Francis Capra is a popular American actor, who is perhaps best known from his portrayals of Max Connor in “Kazaam”, and Eli ‘Weevil’ Navarro in “Veronica Mars” series. He had a hard childhood, but the difficulties only inspired him to achieve more goals in life.
Early life and family
Francis Capra was born on 22 April 1983, in The Bronx, New York City USA, so his zodiac sign is Taurus, and he holds American nationality, but is of Italian and Dominican descent. His mother’s name is Ann Marie Capra; for a long time, she was the only one who took care of the whole family, as her husband, Francis’ father, spent most of his life in jail. Francis rarely saw him, and could hardly remember anything positive about his father.
He spent his childhood growing-up alongside his sisters, Chanel and Ava, and his brother, Asa John. In 2003 when Francis was 20 years old, he lost his father, as he was accidentally shot during a street fight. ‘Unfortunately, I never knew my father and when I did, it was very briefly. He was incarcerated for most of my life <…> I think that even though my father wasn’t there, in his death and in his memory, he has been a mentor to me in my manhood because my mom couldn’t teach me how to be a man’, Francis shared in a blog posted on his personal website.
When a kid, Francis liked playing basketball and even wanted to become a professional player. However, he was too short to join any professional team, so he enjoyed playing his favorite game with his friends from the neighborhood.
His brother Asa John is an illustrator and animator; his sister Ava is an actress and model, working in Los Angeles, and participated in the popular show “America’s Next Top Model” in its Cycle 22.
Francis’ sister, actress and screenwriter Chanel Capra
Francis’ elder sister, Chanel Capra was born on 25 June 1978, in New York USA. She started her acting career in 1995, when she landed an episodic role in the movie “Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home”, portraying a teenage girl walking in the park. in 2001 Chanel appeared as a party girl in “The Andy Dick Show” episode “Andy Land”, then after a couple years without any offers from directors, Chanel decided to try herself as a screenwriter. In 2003 she wrote the script to the movie “Nora’s Hair Salon”, released in May 2004, starring Tatyana Ali, Bobby Brown and Kristian Bernard, also having the famous female rapper Lil’ Kim as a guest star.
In 2005 the movie “In the Mix”, starring the popular hip-hop and R&B performer Usher, was based on the story Chanel wrote for the project; she also co-produced the film. In 2008 Chanel wrote the script for the sequel to “Nora’s Hair Salon”, also appearing in the movie as Rosio. In 2010 Chanel was a location manager for the TV Movie documentary “Nicki Minaj: My Time Now”.
Educational background
Francis had troubles studying in high school, due to various issues in his family; they experienced hard times and never had enough money to live comfortably. However, Francis managed to matriculate from his local Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School in The Bronx, in 2001. There is no information on his further education; presumably he skipped college to pursue his acting career.
Career
First steps in acting career
Francis debuted in the movie “A Bronx Tale” when he was only nine years old – he was noticed personally by Robert De Niro, and appeared in the film as Calogero ‘C’ Anello, for which he was nominated as “Best Youth Actor Co-Starring in a Motion Picture Drama” by Young Artist Award. In 1995 he appeared as Elvis in “Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home” alongside with his sister Chanel, and also landed the role in a short music video of Michael Jackson “Childhood”, appearing opposite Erika Christensen, then aged 13, who is now also a successful actress, starring in such movies as “To Have and to Hold” and “Anything for Love”.
From 1996 to 2001 Francis appeared in various TV series, mostly landing episodic roles; thus, he could be seen in “My Guys” as Francis DeMarco, in “413 Hope St.” as Tony Garrett, and even in “Walker, Texas Ranger”, in which he played Ace in the episode “Division Street” (2001). He also played Tony in “So Little Time” in 2001, and Jesus Rosales in one of the episodes of “The Shield” in 2002. After appearing in “The O.C” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, in 2003 Francis finally landed his first recurring role in the series “American Dreams”, portraying Palladino. He became even more recognized after landing another recurring role as Eli “Weevil” Navarro in the series “Veronica Mars”, from 2004.
Further success
From 2005 Francis was invited to show up in such projects as series “Blind Justice”, “The Closer” drama series, and also in the episode “Children of the Dark” of the “Criminal Minds” series.
From 2006 to 2008, he played Jesse Murphy in the sci-fi drama “Heroes”. After landing supporting roles in “Blood and Bones” (2009), “Rampart” (2011) and “Clear Skies 3” (2011), Francis reprised his role as Eli “Weevil” Navarro in “Veronica Mars”, but for that time it was an eponymous movie, released in 2014, starring Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni and Jason Dohring. Among Francis’ latest work one could notice his role of Baron in several episodes of “iZombie” (2018 – 2019); he also continues filming for “Veronica Mars” series.
Other endeavors
Together with his friend De’Aundre Bonds, Francis founded a company entitled “Take Off Productions”.
Francis helped his friends a lot, as Bonds spent eleven years in prison for manslaughter, and couldn’t find a job, even though he earlier worked as an actor, appearing as Evan “Smooth” Jr. in “Get on the Bus”, directed by Spike Lee; he also could be seen in “The Wood”, “Gangster Squad” and “Tales from the Hood”.
Personal life, wife Nora
Francis and his Nora have lived together for a very long time, but don’t’ share any kids. However, they share mutual interests and hobbies, such as computer games, “Dungeon and Dragons” and other trading card games. Both Francis and Nora are collectors of action figures of the Transformers characters. As Francis keeps information about his private life low-key, he was rumored to be gay, but he denied these gossips, posting pictures with his wife, proving he had straight sexual orientation.
Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts
Francis enjoys playing such computer and video games as “World of Warcraft”, “GTA” and “Transformers: Earth Wars”. He even streams his gaming process on his Twitch channel, “Seize7”. Francis likes eating out, especially at McDonalds – his favorite drink is Coke!
Appearance, clothing style
Francis enjoys being bold, though he has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Francis is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighs around 154lbs (70kgs). He has over 18 tattoos; among them tributes to his father and his siblings.
Net worth and salary
As of 2020, Francis Capra is reported to have a net worth of approximately $1.2 million.