Rafael Antonio Vasquez was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. At 3 years old, he found himself in front of his church congregation singing solos and singing with older children. He fell in love with seeing the communal aspect of putting something together and seeing and the feeling of an audience reaction is what really inspired him to continue to become an actor. It was from there he realized that performing was what he was going to do for the rest of his life. It was shows like Saturday Night Live, Will & Grace, Friends, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer that helped Rafael realize his love of comedy at a very young age. He counts Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg as inspirations. When he was 12, Rafael saw the HBO Limited Series, Angels In America and couldn't believe what he saw. Jeffrey Wright jumped off the screen and has been a huge inspiration since then. With Whoopi and Jeffrey, he saw people who he identified with and who opened doors for him. Rafael attended CUNY Brooklyn College where he got his B.A. in Theatre Arts, as well as receiving an A.A. in Performing Arts from CUNY Kingsborough College. It was there that he found his love and passion for acting.