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‘Cleaning Lady’ and ‘Designated Survivor’ Actor Adan Canto Dead at 42 After Cancer Battle
The Cleaning Lady star Adan Canto has died following a secret battle with appendiceal cancer. He was 42.
“Adan had a depth of spirit that few truly knew,” his UTA, Viewpoint and Entertainment360 representatives told Deadline in a statement on Tuesday, January 9. “Those who glimpsed it were changed forever. He will be greatly missed by so many.”
Adan played gangster Arman Morales opposite Elodie Yung’s Thony in the first two seasons of the Fox drama. He was unable to take part in production of season 3 when it began in December 2023 following the end of the Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild strikes, as his health was too fragile.
He hoped to rejoin the show later in the season, but now the series will pay tribute to Adan with an onscreen tribute card when the new season premieres in March.
Fans of The Cleaning Lady took to X to mourn his loss. “We never get another kiss,” one person wrote alongside screengrabs of Arman and Thony in a passionate scene. Another commented, “I’m so f–king heartbroken. Adan Canto was one of my favorite actors. Fell in love with him the moment he walked on the screen as Arman Morales. Literal irreplaceable talent.”
Alongside a series of broke heart emojis, another viewer wrote, “Just beyond heartbreaking. So young and so darn talented. Can’t believe our Arman is gone. RIP Adan.”
Adan became a familiar face to audiences when he landed a cast position on ABC’s Designated Survivor in 2016, playing Vice President Aaron Shore to Kiefer Sutherland‘s President Tom Kirkman. He appeared in all 53 episodes of the show, which ran for three seasons.
Born in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico in 1981, Adan was later raised in Texas but returned to his home country at 16 to pursue a career in music. He spent five years working as the lead singer for the jazz band Del Canto in Mexico City before turning to work in acting. He landed a few commercials before snagging a role on the series Estado de Gracia.
Adan made his American television debut in 2013 on the Fox drama The Following. The next year, he landed his first major film role, playing Sunspot in X-Men: Days of Future Past. His other acting credits include Narcos, Blood & Oil and The Chance.
He met future wife, artist Stephanie Lindquist, in 2012 and the pair tied the knot in 2017. He leaves behind their children, son Roman Alder and daughter Eve Josephine.
