Alberto Rosende

Florida-based actor Alberto Rosende earned his big break as an endearingly geeky sidekick to a demon-fighting high schooler on the popular series "Shadowhunters" (Freeform 2016- ). Born Alberto Carlos Rosende in South Florida on February 14, 1993, he began acting at a young age in local children's theater and continued to perform in school productions at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale. While pursuing his degree in acting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Rosende made his screen debut as a dancer in a 2013 short, "The Swing of Things." Soon after, he earned his bachelor's degree and made his professional acting debut in a 2015 episode of "Blue Bloods" (CBS, 2010- ) and logged additional appearances in episodic dramas before landing his breakout role on "Shadowhunters." The fantasy-drama, based on the "Mortal Instruments" novels by Cassandra Clare, concerned a teenager (Katherine McNamara) who discovered that she was a member of a supernatural group assigned to protect humanity from evil forces; Rosende was cast as Simon, McNamara's best friend and frequent partner on her fight against demonic forces.