2019 episode.

In February 2013, he co-starred as Virgil inNBC's drama pilotIronside, areboot of the1967 series of the same name.^[17] However ratings and reviews were unfavorable and it was canceled after only four episodes had aired.^[18]

Schreiber was cast as Mad Sweeney in the 2017Starz seriesAmerican Gods, based on thenovel of the same name written byNeil Gaiman.^[13] His character is a self-describedleprechaun unwillingly endebted to Mr. Wednesday, played byIan McShane. By the end of season 2, Sweeney remembers that he isBuile Shuibhne, the king of theDál nAraidi driven insane by the curse ofSaint Rónán Finn. Schreiber appears in seasons 1 and 2 with flashback appearances in the third and final season. His character became a favourite of viewers during the series.^[19]

In April 2019, he was cast asMaster Chief / John-117 in theHalo live-action series, based on thevideo game franchise of the same name.^[20] The series was released on March 24, 2022, byParamount+ and has received mostly positive reviews with 71% onRotten Tomatoes.^[21] To prepare for his role in the series, Schreiber worked with a trainer and a chef to bulk up adding muscle to play thesupersoldier.^[22] Paramount confirmed that the series was renewed for season 2 with Schreiber reprising the main role of Master Chief.^[23]

Schreiber co-starred in thebiographicalcrimedramastreaming television miniseriesCandy as Allan Gore, oppositeJessica Biel's character,Candy Montgomery. It is based on the true story of how Candy Montgomery was accused of theaxe murder of her neighbor, Betty Gore in 1980 inTexas. The series premiered May 9, 2022, with the last episodes airing on May 13, 2022.^[24]

Schreiber's first film was a minor role in the 2001 Americanblack comedy filmBubble Boy. He appeared in the 2004 filmThe Manchurian Candidate which starred his half-brotherLiev Schreiber. He had supporting roles in the filmsLords of Dogtown (2005),Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008),Nights in Rodanthe (2008), andHappythankyoumoreplease (2010). In 2016, he co-starred as Kris "Tanto" Paronto, GRS team member and formerU.S. Army Ranger in the Americanbiographicalwar film13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, oppositeJohn Krasinski andJames Badge Dale. The film was directed and co-produced byMichael Bay, written byChuck Hogan, and is based onMitchell Zuckoff's 2014book of the same name.^[25]

In 2018, he starred in the Americanactionheist filmDen of Thieves withGerard Butler. He played Ray Merrimen, aMARSOC Marine veteran who is the crew's leader and schemer, and one of the robbers who sets out to rob theFederal Reserve Bank of downtownLos Angeles. Schreiber underwent extensive military training for his role in the film, saying "... with the weapons training, we had extensive military movement, team movement, weapons training boot camp, a couple of weeks before we started shooting".^[26] In the same year he co-starred withDwayne Johnson in theaction thriller filmSkyscraper.^[27] He played the role of AmericanastronautJim Lovell in the biographical dramaFirst Man which was also released in 2018.^[28]

Schreiber starred in the 2021 drama filmLorelei withJena Malone. It received mostly positive reviews from critics. Brian Tallerico fromRogerEbert.com said of Schreiber, "Schreiber uses his massive size in an interesting way in that he’s such an imposing figure but he allows himself to also be fascinatingly vulnerable at the same time... He has remarkable range".^[29]

Schreiber's stage work includes bothBroadway and off-Broadway plays. In 2006, he starred in the Broadway playAwake and Sing!, earning him a nomination for aTony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.^[30][31] He also starred in the 2008 Broadway playreasons to be pretty withPiper Perabo andAlison Pill. For that role he won the 2009Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.^[32] He played Eben in the 2009 playDesire Under the Elms oppositeCarla Gugino's Abbie.^[33] In 2011, Schreiber starred in the Off-Broadway playGruesome Playground Injuries atSecond Stage Theatre.^[34]

Schreiber married yoga teacher Jessica Monty in 2007. She filed for divorce in 2014, citing irreconcilable differences. They have two sons together, born in 2009 and 2012.^[35]

• Pablo Schreiber atIMDb 
• Pablo Schreiber at theInternet Broadway Database
• Pablo Schreiber at theInternet Off-Broadway Database (archived)

• 21st-century American male actors
• 21st-century Canadian male actors
• American male film actors
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