Carlos Gallardo (born June 22, 1966) is a Mexican

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, producer, occasional

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. Gallardo frequently collaborates with his friend, director

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...

Life and career

Gallardo was born in

Ciudad Acuña Ciudad Acuña, also known simply as Acuña, (originally Garza Galán, later Villa Acuña) is a city located in the Mexican state of Coahuila, at and a mean height above sea level of . It stands on the Rio Grande (locally known as the Río Bravo ...

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, to a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

father and an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

mother. Gallardo's first taste of fame came with the feature film ''

El Mariachi ''El Mariachi'' is a 1992 Spanish language American independent neo-Western film and the first part of the saga that came to be known as Robert Rodriguez's '' Mexico Trilogy''. It marked the feature-length debut of Rodriguez as writer and direc ...

'', a critically acclaimed film renowned for costing US$7,000 to make. The film won the 1993

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

, and won Gallardo an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass ...

for Best First Feature, an accolade he shared with Rodriguez. He also was credited as

unit production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...

and for

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual w ...

in ''El Mariachi''. Following ''El Mariachi'', Gallardo went on to be co-producer of the Robert Rodriguez-directed ''

Mexico Trilogy The ''Mexico Trilogy'' (also known as the ''Desperado Trilogy'' on some released DVD products) is a series of American/Mexican contemporary western action films written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The series' plot tells the continuing story ...

'' sequels, '' Desperado'' and ''

Once Upon a Time in Mexico ''Once Upon a Time in Mexico'' (also known as ''Desperado 2'') is a 2003 American neo-Western action film written, directed, produced, photographed, scored, and edited by Robert Rodriguez. It is the third and final film in Rodriguez's '' Mexic ...

''. Both films featured

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival ...

in the role of El Mariachi, in place of Gallardo, though Gallardo had a minor role in ''Desperado'', playing El Mariachi's friend, Campa. Gallardo co-wrote, produced and starred in the title role of 2004 independent action thriller, ''Bandido''. He was also producer for 2004 Colombian TV series '' Me amarás bajo la lluvia''. Carlos also participated in the Robert Rodriguez production titled ''Curandero'' where he plays the lead. ''Curandero'' was directed by Eduardo Rodriguez. In 2007 he played Deputy Carlos in ''

Planet Terror ''Planet Terror'' is a 2007 American action horror film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Set in Texas, the film follows the survivors of a biochemical outbreak as they battle zombie-like creatures and a rogue military unit. It stars Rose ...

'',

's portion of ''

Grindhouse A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a fi ...

'', appearing opposite

Michael Biehn Michael Connell Biehn ( ; born July 31, 1956) is an American actor, primarily known for his roles in science fiction films directed by James Cameron; as Sgt. Kyle Reese in '' The Terminator'' (1984), Cpl. Dwayne Hicks in ''Aliens'' (1986), and ...

and

Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including '' Marti ...

. It was his first appearance in a Rodriguez film since ''Desperado''.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Interview: Carlos Gallardo
at

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...

*https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carlos-Gallardo/169294239805686?bookmark_t=page Living people Mexican male film actors Mexican film directors Mexican film producers Mexican screenwriters Mexican people of Irish descent Male actors from Coahuila 1966 births People from Acuña, Coahuila {{Mexico-film-director-stub