Hollywood veteran actor and director Kevin Alejandro has taken on a number of demanding roles over his two-decade-long career.
"I've been a terrorist. I've taken the secretary of defense hostage," Alejandro told Out Magazine, running down his television credits. "I've killed my wife, killed my baby. I've gone to prison for accidentally killing a guy instead of his father."
But his role in the CBS drama "Fire Country" may be Alejandro's biggest challenge yet.
The award-winning performer stars as Manny Perez, a fire chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. His crew is stationed in a small town in wildfire-prone Northern California, where the fires may be just as hot as the drama.
The fiery show immediately soared to popularity with the first season's premiere in 2022 and was greenlit for a second season only three months later.
The second installment of "Fire Country" is set to debut Feb. 16.
Alejandro leads the show opposite actor and co-creator Max Thieriot, who plays Bode Donovan, a convict with a troubled past who is looking to reduce his prison sentence by volunteering as a firefighter. But Bode also falls in love with the fire chief's daughter, Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila).
Chief Perez must make difficult decisions for his team while also trying to balance his own personal life, his family and town drama. But who is Alejandro, the man behind the wise and good-hearted chief?
Here's everything we know about the 47-year-old Latin American actor.
What Is Kevin Alejandro Famous For? His Early Breakout Roles
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Alejandro didn't believe he could ever make it to the big screen until his high school drama teacher encouraged him.
His teacher helped influence his love for acting during high school drama classes and showed him that following his passion could make it a reality. He told Numéro Magazine, "From there, I never stopped or looked back."
After graduating from the University of Texas, Austin with a degree in acting, the San Antonio native began performing at the National Theatre of New York. But Alejandro realized he needed to be in LA if he was ever going to fully live out his dreams. So, he sold nearly everything he owned and permanently relocated to LA.
He made his acting debut as Owen Mecklin in the murder mystery film "Purgatory Flats" (2003). From there, he accumulated a few small roles in shows such as the fantasy drama "Charmed," the action thriller "24," the legal drama "JAG" and the procedural crime drama "CSI: NY."
As his career progressed, the actor also made appearances in popular shows including "Bones," "Grey's Anatomy," "Heroes" and "Ugly Betty."
Who Is Kevin Alejandro's Wife?
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Sometime amid all that, Alejandro met his wife, filmmaker Leslie de Jesus. Sources say the pair met when Alejandro was helping a friend move into an apartment. They traded nuptials in 2004 and welcomed a son into the world in 2008.
Alejandro says his wife and child are his "biggest inspirations in life. They motivate me to want to be a better person."
In 2009, Alejandro was offered a career-changing opportunity when he took on the role of Detective Nate Moretta in the TNT cop drama "Southland."
To prepare for the role as a cop, the actor did a few ride-alongs with real law enforcement. He told KTLA in 2017 that he got into a few hairy situations while observing police in real life.
"One night in particular, we got into the middle of a 20-person gang fight at a notorious club," he said. "The guys with the shields were standing there and a helicopter above. The cop says, 'If you have to fight, fight. Protect yourself.'"
That encounter may have made his portrayal even more convincing, because he earned a spot on Entertainment Weekly's list of sexiest crime fighters of 2009.
"It adds a little bit of pressure," he told Out Magazine in 2011. "Now I always have to work out, so I don't make the ugliest crime fighters list."
The next year, Alejandro was cast in the third season of the popular vampire drama "True Blood" as the male witch and nurse Jesús Velázquez. Alejandro and his wife were actually fans of the show before he was cast in it, making the role even more thrilling.
"If you had asked me a year and a half ago whether I'd be doing this on TV, I'd have said no," he told Collider in 2011. "I would have had no clue. But I'm loving every moment of it. I just love being there. It's one of the biggest ensemble shows I've ever been a part of, and it's great."
That also led to Alejandro securing one role he's well known for, as Sebastian Blood in the superhero series "Arrow."
Kevin Alejandro Played Dan on 'Lucifer'
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After years in the industry, Alejandro's stardom finally began to skyrocket when he landed the role of Daniel Espinóza in the crime dramedy "Lucifer." Little did he know that this project would help pave the way for the next stage of his career.
"I loved how flawed Dan was," he told BuzzFeed in 2021 about his character. "He was a very morally gray character in the beginning, and he was constantly trying to prove he was a good man by the end."
Alejandro's character became a mainstay on the dramatic show for several seasons, and he even was given the opportunity to direct three episodes of the hit series.
"The one thing I learned about myself as a director while working on this show was that in the television world, if you trust the team that surrounds you to do what they do best, there's no possibility of failure," he told BuzzFeed. "It's a true collaboration."
After dipping his toes into the directing waters, Alejandro decided to jump all in. He also directed two short films, "Take Me Home" (2016) and "Bedtime Story" (2018).
The latter, starring Patrick Fischler, was awarded the Grand Jury Award at the Mammoth Film Festival, and Alejandro took home Best Director for the film at the Hollywood Short Film Festival.
Is Manny Leaving 'Fire Country'?
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Now, Alejandro may be hitting his stride in his acting and directing career after landing one of the lead roles on "Fire Country." He's back for Season 2, and we don't see Manny going anywhere anytime soon.
He told Numéro Magazine that his character, Manny, is one of the most colorful characters in the show, which is what attracted him to the series in the first place.
"He is a single father, a loyal captain and leads with his heart," Alejandro said. "I think leading with his heart is the closest similarity I have with Manny. I feel comfortable in his skin because I base a lot of my choices on how I think my own father would make his choices in his life. From the way he walks to the talk and more importantly, to the way he loves."
Though he had played numerous law enforcement roles, Alejandro said he quickly realized there would be a big difference portraying a firefighter — mainly, the training and the equipment.
"I have such a newfound respect for the fire department," he told KTLA in 2022. "I didn't know much about what they do other than saving lives when I first joined the show. Now, after going through the training they put us through, I know just how taxing it is and just how much they have to sacrifice for us to be there in times of catastrophe."
The cast was put through real-life firefighting training so they could look realistic on screen.
"Carrying an additional 35 to 40 pounds on your shoulders all day long changes your posture and changes your personality," he told KTLA. "And in some pretty dramatic weather. It's been pretty hot out here, and we're really trying to respect the fire department as much as we can, obviously in an entertaining way."
Now at the top of the call sheet, Alejandro said he's trying to take a lead on set and with the cast. He says he learned how from watching the star of "Lucifer," Tom Ellis, do the same while on that series.
"I learned from him and I took his greatest qualities to our set on 'Fire Country,'" Alejandro told Numéro Magazine. "And there wasn't a day that had gone by, regardless of how hard it was, that we didn't all laugh, hugged and embraced. We went through it together."
After directing a few episodes of "Lucifer," the crew also let Alejandro sit in the director's chair for "Fire Country." He got to take on the eighth episode of the first season, which was the midseason finale.
"Being behind the camera and acting in over 50% of the episode was a great challenge, but one I felt I handled responsibly and creatively," Alejandro said to Numéro Magazine. "Being a director is a passion I have discovered later in life, but I love it as much as I love my opportunities as an actor."
However, he admitted to the New York Post in 2022 that directing a show such as "Fire Country" was extremely different from directing "Lucifer," which was a much more picturesque show.
"Both shows are similar in a lot of aspects, but ['Fire Country'] is grittier and we're running with the actors [with a camera] and passing from actor to actor," Alejandro said. "It's not so much composing, as we did with how beautiful 'Lucifer' turned out — this is raw and gritty, and it leans into that handheld style. It's almost like documentary-style filmmaking sometimes."
Even if Alejandro hasn't had the most straightforward or easiest career, he says he doesn't regret how it panned out.
"I wouldn't change anything, because it's brought me to this point in my life now," Alejandro said. "I will invest all of myself to this show until its inevitable end."
