Instagram: @albertorosende

Tell us a about your story? Who is ALBERTO the actor and ALBERTO as a person? 

Who is Alberto the person? Who is Alberto the actor? These are questions I find difficult to answer. I believe I’m still on the journey to discovering that and that journey is never complete. I also do not believe the 2 to be mutually exclusive. Alberto the person is Alberto the actor, they both influence each other, they both teach each other, and they both love to tell stories. I guess you can say that is at the core of “my story”. Ever since I was kid, I loved to tell stories and connect with people. 

Where are you originally from? 

I am originally from South Florida. I grew up in a town called Plantation just west of Fort Lauderdale. 

Do you remember your first acting audition and gig? How and when did acting start for you? 

I actually do remember my first audition. It was for the role of Michael, the baby brother, in a summer production of Peter Pan. I, at the time, was a 9 year old athlete, theatre was not even on my radar. One day my aunt asked me if I wanted to do a play. I had no idea what a play was but decided to try it out. At the audition, they had me do a basic dance step then they asked me to sing Happy Birthday and that was it. I went home. Later that night, the director called my house, my mom answered and after, excitedly put me on the phone. I remember he said he had to ask me 2 questions. The first was to see if I was afraid of heights to which I replied no not at all. The second question was if I wanted to fly. I said yes, immediately. That was the beginning of my life as an actor. Now, I did not seriously decide that it was what I wanted to do with my life until much later when I was around 15, 16 years old. 

How is it like to play as “Simon Lewis” in Shadow Hunters and how did you land the role?  

I love playing the role of Simon Lewis. It’s a dream come true to play a character that changes and goes through so much. I originally auditioned for the role in NYC then I went to Los Angeles for a couple more rounds of auditions. 

Tell us more about your character, Simon Lewis, in Shadow Hunters: 

Simon is the best friend you could ask for. He is extremely loyal, caring and brave. He is also someone you can always trust. That doesn’t mean he has it all figured out though. At the end of last season, he was really trying to balance figuring out his place as the only Daylighter alive and trying to have a normal life.  

What is your craziest and most memorable acting experience so far? 

In high school, I was once in a production of A Christmas Carol playing the role of the Ghost of Christmas Present. We were not performing with live accompaniment but rather a CD. One performance, in the middle of my big musical number, right before the whole chorus came on stage for the big dance number, the CD skipped and restarted the song. Thankfully I was on stage with a super talented friend of mine, playing Scrooge and rather than admit something wrong happened, we improvised an entire scene until we found our place in the music and were able to organically continue with the chorus jumping in right on cue. It was amazing. It was such a lesson in “yes and” and it drove home the rule that the show must go on.  

Are there any particular actor/s who inspired you?  How do you think of yourself as a positive source of inspiration to the fans?

Absolutely! Every actor I have watched has inspired me in some fashion. Marlon Brando is my favorite actor. I also am a huge fan of Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal…the list definitely goes on. I do feel very blessed to be alive right now not only with all of the super talented actors currently working but also with the ability to see a lot of their work so easily at home. So much is available to us now and I guess that’s why I feel more of a responsibility to be a positive source of inspiration for my fans. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be this connected to my favorite actors growing up, to have this opportunity through social media.  So I now take that opportunity seriously. I love that I can inspire even one person to push themselves to learn something new or read a new book. 

What is your greatest achievement in your career so far? 

Other than landing the role of Simon, I would have to say my biggest achievement was making the decision that this life is what I wanted before I knew anything about acting. I knew I loved it but to make it my life, to choose this industry and lifestyle is not an easy thing to do when all you hear growing up is how hard it is and how the chances of success are rather slim. But, coming to the realization that this was my passion and my dream then choosing to follow it rather than listen to the critics is a huge achievement in and that of itself. To believe in yourself wholeheartedly over and over again, I would say nothing comes close to that.  

If you aren’t acting, what are you doing?

I recently started taking pictures. So lately I’ve been going on walks and doing just that. I also love to travel. This summer, my brother and I traveled through part of Europe together. We both love to explore new places and learn about their cultures. I also workout and I love to read. This year I started a book club on Instagram with my fans. 

How do you balance your time? 

Honestly, it’s always a work in progress and rarely does a day truly go as planned. Although, what has been working lately for me has been making myself a to do list and trying to create as much routine as possible with our shooting schedule. I write down things that I have to accomplish before the end of the day and I do my best to get them done.  

What is your dream role? Dream project?  

I would absolutely love to work on a Marvel project. 

Any upcoming projects that can get your fans excited? 

My brother and I have a documentary coming out soon! It is having a pre-screening in October at Indie Pasion Film Festival in Miami. I am also currently shooting Shadowhunters Season 3 which has been super amazing. 

Top 3 songs that define your career at the moment:

Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra 

California by the Lagoons

Orchards by James Boland 

TV shows or movies that inspired you acting career? 

My family actually has a few family movies that are amazing. Moonstruck is my family’s movie and it is my favorite movie of all time. I watch it whenever I’m home. When I was a kid, one activity I remember us doing as a family was watching TV or a movie, together. I love how it brought us together and I think that feeling around movies like Moonstruck definitely helped inspire me. I loved Mad Men and I remember being inspired by it in college. 

Book you're currently reading.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Follow my book club account @rosendereads

If you’re going to have a book what title would it be?  

Secluded Gardens 

If you had the chance and opportunity to help a specific charity, what would it be and why?  

I would love to work with charities that help with Men’s health issues such as testicular cancer of which I was diagnosed in 2013. 

Best decision you made in the past 24 hours? 

Today I went out, I explored and I took some great photos. 

Any advice you can give to any aspiring actors out there? 

Believe in yourself. Trust yourself and know that everyone is always learning. So work hard and watch and read as much as you can.  

Catch Alberto as Simon on SHADOWHUNTERS on Freeform!