'Devotion is everything': Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito converts to Islam

“In your country, Muhammad is everything. For me, it’s the same,” proclaimed American actor Giancarlo Esposito on the red carpet as he was promoting a new film in Morocco.

Speaking to Radio Abraham while holding a set of what appeared to be Islamic prayer beads, he said: "To me, devotion is everything. To be devoted and understand that there is one God, one Allah."

He praised Moroccans' "devotion to goodness, grace and God energy" and said this made him feel that Moroccans are "a mirror" for him, adding that during his visit to the country he is “seeing the truth".

The award-winning actor, director and producer, best known for his Emmy award-nominated role as drug kingpin Gus Fring in the television series Breaking Bad, was visiting the North African country to promote the release of the Saudi Arabian action film 7 Dogs. He features in the Arabic-language action film as Roman, an antiquities dealer connected to the upper echelons of the crime syndicate known as 7 Dogs. 

A video of him praying in the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca caused the news of his decision to embrace Islam to erupt on social media.

The video was shared in a post on X on Saturday by Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority for the government of Saudi Arabia.

So far attracting 13.1 million views, his post described how Esposito reportedly decided to become Muslim after his time spent in Saudi Arabia while filming 7 Dogs. The video shows Esposito praying alongside several colleagues from the production team for the film, led by Alalshikh.

In a separate interview with magazine Lalla Fatema at the film’s premiere in Casablanca on 17 June - released several days before the video of him praying - he said that the first place he went during his visit was the mosque “and prayed there”.

Although he has not personally confirmed it, social media was flooded with positive reactions to the news, particularly among Arabic language speakers.

Translation: By God, this is the best news of the day Esposito converted to Islam and pronounced the testimony of faith, may God make him steadfast, o Lord. 

One user wrote: “One of the most shocking and heartwarming news stories at the same time. Uncle Gustavo Fring from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul embraces Islam. Praise be to God, that God guides whom He wills.”

Another shared a photo of the actor, writing: “That’s it, he’s the best actor.”

Many Muslim users took to Instagram to write positive comments across several of his most recent posts, welcoming him to the faith.

Other social media users reacted positively with humour, sharing memes referencing his roles across various shows and depicting his characters as Muslim.

One popular post on X shows an old photo of Esposito standing next to the logo of the fictional restaurant Los Pollos Hermanos, owned by his character Gus Fring in Breaking Bad, which was replaced by the logo for the popular Saudi fried chicken chain Albaik.

Reddit users took a similarly light-hearted approach, with one writing: “Los Pollos will now be serving halal chicken.”

Middle East Eye reached out to Esposito for comment, but he did not respond by the time of publication.