Gael Garcia Bernal

Gael Garcia Bernal is probably the most well-known Mexican actor, having graced Hollywood and the Oscar awards on a regular basis. Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco to parents who happened to be in the film industry (mother Patricia Bernal was an actress and former model, while father Jose Angel Garcia was an actor and director). His mother married his stepfather Sergio Yazbek while Gael was still young, and had been acting since he was a year old. His teen years featured him in a series of telenovelas, as well as several literacy campaigns. He also took part in peaceful demonstrations during the Chiapas uprising in 1994.

In his late teens, despite being successful in the Mexican soaps as a teenage heartthrob, he eventually decided to further enhance his craft by leaving Mexican television to formally study acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, the first ever Mexican to get accepted.

Subsequently he has portrayed a wide range of roles in several celebrated Mexican films such as Amoers Perros, Y tu mama tambien, and El Crimen del Padre Amaro. He also starred in theater roles, which included a 2005 production of Bodas de Sangre, in London's Almeida Theatre.

It was his role as a working class dreamer in the film Amores Perros, an Oscar-nominee, that made Hollywood pay attention.

One of his most memorable performances was in his porrtayal of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, in the TV miniseries “Fidel” and in 2004's “The Motorcycle Diaries” which were an adaptation of Che Guevara's journel while traveling South America. He also worked with several famous directors such as Alfonso Cuaron, Michael Gondry, and Pedro Almodovar. He also performed in English-language films such as “ The Science of Sleep,” “The King,” and Academy award winner, “Babel.”