Profile Text
Skarlatos – “The 15:17 to Paris” World Premiere – Arrivals – SJR Theater at Warner Bros. Studios, 4000 Warner Boulevard, Bldg. #4 – Burbank, CA, USA, 2018 – Photo Credit: Izumi Hasegawa / PRPhotos.com
Birth Name: Aleksander Reed Skarlatos
Place of Birth: Castro Valley, Alameda, California, United States
Date of Birth: October 10, 1992
Ethnicity: * father – Greek * mother – German, French-Canadian, English, Azorean Portuguese
Alek Skarlatos is an American U.S. Army National Guard soldier, actor, television personality, and politician. A Republican, he has been a Member of the Oregon House of Representatives, since January 13, 2025, and Deputy Minority Leader of the Oregon House of Representatives, since October 1, 2025. He was in the U.S. Army, from 2012 to 2017; reaching the rank of Specialist. Along with Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, and three others, he stopped a gunman on a Paris-bound train travelling from Amsterdam via Brussels in August 2015. He was awarded the Army’s Soldier’s Medal from U.S. President Barack Obama. He became an honorary naturalized French citizen in 2018. Alek, Spencer, and Anthony all played themselves in the Clint Eastwood-directed film based on the incident, The 15:17 to Paris .
Alek is the son of Heidi and Emanuel Skarlatos. His father was born in Greece. His mother is American, and has German, French-Canadian, English, and Azorean Portuguese ancestry. Alek was raised in Sacramento County, California. He is a Lutheran.
Alek’s maternal grandfather was Nicholas J. Neuburger (who likely was the son of David Grandon “Dave” Neuburger and Theresa/Teresa Marie Marse/Masse). David was the son of John H. Neuburger, whose parents were German, and of Elizabeth Foster. Theresa was born in Canada, the daughter of Louis Masse and Rose Renaud.
Alek’s maternal grandmother was Nancy Joan Soto (the daughter of Leland Joseph Soto, Sr. and Evelyn Alice Podd). Nancy was born in Sacramento, California. Leland was the son of Manuel Soto, whose parents were Azorean Portuguese, and of Minnie Rose, whose parents were also Azorean Portuguese. Evelyn was the daughter of Arthur Robert/Roberts Podd, whose mother was English, and of Irma/Erma.
Source: Birth record of Alek’s maternal grandmother, Nancy Joan Soto – http://www.familysearch.org