Arlen Escarpeta

Henrietta Gill, a Principal Prison Officer and former boxing coach, told Amandala that her grandson, Arlen Alexander Escarpeta, 19, acted in the movie "The Court," a story of "basketball and street justice" which premiered in Los Angeles last week.

Arlen, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Escarpeta of Gales Point, played a "bad boy" in the movie, which is not really his character, said Ms. Gill.

"Arlen is a good, down-to-earth Belize boy," said his grandmother of the former "Miss Ebanks" student.

Belize's son left for the U.S. when he was seven years old. He attended Trinity Elementary in Los Angeles, went to Hollywood High, graduating with honors, and is now in Pasadena College.

Apart from playing football, Arlen did a lot of drama in school with the group, the Young Saints. He was spotted by producer Britton Hein, who produced "The Court," when he acted in a school play. The drama group, the newspaper was told, performed in the White House for President Bill Clinton.

Arlen expects to graduate in a year and a half's time, and he then wishes to further his acting studies in New York.

"The Court" stars Charles Malik Whitfield and Sticky Fingaz, and is directed by Greg Morgan.

All about Arlen!! From the NBC Site. Not many people can star on the gridiron and stage at the same time but Arlen Escarpeta managed to balance both a few years ago, serving as captain of the football team while performing in several drama productions as part of the arts-magnet program at Hollywood High School. "Fortunately, I didn't have to make a choice," says Escarpeta, who also ran track and sang at his graduation ceremonies. "I had a very understanding football coach, I suppose it helped that one of the coaches was an actor too!" Escarpeta is a native of Belize (formerly British Honduras) in Central America who came to the United States after his father, a construction worker, died when he was 3. His mother, a manager for a dental office, settled in Los Angeles where her young son began to sing and dance in the Young Saints Scholarship Foundation. At 9, Escarpeta was cast in the title role of his elementary school's stylized production of Hamlet and was won over by the applause he received at the final curtain. From there, Escarpeta attended several arts magnet schools in Los Angeles until he arrived at Hollywood High, where he honed his skills in dance, technical and music theater, and drama. He has since attended Pasadena City College for more than two years while studying sociology. Despite swift times of 21.8 seconds running the 200-yard dash and a personal best of 47- 2 in the triple jump -- he opted to concentrate on acting rather than dedicate the necessary amount of time to the junior college's track team. "Ive realized how much my knowledge of sociology can help me prepare for a role," says Escarpeta, who can also be seen prominently in the pilot of NBC's Boomtown as the doomed Cantrel. "Studying different cultures can benefit my acting so that I can know them better." Escarpeta's career has skyrocketed recently with guest-starring roles on the TV series Boston Public,Judging Amy and in the recent season finale of The Shield. His feature-film work includes High Crimes (starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman) and the upcoming independent work, The Playa's Court. On his new series, Escarpeta portrays a teenager who also runs track at a private Catholic high school during the social turmoil of the 1960s. "He's very close to who I am," he says. "He has a sense of humor and has something to say about his world then and I have something to say about ours today." In his leisure time, Escarpeta prefers to draw cartoon characters (I'm a cartoon fanatic), read non-fiction and restore his 1964 Volkswagen Beetle sedan. He's also a Los Angeles Laker and Dallas Cowboy fan, and remains active working for the Young Saints Scholarship Foundation.



News Articles Spartan Daily American dreaming By Veronica Mendoza Daily Senior Staff Writer October 21, 2003 Arlen Escarpeta could be described as a typical 22-year-old college student except for one simple fact - not many college students can see themselves on television every week. Escarpeta stars on the NBC show, "American Dreams," as Sam Walker. "Work is work," Escarpeta said. "It's still fun for me but I still want to be a young 22-year-old guy." American Dreams is a show about the 1960s and is mostly based upon on a white middle-class family known as the Pryors who reside in Philadelphia. Another family on the show is the Walkers who are an African American family. Sam Walker plays the son of Henry Walker (Jonathan Adams) who works with the Pryor father, Jack (Tom Verica). In the show Sam attends a Roman Catholic high school and runs track. Escarpeta said he worked hard to win the role as Sam Walker but his ultimate goal was never to be an actor. "I think my main goal in acting is to benefit other people," Escarpeta said. "It's not all about me and being on TV and making money." A few of Escarpeta's future aspirations in life are to act in movies, direct and maybe to teach one day. "I really like working with kids," Escarpeta said. "Anything where I can affect people." For now Escarpeta is studying sociology at Pasadena City College. He said that his major has helped him in his roles on television. The focus of his character this season is a little different from last season said Escarpeta. Escarpeta described his character last season as a "goody-two-shoes." "Sam's character had all these things going on inside (last season)," Escarpeta said. "He's making different choices this year and he's just going to continue pushing the edge." On the episode the crew is currently working on, Sam Walker goes to New York with his cousin to meet Malcolm X, despite his father's disapproval of the idea. Escarpeta said that this season the show will also focus on the Civil Rights movement and women entering the work place. The actor said that he thinks the show is an accurate portrayal of what things were like in the 1960s. He also believes young people can learn a lot from watching the show. "There was a lot more unity then, then there is now," Escarpeta said. "It could be very interesting for a younger audience to take a look at that." Escarpeta said that although he is a little more outspoken then his character, Sam, he is a lot like him. "There's a lot of you in the characters you play," Escarpeta said. "The writers really tune in to who you are." Like his character, Sam also ran track in high school and he said he is very close to his family in the same ways Sam is close to his own. Although Escarpeta did not want to name the movie he is currently auditioning for he mentioned that he would really love to be in a football or basketball movie. He said that the auditioning practice can be difficult at times because you might think you got a part and you might not end up getting it. "It's a lot of losses before you get the win," Escarpeta said. "You can't expect to get every part." Escarpeta said that something really big is going to be happening with his character in the next few episodes. USA Weekend He's Arlen Escarpeta, and along with handsome, he's funny and insightful. Born in Belize and raised in Los Angeles, Escarpeta, 22, first was seen three years ago in a guest role on Fox's "Boston Public"; "Dreams" is, well, his dream. "I'm having so much fun I didn't even want to go on break in mid-May like everyone else," says Escarpeta, who still lives with his mom, stepdad and four sisters (his father died when he was 3). Set in '60s Philadelphia, the drama focuses heavily on the racial tensions and unrest of the time, with Escarpeta's character at the center of the action. "I've never dealt with racism or discrimination," he says, "so it was eerie to play that." Like Sam, Escarpeta loves sports. He also collects spiders and is a cartoon fan ("even the girlie ones, like 'Care Bears' and 'Rainbow Brite'"). And yes, he has a girlfriend, his high school sweetheart, who's studying journalism.

Amandala online-Belize City Movie, "The Court," introduces Belizean Arlen Alexander Escarpeta BELIZE CITY, Wed. Nov. 1 Henrietta Gill, a Principal Prison Officer and former boxing coach, told Amandala that her grandson, Arlen Alexander Escarpeta, 19, acted in the movie "The Court," a story of "basketball and street justice" which premiered in Los Angeles last week. Arlen, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Escarpeta of Gales Point, played a "bad boy" in the movie, which is not really his character, said Ms. Gill. "Arlen is a good, down-to-earth Belize boy," said his grandmother of the former "Miss Ebanks" student. Belize's son left for the U.S. when he was seven years old. He attended Trinity Elementary in Los Angeles, went to Hollywood High, graduating with honors, and is now in Pasadena College. Apart from playing football, Arlen did a lot of drama in school with the group, the Young Saints. He was spotted by producer Britton Hein, who produced "The Court," when he acted in a school play. The drama group, the newspaper was told, performed in the White House for President Bill Clinton. Arlen expects to graduate in a year and a half's time, and he then wishes to further his acting studies in New York. "The Court" stars Charles Malik Whitfield and Sticky Fingaz, and is directed by Greg Morgan.



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Movie, "The Court," introduces Belizean Arlen Alexander Escarpeta