Kevin Alejandro

A true working man of television, Kevin Alejandro made a name for himself by rolling up his sleeves to play cops, detectives, attorneys, and sometimes bad guys, but it was his role as a male-nurse-cum-witch on the scandalous and bloodthirsty series "True Blood" (HBO, 2008-) that catapulted him to the next level.

As the twinkly-eyed love interest of Lafayette, Alejandro brought heart and charm to the role of Jesus Velasquez, portraying a realistic gay relationship that depicted a sweet love story amidst a bloodbath of ongoing chaos and supernatural storylines. After being brought on for a full-time role, his performance earned him a nomination at the Imagen Awards, which honors Latino actors and actresses.

This wasn't the first time this Texan native dabbled with a supernatural or gay role. He played an evil demon on the early-aughts series, "Charmed" (The WB, 1998-2006) and a gay hustler on "Big Love" (HBO, 2006-2011). Playing a gay role can be tricky territory for a Hispanic actor, but Alejandro received praise from critics and fans alike, and is a proud supporter of Cindy Lauper's "Give A Damn Campaign," which supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

Born in San Antonio, TX on April 7, 1976, Alejandro lived in and out of shelters for battered women and children with his mother until he was eight, when his mother married his stepfather and the family moved to the small town of Snyder in West Texas where he was raised. His love of acting was greatly encouraged by the legendary drama teacher Jerry Worsham, of whom he later named a scholarship fund after for underprivileged theater students.

Alejandro was then offered a scholarship to University of Texas in Austin after winning an award in the University Interscholastic League competition for his role of Oberon in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." After school, he followed the path of many young-hopefuls before him, selling his belongings and high-tailing it to Los Angeles where he landed a regular spot on the long-running soap, "The Young and the Restless" (CBS, 1973-).

As the soap stint ended, Alejandro put in his time, making numerous guest appearances on "CSI" (CBS, 2002-), "NCIS" (CBS, 2003-) and other acronym-driven network shows, he landed a recurring role on the political thriller drama "Sleeper Cell" (Showtime, 2005-2006) as a Latino gang member. While his bad-boy role wasn't breaking any stereotypes, he quickly racked up the TV credits: with the mini-series "Drive" (FOX, 2007), featuring a then unknown Emma Stone, the feel-good series "Ugly Betty" (ABC, 2006-2010) and the cop drama "Southland" (TNT, 2009-).

He guest-appeared on countless dramas, lending his mega-watt smile to primetime television, but his flip from gang-banger to gang detective Nate Moretta finally moved him up the ranks and earned him a loyal fan-base. When "Southland" was put on hiatus, Alejandro jumped ship to Alan Ball's "True Blood" and had to quickly leave the TNT show to make room for his new grueling shooting schedule on HBO. Though his role on "True Blood" didn't continue, Alejandro already had his badge back on for the innovative new cop drama "Golden Boy" (CBS, 2013-) from the producers of "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005).

Having steadily worked in television since his debut, Alejandro appeared in Kevin Smith's religious cult thriller "Red State" in 2011, opposite John Goodman and Melissa Leo.