Gael Garcia Bernal biography
Gael García Bernal (IPA: /ga'el gaɾ'sia beɾ'nal/; born November 30, 1978) is a Mexico actor and film director.
Biography
Early life
García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Jalisco, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model (person), and José Angel García, an actor and film director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was young. He started acting at just a year old and spent most of his teen years starring in telenovelas. When he was fourteen, he taught literacy to indigenous peoples in Mexico, often with the Huichol Indians. In his later teens he took part in peaceful demonstrations during the Zapatista Army of National Liberation of 1994.
Career
García Bernal was becoming a soap opera heartthrob, but at age 19, he left Mexico's television world to study acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, becoming the first person from Mexico to be accepted in the program. Subsequently, García Bernal starred in some of Mexico's most celebrated recent films, beginning with
Amores Perros (2000), then 2001's
Y tu mamá también, and
El crimen del Padre Amaro (2002). He has also done some theatre work, including a 2005 production of
Bodas de Sangre, by Federico García Lorca, in the Almeida Theatre in London. His debut as a working-class dreamer in the Oscar-nominated
Amores Perros, however, was what first grabbed Hollywood, Los Angeles, California's attention.
García Bernal also portrayed Argentina physician turned Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara twice, first in the 2002 TV miniseries
Fidel (film) and then, better known, in 2004's
The Motorcycle Diaries (film), an adaptation of a journal a 23-year-old Guevara wrote about his travels across South America. García Bernal worked for acclaimed directors including Pedro Almodóvar, Walter Salles, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Michel Gondry, among others. He recently took on roles in English language films, including the Gondry-directed
The Science of Sleep, the Alejandro González Iñárritu-directed
Babel (2006 film), and
The King (film), for which he earned rave reviews. He has been nominated for a BAFTA in 2005 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for
The Motorcycle Diaries (film) and, in 2006, was nominated for the Rising Star Award, BAFTA award which acknowledges new talents in the acting industry.
García Bernal also directed his first feature film,
Déficit, which was released in 2007. García Bernal is also featured on the 2007 Devendra Banhart album
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, contributing vocals on the first track entitled "Cristobal." Bernal was cast for the 2008 film
Blindness (film), an film adaptation of the 1995 Blindness (novel) by José Saramago about a society suffering an epidemic of blindness. Like 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.'"
Personal life
García Bernal's parents participated in an annual clown competition which inspired Bernal as a young child to become the actor he is today.
García Bernal is "culturally Catholic" and "spiritually agnostic". He speaks fluent Spanish language and English language; and Portuguese language, French language and language to some degree. García Bernal studied at the Edron Academy in Mexico City. He plays football in the Adecmac soccer league. He is currently expecting a child with the Argentinian actress Dolores Fonzi, in December 2008
He was raised by his mother and stepfather the photographer Sergio Yazbek.
Roles in Academy Award Nominated Films
Gael Garcia Bernal has been in six Oscar-nominated films:
- De tripas, corazon - (Best Live-Action Short Film)
- Amores Perros - (Best Foreign Language Film, Mexico)
- El Crimen del Padre Amaro - (Best Foreign Language Film, Mexico)
- Y Tu Mamá También - (Best Original Screenplay)
- The Motorcycle Diaries (film) - (Best Song, Best Adapted Screenplay)
- Babel (film) - (Best Picture, Best Director, Best S. Actress, Best S. Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Score)
Quotes
- "The talent survives and remains while the beauty is diluted."
- "Changes occur that way. Suddenly the bricks fall into place in some sort of chaotic serenity."
- "I'm an actor. I don't need to abide by any ethnicity."
- "I was very involved. I helped with sending food, writing and reading about the situation, and demonstrating about it on the marches. It was great. I was young, and it was fun. And I've got to say, I met my first girlfriend – my first real girlfriend - there as well. It was a great place to meet girls!"- Gael on the Zapatista Army of National Liberation Overview
Gael Garcia Bernal in the news
Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna star as footballing brothers in ....
BBC NewsGael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna star as footballing brothers in ...BBC NewsThe film brings together the best-known names in Mexican cinema, reuniting Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna eight years after their performances in ...Carlos Cuarón's Rudo y Cursi, starring Gael García Bernal and ...Examiner.comSpotted: Diego Luna & Gael Garcia BernalTheInsider.comRT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and CursiRotten TomatoesIrish Times -Telegraph.co.uk -Salt Lake Tribune -Deseret Newsall 51 news articles »
read moreMexican movie phenomenon - CNN International
Mirror.co.ukMexican movie phenomenonCNN InternationalLONDON, England (CNN) -- Eight years ago, Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna became global pin-ups for the resurgence in Mexican filmmaking after ...Five Favourite Films with Diego LunaRotten TomatoesFilm review: Rudo And CursiMirror.co.ukREVIEW: RUDO AND CURSITottenham, Wood Green and Edmonton JournalThe Yorkerall 8 news articles »
read moreGael García Bernal Will Take Whatever He Can Get - New York Magazine
New York MagazineGael García Bernal Will Take Whatever He Can GetNew York Magazine—Gael García Bernal [Contact Music] "Thank God, my real life doesn't resemble poor Mia at all." —Hope Davis on her In Treatment character [Daily Beast] "Do ...and more »
read moreStalking Gael Garcia Bernal Is Drunker In Scotland - Indie Wire
Indie WireStalking Gael Garcia Bernal Is Drunker In ScotlandIndie WireAs remarkably embarrassing as it is to admit this via a drunken photograph, last night my Gael stalking went global at a party for Alastair Siddons's ...and more »
read moreGAEL GARCIA BERNAL LIKES PRAISE - Contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.comGAEL GARCIA BERNAL LIKES PRAISEContactmusic.comGael Garcia Bernal says it feels ''nice to be complemented but worries about the culture of celebrity. Gael Garcia Bernal likes people complimenting his ...and more »
read moreIn Bed With … Gael Garcia Bernal - The Frisky
The FriskyIn Bed With … Gael Garcia BernalThe FriskyAlthough Gael comes in a tiny package, this man packs a major bite! As fiery as they come, he's a man that lives fearlessly and most likely has a very ...and more »
read moreMovie openings and capsule reviews - San Jose Mercury News
Movie openings and capsule reviewsSan Jose Mercury NewsCarlos Cuaron directs Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna. In Spanish with subtitles. (R) Not reviewed. "Sleep Dealer": The futuristic suspense saga opens in ...and more »
read moreCute Movie Couple Alert: Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia Bernal - Fash...
Cute Movie Couple Alert: Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia BernalFashion.ieClick to ReadCute Movie Couple Alert: Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia Bernal How cute is this? Amanda Seyfried and Gael Garcia Bernal are teaming up to play a ...Seyfried, Redgrave, Garcia Bernal, and Nero Write 'Letters to Juliet'Cinematicalall 12 news articles »
read moreWhich film friends should be reunited? - guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.ukWhich film friends should be reunited?guardian.co.ukGael García Bernal and Diego Luna, the charismatic amigos from Y Tu Mamá También, are together again in Rudo & Cursi. They're good, but whose onscreen ...What It Was, Was Futbol: 'Rudo y Cursi' - A ReviewMemphis Commercial Appealall 2 news articles »
read moreLA Film Fest: Born Without - ScreenCrave.com
ScreenCrave.comLA Film Fest: Born WithoutScreenCrave.com... the traveling film initiative established by Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal to promote documentary culture from across Mexico. ...and more »
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