Adan Canto, a Mexican musician and actor, died at the age of 42. Canto was best known for his roles in Netflix‘s Designated Survivor, where he starred as Vice President-elect and Fox’s The Cleaning Lady, where he played a gangster. Canto passed away yesterday, January 8th, after a quiet battle with appendiceal cancer that prevented him from starring in The Cleaning Lady season 3. According to Fox, the Season 3 premiere of the show will pay homage to Adan Canto in its title card.
‘Designated Survivor’ Star Adan Canto Dies, Age 42
Born in 1981, Adan Canto got his first taste of stardom as a 16-year-old musician in Mexico City. He starred in various foreign films before making his break in the 2013 Fox drama The Following (2013). Canto starred as Paul Torres, a follower of notorious serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy). Later on, Adan Canto also starred as Sunspot in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Minister Lara in Netflix’s Narcos (2015), and AJ Menendez in ABC’s Blood & Oil (2015).
In 2016, Adan Canto entered one of his most well-known roles in Netflix’s Designated Survivor. He would star as Aaron Shore, the Chief of Staff-turned-Vice President-elect for Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland), the Housing & Urban Development Secretary who unexpectedly becomes President after the government is attacked. After Designated Survivor concluded in 2019 after three seasons, Adan Canto would move on to Fox’s The Cleaning Lady, which has two seasons so far. Canto played gangster Arman Morales, who agrees to protect Thorny De La Rosa (Elodie Yung) as she works to save her sick son.
Production on season 3 of The Cleaning Lady began in December. However, Canto’s battle with appendiceal cancer prevented him from joining the new season. Adan Canto’s role in The Cleaning Lady would be his last, as he lost his battle with cancer on January 8th, 2024. In a statement after his death, Fox called Canto a “wonderful actor and dear friend,” while his own reps said he will “be greatly missed.”
Adan Canto is survived by his wife of seven years, Stephanie Ann Canto, and their young children, Roman Adler Canto and Eve Josephine Canto.
