Adan Canto, the Mexican-American actor who starred Designated Survivor, The Cleaning Lady, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and other hit shows, died Monday after a silent battle with appendiceal cancer, wrote The Hollywood Reporter, citing a rep. He was 42.
Canto, who was married and had two young children, most recently starred as Arman Morales, the male lead for the first two seasons of Fox’s The Cleaning Lady.
Deadline reported that Canto’s health prevented him from acting in the season’s third show, which began filming following the end of the strikes. The show is planning to pay tribute to Canto with a card in the Season 3 premiere.
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Prior to that role, Canto starred on Designated Survivor, where he portrayed Vice President-elect Aaron Shore alongside Kiefer Sutherland, and as the real-life politician Rodrigo Lara Bonilla in Netflix’s Narcos.
Other roles included him playing Sunspot in X-Men: Days of Future Past, as well as roles in 2 Hearts, Bruised, and Agent Game.
Prior to acting, Canto, a Mexico native who was raised in Texas, wrote songs for several Mexican TV shows and films, Variety reported. His first TV role was on Estado de Gracia in 2009, when he was 28.
It’s unclear how long Canto battled cancer prior to his death.
Warner Bros. Television and Fox Entertainment released a joint statement about Canto, who they described as a “wonderful actor and dear friend.”
“We were honored to have him as part of the Warner Bros. Television and Fox Entertainment families,” the statement said. “This is an unfathomable loss, and we grieve alongside his wife Stephanie, their children and loved ones. We will miss Adan dearly.”
