Kiefer Sutherland and Adan Canto in ‘Designated Survivor’
Sven Frenzel / ©ABC / courtesy Everett Collection
Family and friends of Adan Canto took to social media on Tuesday to remember the actor following news that The Cleaning Lady and Designated Survivor star died of cancer at age 42.
“Forever my treasure Adan, see you soon,” Stephanie Canto, Adan’s wife, wrote on Instagram. She paired the message with a passage from Matthew 6:19-21 and a photo of the couple together.
Canto died Tuesday of appendiceal cancer, his rep told The Hollywood Reporter. His diagnosis had not been made public.
“Adan had a depth of spirit that few truly knew. Those who glimpsed it were changed forever,” read a statement. “He will be greatly missed by so many.”
Along with his wife, he is survived by their two children, Roman Alder, 3, and Eve Josephine, 1.
Canto was known by many as Aaron Shore on Netflix’s Designated Survivor, the White House Chief of Staff-turned-Vice President to Kiefer Sutherland‘s Tom Kirkman. Sutherland expressed his condolences and grief at Canto’s death via Instagram on Tuesday.
“He was such a wonderful spirit,” Sutherland wrote of his co-star. “As an actor his desire to do well, to be great, and then do better, was truly impressive and he will be greatly missed.”
Sutherland continued, “I am also heartbroken for his wife, Steph and his two young children. Adan, may you rest in peace.”
More recently, Canto played Arman Morales for two seasons on Fox’s The Cleaning Lady. The series is currently filming its third season, but Canto was not involved in the upcoming season due to his health.
“He’ll always be our Arman,” the Fox TV account posted on social media Tuesday. A statement from Warner Bros. Television and FOX Entertainment described his death as an “unfathomable loss,” and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Fox will honor Canto with a title card when the show returns on March 5.
Sean Lew, Canto’s The Cleaning Lady co-star, wrote on Instagram Stories that he was “honored to be” the actor’s castmate, adding he was “one of the coolest people” and that the team will “continue the show in honor of you.”
Shiva Negar, also part of the show’s cast, also posted a series of photos of her character alongside Canto’s, writing “I can’t, I just can’t.”
In addition to his roles in Designated Survivor and The Cleaning Lady, Canto played real-life politician Rodrigo Lara Bonia in the first season of Netflix’s drug cartel series Narcos, and also appeared in ABC’s Blood and Oil and Fox’s The Following.
In film, he held roles in Agent Game, Bruised, X-Men: Days of Future Past. Canto was born in Mexico and raised in Texas. He was also a singer, guitarist and filmmaker.
Read more tributes below.