Ato Essilfi Bracato Essandoh (born July 29, 1972)^[2] is an American television and film actor.

Ato was born in 1972 to Ghanaian parents and graduated from New Rochelle High School in 1990. He received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Cornell University. He first joined theater when he was dared to do so by a girlfriend.^[3] He studied acting under James Price at The Acting Studio - New York in New York City.^[4][5] He is also a playwright, and authored Black Thang which is published in the anthology Plays and Playwrights 2003. Essandoh is the co-founder of The Defiant Ones writing and performance group.^{[citation needed]}

He launched a podcast, Unrelated, together with childhood friend Chris Cecot.^[6]