Sebastian Arcelus

Sebastian Carlos Arcelus (born November 5, 1976) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Lucas Goodwin in the Netflix TV series House of Cards (2013–2016) and Jay Whitman in the CBS TV series Madam Secretary (2014–2019). Arcelus began his acting career in the early 2000s and spent the first decade of his career on Broadway, having played Roger in Rent, Fiyero in Wicked, Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys, and Buddy in Elf, among other roles.

Arcelus was born in New York City, New York, the son of Nobile Fiammetta Farace di Villaforesta (b. Budapest, Hungary, February 19, 1940) and Victor Carlos Arcelus.[1] He is a first generation American, and is of Uruguayan descent on his father’s side and of Italian, Russian, Serbian and German descent on his mother’s.[2] Through his mother, he is descended from Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (his great-great-great-great grandfather) and is a distant cousin of Prince Charles (third cousin once removed) and Prince William (fourth cousin) of the United Kingdom. He is bilingual in Spanish and English.[2]

Arcelus grew up in Port Washington on Long Island, New York.[2] He attended Williams College and graduated in 1999 with a degree in political science.