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Growing up in a rough area in the South Bronx, Robert Alfaro dreamed of either being a police officer or on TV. But now Alfaro, a Public Safety officer, is doing both.
Alfaro, who began working at the university in July of last year, is also a former member of the Hartford Police Department, a professional model and actor, mounted police instructor, salsa instructor, personal trainer, competitive bodybuilder, writer, inventor and motivational speaker.
But Alfaro’s most recent triumph was an appearance in Showtime’s “Billions.” He has been acting and modeling professionally for the past 24 years. He has had roles in shows such as “Orange is the New Black,” and “Law and Order.”
“I’ve done tons of movies, shows – nothing major. I’ve been in quite a few independent movies and commercials,” Alfaro said.
He first started modeling in 1992,swiss replica watches when he was noticed by a photographer/reporter at a local gym in Hartford. The photographer/reporter was looking for someone in good shape to do an underwear ad for the Hartford Courant and approached Alfaro with the opportunity.
“I thought about it, came back a couple days later, and I told her, ‘I’m gonna do it,’ and the next thing you know, this full-page ad came out in the newspaper like a week later, in Sunday’s paper,” Alfaro said.
Before coming to Quinnipiac, Alfaro worked at the Hartford Police Department, and his fellow officers got a kick out of seeing the ad in the paper.
“It was a great experience, so from that little piece of paper – the ad that I had – I wanted to continue modeling,” Alfaro said.
And so he did.
Alfaro got in contact with a friend who was also a model, and from there was connected to the same agency.
“And then – that was in 1992 – I just kept going from there,” Alfaro said. “I started doing all sorts of ads. I was doing runway, and from that agency I expanded to other agencies. And to this day, I have six modeling agencies in different states that I work with.”
As a result of his modeling career, Alfaro’s acting career was born shortly thereafter. While working on an ad with a female model, she gave Alfaro a glimpse into the acting world – and a way to break into it.
Alfaro sent his resume and a headshot to the casting director and waiting to hear back if he got a part in anything. And, sure enough, he did.
“It was for this show called ‘New York Undercover’ back in the early ‘90s, and so sure enough I sent it in, and in a couple weeks, I got a small little part in that show, and that just got me going, and I kept going from there,” Alfaro said.
All of this was a dream come true for Alfaro who, growing up in a gang- and drug-infested neighborhood in the South Bronx, always aspired to be a police officer, as well as be on TV.
“My grandfather was a police officer,” he said. “I had other family members who were police officers, so I always wanted to be a police officer. But also, besides that, I always toyed with the idea of ‘Wow, it would be great to be on TV, and be an actor as well.’”
Growing up, Alfaro had many idols – one of those being the Lone Ranger.
“[The Lone Ranger]…was a deputy sheriff, and he would go after the bad guys on horseback. So wouldn’t you know it, I made my dream come true – I became a police officer, and five and a half years into my police career, they decided to open up a mounted unit in Hartford,” Alfaro said. “I applied and they took me in, and before you know it, I made my dream come true…because I also became a mounted cop, just like my idol.”
After accomplishing a lot of his dreams, one of Alfaro’s goals is to inspire others to chase their dreams. He has performed speeches for youth in urban areas, as well as for the criminal justice program at Quinnipiac. Alfaro also runs his website, www.robertoalfaro.com.
One of the greatest satisfactions Alfaro gets from his career is knowing that his story can inspire others to pursue their dreams as well.
“I like to make a difference. I like to help people out,” he said. “It makes me feel good when I make a difference in someone’s life.”
