Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and filmmaker. He is known for his performances in the films '' Amores perros'' (2000), ''

Y tu mamá también ''Y tu mamá también'' (Spanish for ''And Your Mother Too'') is a 2001 Mexican Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy drama Road movie, road film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who co-wrote the script with his brother Carlos Cuarón, Carlos. I ...

'' (2001), '' Bad Education'' (2004), '' The Motorcycle Diaries'' (2004), '' Babel'' (2006), '' Coco'' (2017), '' Old'' (2021), and '' Cassandro'' (2023). He has also played music conductor Rodrigo de Souza in the television drama series '' Mozart in the Jungle'' (2014–2018), and has starred in the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

special ''

Werewolf by Night The Werewolf by Night (also known as the Werewolf) is the name of two Werewolf, werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, first appeared in ''Marvel Spotlig ...

'' (2022). García Bernal was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of a young

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

in ''The Motorcycle Diaries'' in 2005, and in 2016 won his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for ''Mozart in the Jungle''. He and fellow actor

Diego Luna Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer, best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in ''Rogue One, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016) and the Disney+ series ''Andor (TV series), ...

founded the production company Canana Films in Mexico City. In 2016, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

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

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

, Mexico, the son of

Patricia Bernal Patricia Bernal (born 27 October 1961) is a Mexican actress. She has appeared in more than twenty films and telenovelas including '' Pobre rico, pobre''. Her sons Gael (whose father is José Ángel García) and Darío (whose father is Sergio Ya ...

, 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 (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

s. García Bernal and frequent collaborator

were friends from childhood in Mexico City. When he was fourteen, García Bernal taught

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

in Mexico to read, often working with the Huichol people. At the age of fifteen, he took part in peaceful demonstrations in support of the

Zapatista uprising On 1 January 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) coordinated a 12-day uprising in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, in protest against the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The rebels occupied citie ...

of 1994. He began studying philosophy at

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

, 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, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school 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 ...

. Bernal also attended the European Graduate School toward a master's in media and communication.

Career

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

Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker primarily known for making modern psychological drama (film genre), psychological drama films about the human condition. His most notable films include ''Amores perros ...

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. List of awards and nominations received by Alfonso Cuarón, His accolades include four Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and seven BAFTA Awards. Cuarón made h ...

'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, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

revolutionary

in the 2002 TV miniseries '' Fidel'' and the morally troubled Father Amaro in the Mexican box-office record-breaker '' El crimen del Padre Amaro'' (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'', and garnered Bernal a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

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'', by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

, in the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...

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

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...

Walter Salles Walter Moreira Salles Júnior (; ; born 12 April 1956) is a Brazilian filmmaker. A major figure of the Resumption Cinema in Brazil, Salles is widely regarded as one of the greatest Brazilian filmmakers of all time. His List of awards and nomina ...

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker and producer noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one o ...

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

English-language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

films, including the Gondry-directed '' The Science of Sleep'' and '' The King'', for which he earned rave reviews. García Bernal directed his first feature film, ''

Déficit ''Déficit'' is a 2007 Mexican drama film directed by Gael García Bernal in his directorial debut. It was written by Kyzza Terrazas and debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2007. In the film the lives of the rich Cristobal and his sist ...

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

Blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

'', 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 p ...

of the 1995 novel of the same name by

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

, 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 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 online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

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

Rudo y Cursi ''Rudo y Cursi'' ( Spanish, literally, "Rough and Corny") is a 2008 Mexican sports comedy-drama film starring Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and Guillermo Francella. It is directed by Carlos Cuarón and produced by Cha Cha Cha Films. It is Ca ...

'' directed by Carlos Cuarón. García Bernal and

own Canana Films. 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 Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

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 that it has more than ten million members a ...

. 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 ''Human Planet'' is an 8-part British television documentary series. It was produced as a co-production between the BBC Natural History Unit, BBC Worldwide, BBC Cymru Wales, Discovery Channel and France Télévisions. The documentary describes ...

'' 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 that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It initi ...

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 that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

in Latin America on 12 May. For the third time García Bernal appeared with

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, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

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

José Agustín José Agustín Ramírez Gómez (19 August 1944 – 16 January 2024) was a Mexican novelist, short story writer, essayist and screenwriter. Publishing under the pen name José Agustín, he was considered one of the most influential and prolific Me ...

's '' Ciudades Desiertas'' and the

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...

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

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

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. 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

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

comedy-drama television series '' Mozart in the Jungle''. His performance in the show was met with rave reviews, earning him a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

in 2016. In 2016, he starred in two movies that were submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, '' Desierto'' (Mexico) and '' Neruda'' (Chile). In 2017, he was announced as a member of the U.S. Dramatic Jury at the

2017 Sundance Film Festival The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016. Awards The following awards were presented: * Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – '' I Don't Feel ...

. That same year, he provided the voice of Héctor, an undead trickster and one of the main protagonists of the

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

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'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 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 American filmmaker. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received vario ...

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

special ''

'' by

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

, based on the comics character of the same name. In 2024, he starred alongside close friend and frequent collaborator

in the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

original miniseries ''La Máquina'' as the eponymous character.

Personal life

García Bernal and Argentine actress Dolores Fonzi met on the set of ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...

'' 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, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. He has been in a relationship with Mexican journalist Fernanda Aragonés since 2019. They had 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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

but spiritually agnostic".

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

Ariel Award The Ariel Award () is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas, Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award reco ...

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

Goya Awards The Goya Awards () are Spain's main national annual film awards. They are presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain. The first ceremony was held in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Ar ...

Other honors

Discography

Collaborations

Soundtracks

Notes

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 Gael 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 Chopard Trophy for Male Revelation winners