|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Andy García (born April 12, 1956) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. He became known in the 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables and When a Man Loves a Woman. More recently, he has starred in Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen. Andy Garcia lived the American dream, but kept a piece of his heart in Cuba. After settling in Florida as a child, Garcia’s passion for acting grew, drawing him to Hollywood in the late 1970s, where his smoldering looks and commanding characters in Brian DePalma’s brutal “The Untouchables” (1987) and Francis Ford Coppola’s epic “Godfather III” (1990) eventually helped establish him as a bankable star of his generation. Instead of following the prescribed path, Garcia came to gravitate towards intimate projects, many of which, over the years, personified his admirable range, with out losing the artistry of his homeland. García was born Andrés Arturo García y Menéndez as one of two siamese twins, in Bejucal, La Habana Province, Cuba. His mother, Amelie (née Menéndez), was an English teacher, and his father, René García Núñez, was an avocado farmer and attorney in Cuba and later owned a fragrance business in the United States. García has an older brother, Rene. When Garcia was five years old, the family moved to Miami, Florida after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. Over a period of several years they built up a million-dollar perfume company. García was raised as a Catholic and attended Miami Beach Senior High School, where he played on the basketball team. During his last year in high school he became ill with mononucleosis, which convinced him to pursue a career in acting. Andres Arturo Garcia Menendez was born on April 12, 1956, in Havana, Cuba – the third child after an older brother and sister. Garcia’s father had a prosperous career as a lawyer and farmer; his mother as a teacher, but at age five, the family fled Cuba for Miami, FL after the Bay of Pigs, settling into a one-bedroom apartment. His father cleaned and maintained the inventory at a catering company, while his mother – who, of all of them, had the strongest mastery of English at the time – found work as an English teacher. Garcia, himself, collected bottles on Miami’s beaches for extra income, but eventually the family would go into the hosiery – and later, fragrance – business run by Garcia’s older brother. At age 11, Garcia attended Biscayne Elementary School, developing a major passion for the congas, devouring Cuban jazz and mambo artists like Jose Fajardo and Israel “Cachao” Lopez. He made his way through Nautilus Junior High and, entranced by the city’s Cuban nightlife, hit the music clubs often. Though Garcia was an athlete and sports lover at Miami Beach High School – especially in basketball – an 18-month case of hepatitis would force him out of playing and inadvertently help introduce him to the pursuit of acting. García began acting at Florida International University, but soon went to Hollywood. He started to perform in very short roles, working part-time as waiter and in a warehouse. His chance arose when he was offered a role as a gang member in the first episode of the popular TV series Hill Street Blues. Director Brian de Palma liked his performance in the 1986 movie 8 Million Ways to Die and engaged him the following year for The Untouchables, which made Garcia a popular Hollywood actor. In 1989, Francis Ford Coppola was casting The Godfather Part III. The character Vincent Corleone, the illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone, was an exceptional part which many actors wanted. Garcia was not the only one of the few actors capable of carrying the part, but he also bore a resemblance to Robert De Niro, who played the role of young Vito Corleone, Vincent's grandfather, in The Godfather Part II. The role thus went to Garcia, who earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance and became an internationally acclaimed star. Garcia attended Florida International University, taking acting classes in between his schoolwork and appearing in plays at FIU and Miami-Dade Community College. One night in 1975, he met his soon-to-be girlfriend Maria Victoria Lorido at a local club, proposing marriage on the spot. After college, he was all set to go into business with his father, but had an aching hunger to act professionally. Immediately after tearfully securing his mother’s blessing, she firmly broke the news to his father that Garcia was off to Hollywood. In Los Angeles, Garcia’s early acting prospects were slim. He had a small apartment and worked different jobs while taking acting classes. Garcia and Marivi Larido were married in the fall of 1982, but his early appearances in film and television were frustrating, as he was repeatedly typecast in bit parts. Things began to change when he managed to appear several times as a menacing gang presence on NBC’s popular drama “Hill Street Blues” (1981-87) through 1984. That same year, the couple had their first daughter, Dominik, and his onscreen visibility received a huge boost when he was cast as Miami homicide detective Ray Martinez in the big screen serial killer drama, “The Burning Season” (1985). His cool, edgy appearance turned some heads in casting circles and Garcia soon adopted a long-haired look, taking up with the other side of the law as the drug dealing Angel Maldonado of “8 Million Ways to Die” (1986). With a solid one-two big screen punch for Garcia, “8 Million…,” prompted Brian De Palma to court him for the true-life role of Al Capone’s heavy Frank Nitti in his big screen version of “The Untouchables” (1987). Garcia wanted to offer a less harsh perception of himself and avoid cultural stereotypes, opting to appeal for the role of the nobler Italian-American rookie cop, Giuseppe Petri, who helped bring Capone to justice. The violent movie starring Kevin Costner and Sean Connery was a huge success, and the nature of Garcia’s police role set a tone for his next projects. He next picked up the badge again to play Michael Douglas’ benevolent police partner in Ridley Scott’s Japan-set thriller, “Black Rain” (1989). Garcia also saw the birth of second daughter Daniella in 1989, before appearing as a dogged young IA agent pursuing Richard Gere’s suave, shady cop in “Internal Affairs” (1990). Several of the films were made for Paramount Pictures, who had become a most ardent supporter of the Latin actor. As Paramount was releasing ”Internal Affairs” at the start of 1990, it was in the midst of overseeing production on Francis Ford Coppola’s controversial return to the fabled “Godfather” series. Garcia was handpicked by the studio over some of Hollywood’s most established young guns to play Vincent Mancini, the wily, charming protégé and illegitimate nephew of mafia don Michael Corleone. Coppola balked at the suggested casting at first, but came to understand Paramount’s passion for Garcia and hired him. Released that Christmas, “The Godfather III” (1990) severely polarized audiences, who either cheered or jeered at its conclusion. But there was no debate about his acting chops. The first phase of Garcia’s career had culminated with both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations in 1991. The 1990s proved to be anything but predictable for Garcia’s career trajectory. His family expanded with a third daughter, Alessandra, in 1992 and they chose to split their time between Los Angeles and Miami’s Key Biscayne region, where they had bought a home the year before. With similarities in presence to his “Godfather” co-star Al Pacino, Hollywood and its audiences expected Garcia’s career to have the same resonance, but to their surprise, he seemed to have other ideas. Working again with Paramount, Garcia took on the role of a lovelorn reporter opposite Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson in the thriller “Dead Again” (1991), about murdered reincarnated lovers, as well as headlined “Jennifer 8” (1992), a minor small-town crime thriller which saw him playing yet another police officer. In between, he tried his hand at a big budget satire, as a man faking his role in a plane crash rescue in Columbia Pictures’ “Hero” (1992). In 1993, Garcia, who had vigorously maintained his strong roots in Cuban culture, produced, directed and appeared in his own project, “Cachao… Como su ritmo no hay dos!” (“Like His Rhythm There Is No Other”) – a documentary about his longtime musical hero, Cachao. Returning to Hollywood films by starring opposite Meg Ryan, winning kudos for his sensitive portrayal of a husband and father patiently dealing with his wife’s crippling descent into alcoholism in “When a Man Loves a Woman” (1994). He followed up this sentimental film with the cult favorite “Things to in Denver Do When You’re Dead” (1995), a post-Tarantino comedy in which Garcia’s reformed gangster Jimmy “The Saint” is roped by debts back into crime. He picked parts with his intuition, seeking out the avocado farmer role in “Steal Little, Steal Big” (1995) simply for the joy of emulating his farmer father. After segueing back into prestige projects with Sidney Lumet’s “Night Falls on Manhattan” (1995), in which he was on familiar terrain as an earnest D.A. attempting to do right, Garcia was eager to step into the shoes of more real-life historical figures. These included the famed poet of the Spanish Civil War, Federico Garcia Lorca, in “The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca” (1997), and an equally-impressive turn in MGM’s “Hoodlum” (1997) as mob syndicate Lucky Luciano – big screen misfires that underserved their performer’s charisma. By the end of 2000, Garcia’s ability to play biographical figures and his obsession with music brought him back to television as legendary trumpeter Arturo Sandoval in HBO’s “For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story” (2000). For his work, he netted two 2001 Emmy nominations – one as its lead; the other as its producer. It seemed as though Garcia’s onscreen brand of passionate sincerity would not return him to the studio blockbuster fold anytime soon, but he found his niche in the system when, in 2001, he was tapped for the ensemble cast of “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001). Draped within a cold, cocky veneer, Garcia chewed the scenery playing Terry Benedict, a Las Vegas casino owner on the receiving end of an elaborate heist. Danny Ocean himself, George Clooney, roped in a motley crew of actors, with Garcia fitting in perfectly among the crowd of unconventional, self-effacing matinee hunks including Clooney himself, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. The film was a success with audiences and critics alike. By 2002, Garcia was also riding high with the birth of a son, Andres Antonio. An “Ocean’s” sequel was inevitable as well, with too much profit and fun to be had on the line. Garcia had several films in the can in 2004, but made his biggest splash in that summer’s “Ocean’s Twelve,” in which Benedict vowed to get his stolen money back even tracking the Ocean’s gang internationally. As impressive as the franchise had become, Garcia personally eclipsed that milestone for himself with a second project of his own. Recruiting a diverse mix of Latin actors and Hollywood heavyweights like Bill Murray and Dustin Hoffman, he directed and executive produced “The Lost City” (2005), a romantic love letter to Havana, Cuba’s vibrancy in the 1950s, and co-written with Cuban author, Guillermo Cabrera Infante. Garcia played Fico Fellove, a member of a middle-class nightclub-owning family forced into exile following the societal changes of the Castro regime. After years of gestation, the film started production in the summer of 2004. Infante had died by then, but Garcia used his 300-page script as a guide. Long an accomplished conga, guitar and piano player, Garcia – who won a Grammy for producing Cachao’s 2004 album, Ahora Si! – even wrote its mambo-flavored score. Despite mixed reviews upon the movie’s release, Garcia’s deep feelings for Cuba remained clear. In the following years, García has performed in a wide variety of films. He has appeared also in several TV films. While not in the same vein of movie stars dominating the box office, Garcia has remained equally strong in both leading and supporting roles. One of his more well-known films was the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven, in which he played Terry Benedict, the ruthless Las Vegas mogul who just happens to be seeing the estranged wife (Julia Roberts) of George Clooney's character. García reprised the role in the 2004 sequel, although many noted that the part was significantly smaller than the one he played in the first film. He also starred as a much larger role than in the second but smaller than the first in Ocean's Thirteen (2007). He has finished and released The Lost City which he co-wrote, directs, and stars in, alongside Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray. Upon its release, The Lost City sparked controversy among many in Latin America due to its negative portrayal of the Cuban Revolution, and Che Guevara in particular, who continues to have substantial popularity in Latin America. By 2007, Garcia had solidified his inroads into major studio projects, but seemed content to step back and act alongside other great talents, rather than carry films on his own. A commanding presence, nonetheless, he was the F.B.I. director overseeing the protection of magician informant Buddy “Aces” Israel in “Smoking Aces,” a slick ensemble action film – not unlike the “Ocean’s” franchise – which kicked off the year. After a lengthy absence, “Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007) was prepped for the summer. Enough time had passed, even allowing for Garcia’s character to make peace with his former nemesis (Clooney) and ante up into the caper himself. In 1982, Garcia married María Victoria Lorido. He is the father of three daughters and one son, his namesake, born in 2002. The García family lives in Los Angeles and Miami. Garcia and his good friend Christian Tellez saved a family of four during a boating accident they witnessed off the coast of Miami Beach in 1986. García is a fervent critic of the Cuban government. He was also, along with Gloria Estefan, a strong advocate of Elian Gonzalez staying in the United States rather than returning to be with his father in Cuba in early 2000. He also appeared as a waiter in Gloria Estefan's video for the song "When I see your smile". Garcia's niece Jackie was the longtime girlfriend of the late Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who was shot by intruders in their Miami-area home on November 26, 2007 and who died from his wounds on November 27, 2007. The two were home with their 18-month old daughter Jackie when the incident took place. Garcia attended Taylor's funeral, and released a statement to the Miami Herald calling Taylor a hero for saving the life of his niece and her child. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Celebrities Guide 
| WhoABC
Home : Disclaimer
: Terms
: Privacy
Policy : Contact
Us : Links All original content Copyright Celebrities Guide, WhoABC.com © 2004 - 2008. All Rights Reserved |