Gael García Bernal (born 30 November, 1978 in Guadalajara, Mexico) is a Mexican actor, producer and director with a strong interest in political activism.
His parents, José Ángel García and Patricia Bernal, were both theatre actors and he started acting as a one year old. After working in telenovelas through his teens, he launched his film career with roles in Amores Perros and then Y tu mamá también. In the latter film, he co-starred with his best friend, Diego Luna, to great critical acclaim, winning awards at the Venice Film Festival and MTV awards.
The two of them went on co-found Canana Films (independent production company) and Ambulante A.C. (an organisation that works to bring documentary films to places where they are rarely shown).
Later notable acting roles for García include The Motorcycle Diaries, Rosewater, Coco, and the TV series Mozart in the Jungle (for which he won a Golden Globe award).
He was the last person to be interviewed by legendary British interviewer Sir David Frost and the interview was released posthumously
with García narrating the program in the style of a documentary.
His half-brother Darío Yazbek Bernal is an actor in his own right.
Selected filmography:
- Amores Perros (2000) as Octavio
- Y tu mamá también (2001) as Julio Zapata
- El Crimen del Padre Amaro (2002) as Father Amaro
- The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) as Che Guevara
- Bad Education (2004) as Juan/Angel and Zahara
- Babel (2006) as Santiago
- Casa de mi Padre (2012) as Onza
- No (2012) as Rene
- Cesar Chavez (2014) cameo (also producer)
- Rosewater (2014) as Maziar Bahari
- Mozart in the Jungle (2014-2018) as Rodrigo
- Coco (2017) as Héctor (English and Latin American Spanish dubs)
- Old (2021) as Guy
- Station Eleven (2021-22) as Arthur Leander
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (2022 — present) as Jack Russell/Werewolf By Night
- Cassandro (2023) as Saúl Armendáriz/Cassandro
