Carlo Rota

Carlo Dante Rota (born 17 April 1961) is a British-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in Little Mosque on the Prairie and as systems analyst Morris O'Brian on the Fox series 24. He also co-starred as Emilio Solano in Jane the Virgin. Early life Rota was born in London, England, to Italian parents, Rina, who worked in the restaurant business, and Dante Rota, a chef. He grew up in Osterley with two sisters and one brother. Through his life he has lived in many places of the world, including Hong Kong (where he attended Island School), the Bahamas and the U.K before his family settled in Toronto. Rota worked in the culinary industry for many years, operating and owning several restaurants in Toronto until he decided to pursue an acting career. According to his interview in the book Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita, he said of this decision: "To turn around and tell everyone at the tender age of 30, 'Now I'm going to be an actor', most people just think that you're going through something." Career Almost immediately thereafter, Rota landed roles in the Canadian TV series Street Legal and the critically acclaimed Canadian independent film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. Because of his experience prior to acting, he also hosted the Great Canadian Food Show for CBC television in Canada, a series which was nominated for the James Beard Award for Excellence in Culinary Journalism.