Born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Fernando Mateo Jr. is a former college football player at the University of Albany. A lifelong athlete, he then became a Krav Maga instructor post college while working for the family business. With performing always being something he wanted to do, he finally caved into the desire and started acting at the age of 26. He began taking classes in NYC and started his journey doing showcases and plays for two years. He then moved on to do a year and a half at the William Esper Studio. After Esper, Fernando began to focus on film and television. In 2013, he finally got his first network credit in LAW AND ORDER: SVU. Since then he has appeared in numerous films and television shows. Most recently you can see him in the last episode of BLACKLIST: Redemption, THE UPSIDE (feat. Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart), season 2 of JESSICA JONES and this upcoming season of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK. Fernando currently resides in NYC with his rescue dog, Hal Jordan and when not acting enjoys photography and videography.