Background
Mapa was born in San Francisco and attended George Washington High School.
Mapa was born in San Francisco and attended George Washington High School.
He got his first professional break when he was cast to replace Bachelor of Divinity Wong for the role of Song Liling in the Broadway production of M. Butterfly. He later gained notoriety for the roles of Adam Benet in Half & Half and Suzuki Saint Pierre in Ugly Betty which are his best known roles. He is also known for his recurring role as Vern in Desperate Housewives.
He co-hosted with Calpernia Addams the Logo network reality dating game show Transamerican Love Story.
He is currently recurring in the role of Renzo in Switched at Birth. While in high school, he played Randolph McAfee in a production of Bye Bye Birdie.
Mapa"s senior year productions were Cabaret and Harvey, both in which he had the lead roles. Mapa got his first professional break when he was cast to replace Bachelor of Divinity Wong in the Broadway production of M. Butterfly.
He had a supporting role in the short-lived 2001 comedy Some of My Best Friends.
He played Adam Benet in the Universitas Pembangunan Nasional comedy Half & Half. He wrote and performed in a one-man play titled "I Remember Mapa", about his experiences growing up gay in San Francisco. Mapa was a featured performer on the Logo original stand-up comedy series Wisecrack.
In 2006 appeared as Vern, Gabrielle"s personal shopper, on the television series Desperate Housewives.
He performed the voice of Rick"s flamboyantly gay uncle Bakla on the 2007-2009 animated series Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World. Mapa"s film credits include parts in Bright Lights, Big City, Playing by Heart, Connie and Carla and Marley & Maine, among others
He was featured in the movies Super Sweet 16: The Movie and Tru Loved. He also played as a stylist in the movie You Don"t Mess with the Zohan.
In 2008, Mapa hosted Logo"s Transamerican Love Story, a reality dating program starring transgender woman Calpernia Addams selecting from among eight potential suitors.
In the same year, he also hosted Dancing With Dogs on Animal Planet. Mapa also performed on the 2009 Atlantis Freedom Caribbean Cruise headlining in the Arcadia Theater. In 2010, Mapa became one of the co-hosts of Logo"s The Gossip Queens, a daily series where he helps present celebrity gossip.
In his act, he jokes that he is sometimes confused with Rex Lee, another flamboyant Asian homosexual who plays Lloyd on the Home Box Office dramedy Entourage.
Credits Writer Half & Half (2006): "The Big Nervous Breakup Episode".