Raphael Sbarge

Raphael Sbarge (b. 1964) is an actor who briefly appeared as one of the Kids on Sesame Street:

“I was attending a progressive pre-school in Manhattan when some producers from Sesame Street came around to look for very young talent. I guess they picked me because I was cute. It was fun, but faded away quickly. It wasn't until six years later that I found out that my mother had turned down a contract offer from Sesame Street - she didn't want me in show business before I was able to make up my own mind.”

In another interview, he said:

“It’s kind of random, honestly. It was the first year of Sesame Street, we were living in NYC; I was going to public school on the Lower East side, (close to where they were shooting) and they were looking for kids… I was 4½, and just happened to be there. I still have vivid memories of my time on the set, meeting Oscar, Big Bird, Mr. Hooper. Ultimately, I became a huge fan of the show, as well— I learned my alphabet on Sesame Street!”

One segment in Episode 0076 included Sbarge sitting on a donkey and talking about the difference between donkeys and horses with Mr. Hooper; another included Bob singing to the kids on the steps of 123 Sesame Street in Episode 0086.

Sbarge's later film credits include playing the male lead in the 1993 killer dinosaur movie Carnosaur, and smaller roles in Vision Quest, My Science Project, Independence Day, Pearl Harbor, and Home Room. In television, Sbarge played Jake Straka on the drama The Guardian for three seasons. He also starred on the short-lived teen drama Better Days in 1986, played Tom Sawyer as a cocky lawyer in the TV movie Back to Hannibal, voiced the DC Comics character Deadman in an episode of Justice League, played Ray Wallace for four episodes of 24, and had guest spots on The Cosby Show, three CSI shows, Will & Grace, and The Closer. He had a recurring role on Star Trek: Voyager as the Maquis Michael Jonas and was a cast member on Once Upon a Time as Archie Hopper/Jiminy Cricket.

External links

• Official site
• Internet Broadway Database
• IMDb