Román Zaragoza

Román Zaragoza
Born (1996-05-08) May 8, 1996
EducationCalifornia State University, Northridge
OccupationsActor, producer
RelativesRaye Zaragoza (sister)

Román Zaragoza (born May 8, 1996) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for portraying Sasappis, one of the main characters in the CBS sitcom series Ghosts (2021–present). Zaragoza also voices Sokka in the upcoming 2026 animated fantasy film The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender.

Biography

Román Zaragoza was born on May 8, 1996, in New York City. His father, lawyer and actor Gregory Zaragoza, is of Akimel Oʼodham and Mexican descent, and his mother, business professor Shirley Zaragoza, is of Taiwanese and Japanese descent, and emigrated from Japan.[1][2][3][4][5] He also has two sisters, including singer Raye Zaragoza.[4][6] He grew up in Manhattan, New York, and at the age of 11, his family moved to Los Angeles, California.[1][4][7] He began acting at the young age, having roles on stage, and in television commercials. At the age of 15, Zaragoza begun working with Native Voices at the Autry, a Native American theatre company.[1][8][9] He graduated from the California State University in Northridge in Los Angeles.[1]

Zaragoza appeared in television series such as Austin & Ally (2014–2015), Those Who Can't (2016), Stumptown (2019), and Spirit Rangers (2022).[10] Since 2021, he has portrayed Sasappis, one of the main characters in the CBS sitcom series Ghosts.[11][8] In 2022, he was also producer and actor in the short film This Is Their Land, recounting the events of the Modoc War of 1872, between the Modoc people and the United States Army in Northern California.[8][12] Zaragoza also voices Sokka in the upcoming 2026 animated fantasy film The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender.[13][14]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Everyday Kid Russell Television film
2014–2015 Austin & Ally Miles Television series; 3 episodes
2015 Being Bryan Ron Short film
The Oblivious Max Short film
Studio City Teenager Television film
You Could Be Happy Garrett Short film
2016 Those Who Can't Todd Television series; episode: "White Guilt Trip"
2017 30 seconds Don Short film
2019 Shadow Wolves Junior Feature film
Stumptown Leigh Green Television series; episode: "The Other Woman"
2021 Abides Jack Short film
2021–2025 Ghosts Sasappis Television series; main role; 71 episodes
2022 Spirit Rangers Miy Television series; voice; 2 episodes
This Is Their Land Young Modoc person Short film; also producer
2023 Gone Native Narrator Television series; voice; episode: "Dear legendary horror author Stephen King, instead of using Indian Burial Grounds in your books, have you thought of using European burial grounds?"
2024 Window Breaker Fence Short film
2026 The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender Sokka Feature film; voice; upcoming

References

  1. ^ a b c d Max Gao (24 February 2022). "Román Zaragoza on 'Ghosts' and Growing Native Representation in Mainstream Media". observer.com.
  2. ^ Juan Ayala (May 24, 2022). "AAPI Actors Roundtable: Kian Talan, Román Zaragoza, Soji Arai and Saylor Bell Curda (Podcast)". mediavillage.com.
  3. ^ "Román Zaragoza". tvinsider.com.
  4. ^ a b c "Román Zaragoza. Bio". romanzaragoza.com.
  5. ^ Taylor Heussner (June 15, 2018). "Raye Zaragoza Didn't Choose to Be a Political Songwriter". westword.com.
  6. ^ Rachel Cholst (June 30, 2022). "Artist to Watch: Raye Zaragoza". theboot.com.
  7. ^ "Global Music Awards Heretic Award for Protest/Activist Music".
  8. ^ a b c "CBS 'Ghosts' Actor Román Zaragoza On New Role, The Outdoors, And Upcoming Project". newscenemagazine.com. February 26, 2022.
  9. ^ Debra Wallace (September 29, 2022). "'Ghosts' Star Román Zaragoza Shares His Two Favorite Episodes and How He Measures His Worth in Hollywood". parade.com.
  10. ^ "Romáb Zaragoza". imdb.com.
  11. ^ Nellie Andreeva; Denise Petski (December 9, 2020). "'Ghosts': Danielle Pinnock, Asher Grodman, Richie Moriarty, Sheila Carrasco & Román Zaragoza Join CBS Comedy Pilot As It Starts Production". deadline.com.
  12. ^ "Film Screening and Q&A of 'Modoc Nation' & 'This is Their Land' on March 14th 2023". colorado.edu. March 2, 2023.
  13. ^ Sabina Graves (April 11, 2024). "Aang: The Last Airbender Movie Has Found Its Cast, Including Dave Bautista". gizmodo.com.
  14. ^ Jessica Wang (April 11, 2024). "Aang: The Last Airbender, the first animated movie in Avatar trilogy, will follow Aang as an adult". ew.com.