Jorge Garcia (born April 28, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show ''

Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...

'', but subsequently became best known for his portrayal of

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes Hugo "Hurley" Reyes is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Jorge Garcia. For most of the show's run, Hurley served as the show's comic relief, but occasionally, and most notably in the final season, he was shown ...

in the television series ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'' from 2004 to 2010. He starred in the Fox television series ''

Alcatraz Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...

'' and played a minor character on ABC's '' Once Upon a Time''. He starred as Jerry Ortega on '' Hawaii Five-0'' and can be seen in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

film '' The Ridiculous 6''. Garcia also appeared on the cover of

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

's 2010 album '' Hurley'' in a close-up shot from a photo he took with vocalist

Rivers Cuomo Rivers Cuomo ( ; born June 13, 1970) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter of the rock band Weezer. Cuomo was raised in a number of Buddhist communities in the Northeast U.S. until the age of 10, wh ...

Early life and education

Garcia was born in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. His mother, Dora Mesa, is a Cuban-born professor, and his father, Humberto Garcia, is a Chilean-born doctor. He grew up in

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for " St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St ...

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, ...

and went to San Clemente High School. He wrestled in high school, where he was given the nickname "Baby-Faced Killer". As a senior, he was selected by the faculty as "Triton of the Year", the highest award given to a graduating senior. Garcia graduated from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1995 as a Communication Studies major. He also studied acting at the

Beverly Hills Playhouse The Beverly Hills Playhouse is an acting school with theaters and training facilities in Beverly Hills, California, and also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. It is one of the oldest acting schools and theatres in Los Angeles Cou ...

acting school.

Career

Garcia spent six years working at

Borders Books and Music A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

while auditioning. He was in a few commercials during that time. He later said that his first taste of street recognition came from starring in a Jack in the Box commercial which was aired frequently on local television. Garcia was the first actor to be cast on ''Lost'' after the producers saw him on ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televi ...

'' the night before casting began, and created the character of Hugo Reyes specifically for him. Garcia appeared in the second episode of the eighth season of ''

Celebrity Poker Showdown ''Celebrity Poker Showdown'' is an American celebrity game show that aired on the cable network Bravo. It was a limited-run series in which celebrities played poker, with eight tournaments during its five-season run. In each show, five celebrit ...

,'' where he lost to

Michael Ian Black Michael Ian Black (born Michael Ian Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including ''The State'', '' Viva Variety'', '' Stella'', '' Wet Hot American Summer: F ...

. He was a contestant on an episode of '' Russian Roulette'' on

Game Show Network Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...

. He missed a question about the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an Xenophobia, anti-foreign, anti-colonialism, anti-colonial, and Persecution of Christians#China, anti-Christian uprising in China ...

of 1900 and fell through the trap door. Garcia is an associate producer and star in the independent film ''When We Were Pirates'', in which he plays Jerry, who along with a group of close friends, learns that his childhood love of playing pirates helps him overcome some of the difficulties he faces later in life. He is seen singing in the studio for the upcoming project on an officially released YouTube clip. During ''Lost''s run, Garcia wrote a blog about the show called ''Dispatches from the Island''. He also hosted a weekly podcast, ''Geronimo Jack's Beard'', in which he discussed the script of Season 6. Garcia is also featured on the front cover of

's album '' Hurley,'' released on September 10, 2010. The album is named after his character from ''

''. He performed as a guest vocalist at several Weezer concerts in 2010. On November 21, 2010, ''

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 ...

'' announced that Garcia was cast in the upcoming U.S. television series ''

''. On November 22, 2010, Garcia made a guest appearance on ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main c ...

''s episode "

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". In the episode, references are made to Garcia's time on ''

''. In 2011, Garcia appeared as a recurring character in '' Mr. Sunshine'', portraying a caretaker at the Sunshine Center. Starting in January 2012, Garcia portrayed Dr. Diego Soto, an Alcatraz expert, in the Fox series ''Alcatraz''. The show was a

mid-season replacement In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a ...

for Fox's ''Terra Nova''. The series was officially cancelled by Fox on May 9, 2012, due to dropping viewership throughout its run. Garcia appeared on ''

The Nerdist ''ID10T with Chris Hardwick'' (formerly ''The Nerdist Podcast'') is a weekly interview show "about what it really means to be a nerd" hosted by Chris Hardwick, once usually accompanied by Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. The audio podcasts are typicall ...

'' podcast posted June 18, 2012. After appearing as a guest star in several season 4 episodes of '' Hawaii Five-0'', Garcia, who plays the character of Jerry Ortega, was promoted to a series regular starting with season five. In 2015, he joined the cast of '' The Healer'' starring with British actors

Oliver Jackson-Cohen Oliver Mansour Jackson-Cohen (born 24 October 1986) is an English actor and model. He is best known for his role as Adrian Griffin in the 2020 adaptation of '' The Invisible Man'' and for his roles as Luke Crain and Peter Quint in the Netfli ...

Camilla Luddington Camilla Anne Luddington (born 15 December 1983) is a British actress, best known for her role as Dr. Josephine "Jo" Wilson in the ABC medical drama series '' Grey's Anatomy''. She is known for voicing Lara Croft in the ''Tomb Raider'' video ga ...

and Jonathan Pryce. Garcia launched a biweekly podcast with co-host Ralph Apel dedicated to

kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

films titled ''Kaiju Podcast'' on November 14, 2016. In 2022, Garcia competed in season seven of '' The Masked Singer'' as "Cyclops" of Team Bad. He was eliminated alongside

Jordan Mailata Lafoga Jordan Mailata (; born 31 March 1997) is an Australian professional American football offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played rugby league for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bull ...

as "Thingamabob" of Team Cuddly.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Jorge 1973 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American bloggers American male film actors American male bloggers American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Chilean descent American people of Cuban descent American podcasters Hispanic and Latino American male actors Living people Male actors from California Male actors from Nebraska Male actors from Omaha, Nebraska People from San Clemente, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni