Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco to actress/model Patricia Bernal and actor/director José Angel García; Garcia Bernal had acting in his genes. He began as a child and as he was becoming a teen soap opera heartthrob left Mexico to study acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, becoming the first person from Mexico accepted in the program. The search for solid work is a motivation, as he says, “The talent survives and remains while the beauty is diluted.”

It wasn’t until his feature film debut in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Academy Award-nominated Amores Perros that the world took notice. His breakthrough performance as a working-class dreamer earned him Best Actor Awards at Silver Ariel Award (Mexico’s equivalent of the Oscar) as well as a Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival.
He then went on to star in Alfonso Cuarón’s Academy Award-nominated Y tu mamá también, (opposite lifelong friend Diego Luna) and the title role in the Academy Award-nominated romantic drama El Crimen del padre Amaro. He played revolutionary Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries followed by roles in Babel, The King and Blindness. This year he’ll be seen in Lukas Moodysson’s Mammoth, starring opposite Michelle Williams; and in Jim Jarmusch’s The Limits of Control.

In 2005 Garcia Bernal decided to take control of his future and joined with best friend Luna and producer Pablo Cruz to form the production and distribution company Canana and the traveling documentary film festival Ambulante Gira which brings foreign and domestic documentaries to communities all across Mexico. This is another outlet in his quest to make an impact which began at age fourteen when he taught indigenous peoples in Mexico to read and continued with peaceful demonstrations during the Chiapas uprising as a teenager.

Canana is proving to be a successful venture. The company has made nine films in the space of three years including Luna’s directorial debut, the documentary J.C. Chávez which explored the life of legendary boxer Julio César Chávez; Cochochi, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Miami Film Festival and the Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and Sólo quiero caminar which starred Luna.

Inspired by working with the industry’s best directors (Pedro Almodóvar, Walter Salles, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Michel Gondry) Garcia Bernal has moved on to directing and Canana has allowed him the opportunity to expand his creative vision.  His directorial debut was 2008’s Déficit.

This year Canana received major recognition with the worldwide release of Sin Nombre, a gripping drama about immigration, gangs, love, and the search for the American dream that captured critics with solid direction and strong performances.   

Garcia Bernal reteams with Luna in Rudo y Cursi, a film written and directed by Carlos Cuarón scheduled for mainstream DVD release in September. The dramedy follows two brothers from a rural Mexican town who excel at soccer and are brought to the big city to become superstars. They experience fame, betrayal, romance and even become entangled with drug cartels. In our next issue we will bring you an exclusive interview with Gael Garcia Bernal exploring his experiences in this exciting story. Don’t miss it! 

Gael García Bernal es un actor, productor y director que no ve límites en su deseo de crecimiento.  Hijo de padres actores, García Bernal tenia la actuación en sus venas.  Después de actuar desde niño y comenzando a convertirse en estrella de telenovela el joven actor se fue hacia Londres para continuar estudiando actuación. Con papeles en las producciones Mexicanas más sobresalientes de los ultimos años (Amores Perros, Y tu  mama también, El secreto del padre amaro) García Bernal fundo su compañía de producción (junto a su mejor amigo Diego Luna y el productor Pablo Cruz) y ha comenzado a dirigir.   

Location: Chateau Marmont/ Los Angeles, CA