Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and producer. He is best known for his performances in the films '' Bad Education'', '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', '' Amores perros'', ''

Y tu mamá también Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or sevent ...

'', ''

Babel Babel is a name used in the Hebrew Bible for the city of Babylon and may refer to: Arts and media Written works Books * ''Babel'' (book), by Patti Smith * ''Babel'' (2012 manga), by Narumi Shigematsu * ''Babel'' (2017 manga), by Yūgo Ishika ...

'', '' Coco'', and ''

Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

'', as Jack Russell / Werewolf by Night in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

television special '' Werewolf by Night'', and for his role as Rodrigo de Souza in the

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

series ''

Mozart in the Jungle ''Mozart in the Jungle'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz for the video-on-demand service Amazon Prime Video. It received a production order in ...

''. He and Diego Luna founded

Canana Films Canana Films is a Mexican film and television production company and former distributor. Founded in 2005, Canana is focused on Latin American-focused projects in Spanish and English and became one of Mexico's leading producer-distributors during ...

in Mexico City. García Bernal was nominated for a

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film. Superlatives Note: ...

for his portrayal of a young

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

in ''The Motorcycle Diaries'' in 2005, and in 2016 won his first

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy is a Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding perform ...

for ''Mozart in the Jungle''. In 2016, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine named him in the annual ''Time'' 100 most influential people list. In 2020, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' ranked him No. 25 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.

Early life

García Bernal was born in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was young. He started acting at just one year old and spent most of his teen years starring in

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

s. García Bernal and frequent collaborator Diego Luna were friends from childhood in Mexico City. When he was fourteen, García Bernal taught

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

in Mexico to read, often working with the

Huichol people The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of California, ...

. At the age of fifteen, he took part in peaceful demonstrations in support of the

Zapatista uprising On January 1, 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) coordinated a 12-day Zapatista uprising in the state of Chiapas, Mexico in protest of NAFTA's enactment. The revolt gathered international attention. Background Disease, ensl ...

of 1994. He began studying philosophy at

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigge ...

, Mexico's national university but, during a prolonged student strike, he decided to take a sabbatical to travel around Europe. He then moved to London, and became the first Mexican accepted to study at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

. Bernal also attended the

European Graduate School The European Graduate School (EGS) is a private graduate school that operates in two locations: Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and Valletta, Malta. History It was founded in 1994 in Saas-Fee, Switzerland by the Swiss scientist, artist, and therapist, P ...

Career

After García Bernal's success in soap operas, Mexican director

Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (; American Spanish: ; credited since 2016 as Alejandro G. Iñárritu; born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter. He is primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the hu ...

offered García Bernal a part in his feature directorial debut, '' Amores perros'' (2000). The film won rave reviews, and was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. His next role was

Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Great Expectations'' (1998), the c ...

's ''

'' (2001), which was a crossover success into American markets and gained him notice on the international stage, becoming the second-highest grossing Spanish language film in the United States. The next year, García Bernal went on to portray

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

revolutionary

in the 2002 TV miniseries ''

Fidel Fidel most commonly refers to: * Fidel Castro (1926–2016), Cuban communist revolutionary and politician * Fidel Ramos (1928–2022), Filipino politician and former president Fidel may also refer to: Other persons * Fidel (given name) Film * ...

'' and the morally troubled Father Amaro in the Mexican box-office record-breaker ''

El crimen del Padre Amaro ''The Crime of Padre Amaro'' ( es, El crimen del padre Amaro, known by its literal translation ''The Crime of Father Amaro'' in Australia) is a 2002 Mexican- Spanish film directed by Carlos Carrera. It is very loosely based on the novel ''O Cri ...

'' (2002). García Bernal again portrayed Che Guevara in '' The Motorcycle Diaries'' (2004), an adaptation of a journal the 23-year-old Guevara wrote about his travels across South America. The film broke the box office record set 3 years prior by ''Y tu mamá también'' garnered Bernal a BAFTA nomination in 2005 for Best Performance by an Actor. He also did some theatre work, during this time, including a 2005 production of ''

Bodas de Sangre ''Blood Wedding'' ( es, link=no, Bodas de sangre) is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in March 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...

'', by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

, in the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

in London. García Bernal has worked for acclaimed directors including González Iñárritu,

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narra ...

Walter Salles Walter Moreira Salles Júnior (; born 12 April 1956) is a Brazilian filmmaker. Early life Salles was born on 12 April 1956 in Rio de Janeiro and attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. He is the son of Braz ...

, Michel Gondry, and Iciar Bollaín, among others. He has taken on roles in

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the i ...

films, including the Gondry-directed ''

The Science of Sleep ''The Science of Sleep'' (French: ''La Science des rêves'', literally ''The Science of Dreams'') is a 2006 Franco–Italian surrealistic science fantasy comedy film written and directed by Michel Gondry. Starring Gael García Bernal, Charlotte G ...

'' and '' The King'', for which he earned rave reviews. García Bernal directed his first feature film, ''

Déficit ''Déficit'' is a 2007 Mexican feature film, the debut of Gael García Bernal as a director. It was written by Kyzza Terrazas and debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2007. In the film the lives of the rich Cristobal and his sister ar ...

'' which was released in 2007. He was cast in the 2008 film ''

Blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

'', an

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

of the 1995 novel of the same name by

José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago, GColSE ComSE GColCa (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010), was a Portuguese writer and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony ith which hecon ...

, winner of the Nobel Prize, about a society suffering an epidemic of blindness. As in the novel, the characters have only descriptions, no names or histories; while director

Fernando Meirelles Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (; born 9 November 1955) is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for co-directing the film '' City of God'', released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films, whic ...

said some actors were intimidated by the concept of playing such characters, With Gael,' he said, 'I never think about the past. I just think what my character wants."Fall Movie Summer Preview, September: Blindness". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'', Iss. #1007/1008, 22/29 August 2008, pg.55. García Bernal again paired with Diego Luna in '' Rudo y Cursi'' directed by

Carlos Cuarón Carlos José Cuarón Orozco (born 2 October 1966) is a Mexican screenwriter, film producer, and film director. He is also brother of the Academy Award-winner Alfonso Cuarón. Biography Carlos Cuarón was born in Mexico City and studied Eng ...

. García Bernal and Diego Luna own

. The company recently joined with Golden Phoenix Productions to produce a number of television documentaries about the unsolved murders of more than 300 women in the border city of Ciudad Juarez. In May 2010, García Bernal did a cameo appearance as himself playing

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...

in ''Ronaldo: The Movie'' for the Nike advertisement, Write the Future. In 2010, he co-directed with Marc Siver four short films in collaboration with

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

. The tetralogy, called "Los Invisibles", is about migrants from Central America in Mexico, their journey and risks, their hopes, and what they can contribute to Mexico, the US and the world. He directed the movies, did the interviews and also narrates the four short movies. He starred in '' Even the Rain'' (2010), Spain's official entry for the 2011 Academy Awards. García Bernal narrated '' Human Planet'' for Hispanic audiences, which premiered on

Discovery en Español Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

on 25 April 2011 and aired on

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

in Latin America on 12 May. For the third time García Bernal appeared with Diego Luna in the American Spanish-language comedy film '' Casa de mi padre'', opposite

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...

, where he played a feared drug lord. García Bernal's next projects included a film adaptation of

José Agustín José Agustín Ramírez Gómez (born 19 August 1944) is a Mexican novelist, short story writer, essayist and screenwriter. He is considered as one of the most influential and prolific Mexican writers of the second half of the 20th century. Car ...

's ''

Ciudades Desiertas ''Ciudades Desiertas'' (''Empty cities'' or ''Deserted Cities'') is a 1982 novel written in Spanish by José Agustín. It is a mature work set in a small city in the United States around the early 1980s. Plot summary ''Ciudades Desiertas'' is t ...

'' and the

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted '' The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts '' ...

directorial biopic ''

Rosewater Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. Rose water is also used to fla ...

'', in which he portrayed Maziar Bahari to widespread critical acclaim. He was set to star in the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

reboot Zorro film called ''Zorro Reborn''. The script is by Glen Gers, Lee Shipman, and Brian McGeevy. In April 2014, he was announced as a member of the main competition jury at the

2014 Cannes Film Festival The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film ''Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bil ...

. In June 2014, he began production as the star of the dramatic comedy '' Zoom'', directed by Pedro Morelli. In 2014, he was cast in the lead role of Rodrigo de Souza in the

comedy-drama television series ''

''. His performance in the show was met with rave reviews, earning him a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

in 2016. In 2016, he starred in two movies that were submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, ''

Desierto ''Desierto'' is a 2015 thriller drama film co-written and directed by Jonás Cuarón. It was produced by Cuarón together with his father Alfonso and his uncle Carlos, and distributed by STXfilms STX Entertainment is a mini-major American e ...

'' (Mexico) and '' Neruda'' (Chile). In 2017, he was announced as a member of the U.S. Dramatic Jury at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. That same year, he provided the voice of Héctor, an undead trickster and one of the main protagonists of the

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

animated film '' Coco''. García Bernal founded The Ambulante Documentary Film Festival, which works to bring documentary films to places where they are rarely shown, and helped to create the

Short Documentary Series Los Invisibles. For this work, he was awarded the

Washington Office on Latin America The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is a United States non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated goal is to promote human rights, democracy, and social and economic justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Washington Offic ...

's Human Rights Award in 2011. In October 2019, García Bernal and Diego Luna announced they were joining the Creative Advisory Board for TV and Film development company

EXILE Content Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples su ...

along with Adam Grant. In 2021, García Bernal starred in the

M. Night Shyamalan Manoj Nelliyattu M. Night Shyamalan ( ; born August 6, 1970) is an Indian-American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for making original films with contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings. He was born in Mahé, India, and raise ...

thriller ''

''. In November 2021, Bernal was cast in the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

special '' Werewolf by Night'' by

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Ma ...

, based on the comics character of the same name.

Personal life

García Bernal and Argentine actress

Dolores Fonzi Dolores María Fonzi (born 19 July 1978) is an Argentine TV, theatre and film actress. Several of her films have received critical acclaim such as ''Burnt Money'', ''Waiting for the Messiah'', ''Bottom of the Sea'' and ''The Aura (film), The Aur ...

met on the set of ''Vidas privadas'' in 2001. On 8 January 2009 their son was born in Madrid, Spain. Their daughter was born on 4 April 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He divides his time between

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. He has been in a relationship with Mexican journalist Fernanda Aragonés since 2019. They welcomed a child on 30 September 2021. He has described himself as "culturally

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

but spiritually agnostic".

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

Ariel Award The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

Goya Awards The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...

Other honors

Discography

Collaborations

Soundtracks

References

External links

* *
Gael García Bernal interview for ''Rudo & Cursi''
By Alastair Smart, ''Daily Telegraph'', 8 July 2009
2014 Cannes Film Festival Screening
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Bernal, Gael 1978 births Living people 20th-century Mexican male actors 21st-century Mexican male actors Best Actor Ariel Award winners Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Marcello Mastroianni Award winners Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Mexican agnostics Mexican male child actors Mexican male film actors Mexican male telenovela actors Male actors from Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexican expatriates in Argentina European Graduate School alumni