Born into a theatrical family in New York City (his mother, Jeanne Button, was a Broadway costume designer, and his father, Stephen Arnold Sbarge, was a writer, painter and filmmaker), Raphael Sbarge began acting at the age of 4, appearing in several episodes of 芝麻街 (1969).
He has went on to appear in dozens of films, including 乖仔也疯狂 (1983), 独立日 (1996), 瓶中信 (1999), 夺标27秒 (1985), 珍珠港 (2001) and 海伦娜之路 (2016). His resume includes more than 100 guest appearances and series regular roles on network television shows, among them Dr. Hopper and Jiminy Cricket on 童话镇 第一季 (2011); David Molk on Murder in the First (2014); and Jake Straka on The Guardian (2001). He has recurred on series including Star Trek: Voyager (1995), 嗜血法医 (2006) and Prison Break (2005).
Raphael has also worked behind the camera, directing and producing the streaming series Jenna's Studio (2013) and On Begley Street (2013). He later turned his attention to documentaries, directing and producing Is There Hope for Planet Earth (2014) and A Concrete River: Reviving the Waters of Los Angeles (2015). His first narrative short film effort as a director, The Bird Who Could Fly (2017), earned best short honors from the Asians on Film and First Glance film festivals, and best narrative short honors and nominations from the DisOrient Film Festival and Asian American International Film Festival.
Raphael made his Broadway debut at the age of 16, in "The Curse of the Aching Heart", opposite 费·唐纳薇. His extensive theater experience includes four additional Broadway shows: "Ah Wilderness" with 杰森·罗巴兹; "Shadow Box" with 梅塞迪丝·鲁尔; "Voices in the Dark," with 朱迪思·爱薇; and "Twilight of the Golds" (including the pre-Broadway national tour and the Kennedy Center). He has performed on stage with 阿尔·帕西诺, 弗兰克·兰格拉, 科琳·杜赫斯特, 布莱思·丹纳 and 格温妮斯·帕特洛, among many others.
Raphael has won the LA Drama Critics Award (for "Mad Forest" at the Matrix Theatre), the San Francisco Film Critics Circle Garland Award (lead performance in "Twilight of the Golds") and the FANY Award ("Voices in the Dark"). He has also done extensive voice work in video games, including a lead role in Mass Effect (2007) (The New York Times Game of the Year), Mass Effect 2 (2010) and 质量效应3 (2012), and roles in Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005) and 星球大战:旧共和国武士 II (2003), among others. His television movie credits include Quicksilver Highway (1997), 大智若愚 (1987), Murder 101 (1991) and Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1990) (as Tom Sawyer), to name a few. He has also been teaching and coaching actors for more than a decade in Los Angeles and New York.