Gael García Bernal
García Bernal in 2017
Born (1978-11-30) 30 November 1978[1]
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
EducationNational Autonomous University of Mexico
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (BA)
European Graduate School
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active1989–present
Children3
Parents
RelativesDarío Yazbek Bernal (half-brother)

Gael García Bernal (Spanish: [ɡaˈel ɣaɾˈsi.a βeɾˈnal]; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and producer. He is known for his performances in the films Bad Education (2004), The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), Amores perros (2000), Y tu mamá también (2001), Babel (2006), Coco (2017), and Old (2021), for his role as the titular character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television special Werewolf by Night (2022), and for his role as Rodrigo de Souza in the series Mozart in the Jungle (2014–18).

García Bernal was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of a young Che Guevara 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 founded the production company Canana Films in Mexico City. In 2016, Time magazine named him in the annual Time 100 most influential people list.[2] In 2020, The New York Times ranked him No. 25 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.[3]

Early life

García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director.[4] His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was young.[5] He started acting at just one year old and spent most of his teen years starring in telenovelas. García Bernal and frequent collaborator Diego Luna were friends from childhood in Mexico City.[6]

When he was fourteen, García Bernal taught indigenous people in Mexico to read, often working with the Huichol people.[7] At the age of fifteen, he took part in peaceful demonstrations in support of the Zapatista uprising of 1994.[8][9]

He began studying philosophy at UNAM, Mexico's national university but, during a prolonged student strike, he decided to take a sabbatical to travel around Europe.[9] He then moved to London, and became the first Mexican accepted to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama.[10][11] Bernal also attended the European Graduate School toward a master's in media and communication.[12]

Career

After García Bernal's success in soap operas, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu 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.

His next role was Alfonso Cuarón's Y tu mamá también (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.[13][14] The next year, García Bernal went on to portray Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara 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 garnered Bernal a BAFTA nomination in 2005 for Best Performance by an Actor.[15]

He also did some theatre work, during this time, including a 2005 production of Bodas de Sangre, by Federico García Lorca, in the Almeida Theatre in London.

García Bernal has worked for acclaimed directors including González Iñárritu, Pedro Almodóvar, Walter Salles, Alfonso Cuarón, Michel Gondry, and Iciar Bollaín, among others. He has taken on roles in English-language films, including the Gondry-directed The Science of Sleep and The King, for which he earned rave reviews.[16]

García Bernal directed his first feature film, Déficit which was released in 2007.[17] He was cast in the 2008 film Blindness, an adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name by José Saramago, 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.'"[18] García Bernal again paired with Diego Luna in Rudo y Cursi directed by Carlos Cuarón.

García Bernal and Diego Luna 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 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. 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.[19] 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 on 25 April 2011 and aired on Discovery Channel in Latin America on 12 May.[20] For the third time García Bernal appeared with Diego Luna in the American Spanish-language comedy film Casa de mi padre, opposite Will Ferrell, where he played a feared drug lord.[21] García Bernal's next projects included a film adaptation of José Agustín's Ciudades Desiertas and the Jon Stewart directorial biopic Rosewater,[22] in which he portrayed Maziar Bahari to widespread critical acclaim. He was set to star in the 20th Century Fox reboot Zorro film called Zorro Reborn. The script is by Glen Gers, Lee Shipman, and Brian McGeevy.[23]

In April 2014, he was announced as a member of the main competition jury at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[24]

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 comedy-drama television series Mozart in the Jungle. His performance in the show was met with rave reviews, earning him a Golden Globe Award 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. That same year, he provided the voice of Héctor, an undead trickster and one of the main protagonists of the Pixar animated film Coco.

García Bernal founded The Ambulante Documentary Film Festival,[25] which works to bring documentary films to places where they are rarely shown, and helped to create the Amnesty International Short Documentary Series Los Invisibles.[26] For this work, he was awarded the Washington Office on Latin America's Human Rights Award in 2011.[27]

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.[28]

In 2021, García Bernal starred in the M. Night Shyamalan thriller Old.[29] In November 2021, Bernal was cast in the Disney+ special Werewolf by Night by Marvel Studios, based on the comics character of the same name.[30]

Personal life

García Bernal and Argentine actress Dolores Fonzi met on the set of Private Lives in 2001.[31] On 8 January 2009 their son was born in Madrid, Spain.[32][33] Their daughter was born on 4 April 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[34] He divides his time between Buenos Aires and Mexico City.[35]

He has been in a relationship with Mexican journalist Fernanda Aragonés since 2019. They welcomed a child on 30 September 2021.[36]

He has described himself as "culturally Catholic but spiritually agnostic".[37]

Filmography

Film

Key
† Denotes productions that have not yet been released
YearTitleRoleNotes
1996De tripas, corazónMartínShort film
2000Amores perrosOctavio
CerebroIvánShort film
2001Don't Tempt MeDavenport
The Last PostJosé FranciscoShort film
Vidas privadasGustavo "Gana" Bertolini
Y tu mamá también Julio Zapata
El ojo en la nucaPablo UrrutiaShort film
2002FidelErnesto "Che" Guevara
I'm with LucyGabriel
The Crime of Father AmaroPadre Amaro
2003Cuba LibreRicky
Dot the IKit Winter
2004Bad EducationÁngel / Juan / Zahara
The Motorcycle DiariesErnesto "Che" Guevara
2005The KingElvis Valderez
2006BabelSantiago
The Science of SleepStéphane
2007DéficitCristobalAlso director and producer
The PastRímini
20088—Director, writer and producer
Segment: "The Letter"
BlindnessKing of Ward 3
Rudo y CursiTatto
2009Sin Nombre—Producer
MammothLeo Vidales
The Limits of ControlMexican
2010Los Invisibles
Letters to JulietVictor
Even the RainSebastián
José and PilarHimselfDocumentary
2011Miss Bala—Producer
A Little Bit of HeavenJulian Goldstein
Casa de mi padreOnza
The Loneliest PlanetAlex
2012NoRené Saavedra
VampsDiego Bardem
2013 Paradise - Producer
Who is Dayani Cristal?HimselfDocumentary
2014The ArdorKaí
Cesar ChavezHimselfCameo; Also producer
RosewaterMaziar Bahari
2015The Empty ClassroomNarratorDocumentary; Also producer
DesiertoMoises
ZoomEdward Deacon
Eva Doesn't SleepEmilio Eduardo Massera
2016Madly—Director and writer
Segment: "The Love of My Life"
NerudaOscar Peluchoneau
Salt and FireDr. Fabio Cavani
You're Killing Me SusanaEligio
2017If You Saw His HeartDaniel
CocoHéctor Rivera (voice)
2018The Kindergarten TeacherSimon
MuseumJuan NuñezAlso executive producer
The AccusedMario Elmo
2019Birders—Executive producer
Chicuarotes—Director
EmaGastón
It Must Be HeavenHimself
Wasp NetworkGerardo Hernández
2021OldGuy Cappa
2023CassandroCassandro
The MotherHector Álvarez
TBAHolland, Michigan †TBAFilming
TBAThe Ballad of the Phoenix †King Terrowyn (voice)In production

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1989TeresaPeluche3 episodes
1992El abuelo y yoDaniel García MedinaLead role (90 episodes)
2000Queen of SwordsChuri1 episode ("Honor Thy Father")
2006Soy tu fanEmilio1 episode ("¡Que viva México!")
2014–2018Mozart in the JungleRodrigo de SouzaLead role (40 episodes)
2021–2022Station ElevenArthur LeanderMiniseries
2022Werewolf by NightJack Russell / Werewolf by NightLead role; Disney+ television special

Awards

Gael García Bernal at the Guadalajara Film Festival

Ariel Award

YearCategoryTitleResultRef
2001Best Actor (Mejor Actor)Amores PerrosWon[38]
2017Best Actor (Mejor Actuación Masculina)You're Killing Me SusanaNominated[38]
2019Best Actor (Mejor Actuación Masculina)MuseoNominated[38]

BAFTA Awards

YearCategoryTitleResultRef
2006Rising Star—Nominated[38]
2005Best ActorThe Motorcycle DiariesNominated[38]

Cannes Film Festival

YearCategoryTitleResultRef
2003Chopard Trophy—Won[38]
2007Caméra d'OrDéficitNominated[38]

Golden Globe Awards

YearCategoryTitleResultRef
2016Best Actor – Television Series Musical or ComedyMozart in the Jungle Won[38]
2017Nominated[38]

Goya Awards

YearCategoryTitleResultRef
2002Best Supporting ActorDon't Tempt MeNominated

Other honors

Year CeremonyCategoryTitleResult
2000 Chicago International Film Festival Best Actor Amores perrosWon [38]
2001 El Heraldo de México Best Actor Y Tu Mamá También Nominated
Venice Film Festival Marcello Mastroianni Award (shared with Diego Luna) Won
2002 Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain Best Supporting Actor (Mejor Actor Secundario) Don't Tempt Me Nominated [38]
2003 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Most Promising Performer The Crime of Father Amaro, Y Tu Mamá También Nominated [38]
Chlotrudis Awards Best Actor Y Tu Mamá También Nominated [38]
2005 ACE Awards New York Best Actor The Motorcycle Diaries Nominated
Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain Best Actor (Mejor Actor) Bad Education Nominated [38]
Chlotrudis Awards Best Actor Won [38]
2006 Awards Circuit Community Awards Best Cast Ensemble Babel Nominated [38]
2007 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Best Acting Ensemble Nominated [38]
Alma Awards Outstanding Actor – Motion Picture Nominated [38]
Chlotrudis Awards Best Actor The Science of Sleep Nominated [38]
2009 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize Best Supporting Actor (Melhor Ator Coadjuvante) Blindness Nominated [38]
Premios Oye! Popular Breakthrough of the Year Rudo y CursiWon[39]
Best theme for a film Nominated
Mayahuel de Plata Awards Achievement Award Himself Won
2010 Premios Juventud Can He Act or What? Rudo y Cursi Nominated
2012 Abu Dhabi Film Festival Best Actor No Won [38]
2013 Cork International Film Festival Audience Award Who is Dayani Cristal? Won [38]
Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actor No Nominated [38]
2014 Chlotrudis Awards Best Actor Nominated [38]

Discography

Collaborations

YearSongAlbum
2007
 "Cristobal" (with Devendra Banhart) Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
2016
 "Before The Sunset" (with Compass) Compass

Soundtracks

YearSongAlbum
1992
 "Vagabundo" El abuelo y yo
"Anselmo"
2006
 "If You Rescue Me (Chanson des Chats)" (with Sacha Bourdo, Alain Chabat and Aurelia Petit) The Science of Sleep
2008
 "Quiero que me quieras" Rudo y Cursi
2010
 "A Morte De Pé Em Palco" (with José Saramago) José e Pilar (Banda Sonora Original)
2017
 "Everyone Knows Juanita" Coco (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
"Un poco loco" (with Anthony Gonzalez)
"Remember Me (Lullaby)" (with Gabriella Flores and Libertad García Fonzi)
2017
 "Juanita" Coco (Banda Sonora Original)
"Un poco loco" (with Luis Ánge Gómez Jaramillo)
"Recuérdame (Arrullo)" (with Lucy Hernández)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Jason Momoa Has Gael Garcia Bernal & James Feeling Smaller". Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017 – via YouTube.
  2. ↑ Cuarón, Alfonso (21 April 2016). "Gael García Bernal: The World's 100 Most Influential People". Time. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Dargis, Manohla; Scott, A.O. (25 November 2020). "The 25 greatest actors of the 21st century (so far)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Gael García Bernal: he plays everybody's favorite revolutionary onscreen, but he's not just playacting, Interview". Archived from the original on 29 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Binoche, Juliette (November 2004). "Gael García Bernal: he plays everybody's favorite revolutionary onscreen, but he's not just playacting". Interview. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  6. ↑ "How We Met: Gael Garcia Bernal & Diego Luna". Independent.co.uk. 10 October 2009. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  7. ↑ "Gael García Bernal". Then It Must Be True. July 2004. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  8. ↑ Calhoun, Dave (25 April 2006). "Gael García Bernal interview". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 25 May 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  9. 1 2 Al Jazeera English (5 October 2013). "The Frost Interview – Gael Garcia Bernal: 'Being optimistic'". Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016 – via YouTube.
  10. ↑ Guardian Staff (16 October 2006). "Gael Garcia Bernal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  11. ↑ Gritten, David (19 April 2002). "Mexican rave". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  12. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170212090930/https://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/documentary-filmmaking-and-social-change
  13. ↑ "INTERVIEW: Padre, Padre: Mexico's Native Son Gael Garcia Bernal Stars in the Controversial "The Crim". 12 November 2002. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  14. ↑ "All-Time Top Grossing Spanish-Language Films in the U.S." Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  15. ↑ "The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) Awards". imdb. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  16. ↑ Louie, Rebecca (26 May 2006). "Gael García Bernal breaks barriers and tackles tough issues". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006.
  17. ↑ Miranda, Carolina A. (2 March 2007). "Q&A with Gael García Bernal". Time. Archived from the original on 30 May 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  18. ↑ "Fall Movie Summer Preview, September: Blindness". Entertainment Weekly, Iss. #1007/1008, 22/29 August 2008, pg.55.
  19. ↑ "Watch the Invisibles". Amnesty International. 8 November 2010. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  20. ↑ Benzine, Adam (13 April 2011). "Gael García Bernal to voice Hispanic "Planet"". realscreen. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  21. ↑ Buchanan, Kyle (14 April 2011). "Will Ferrell's Spanish-Language Movie: ¿Qué?". New York. Archived from the original on 18 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  22. ↑ White, James (22 May 2013). "Gael Garcia Bernal Starring in Rosewater". Empire. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  23. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (16 February 2012). "Garcia Bernal to mark Fox's 'Zorro Reborn'". Variety. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  24. ↑ "The Jury of the 67th Festival de Cannes". Cannes. Archived from the original on 7 September 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  25. ↑ "Ambulante A.C." Ambulante A.C. 1 June 2012. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  26. ↑ "Crossing Mexico: A Journey Of Grave Perils". NPR. 15 September 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  27. ↑ "WOLA's Human Rights Awards". Washington Office on Latin America. 20 September 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  28. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (2 October 2019). "Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal Join Exile's Creative Advisory Board With Chair Adam Grant". Deadline. PMC. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  29. ↑ Kroll, Justin (21 July 2020). "Gael García Bernal Joins M. Night Shyamalan's Next Film". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  30. ↑ Gonzalez, Umberto (4 November 2021). "Gael García Bernal to Star in Marvel's Werewolf-Focused Disney+ Halloween Special (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  31. ↑ "Gael Garcia Bernal: The Intellectual Woman's Hearththrob". Elle. 17 September 2014. Archived from the original on 19 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  32. ↑ El País, El actor mexicano Gael García Bernal será padre en diciembre Archived 9 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine, 5 August 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008
  33. ↑ Gael García Bernal and Dolores Fonzi Welcome a Son Celebrity Baby Blog, 9 January 2009
  34. ↑ "Hija de Gael García nacio en Buenos Aires". noticiaaldia.com. 10 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  35. ↑ Heawood, Sophie (30 December 2015). "Gael García Bernal: 'Donald Trump calls Mexicans rapists and drug dealers. It's hate discourse'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  36. ↑ "¡Ya nació el bebé de Gael García y Fernanda Aragonés!". October 2021.
  37. ↑ Scholz, Pablo O. (2003). "El cine es para viajar y hacer amigos". El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 December 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "Gael García Bernal". IMDb. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  39. ↑ "Premios OYE! – Ganadores". Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
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