On this date in 1978, actor Gael García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. He became the first Mexican accepted into London’s prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama, where he studied drama. He appeared as a teen in telenovelas (soap operas) and has appeared in many films, including “Amores perros” (2000), “Y tu mama tambien” (2001), “El Crimen del padre Amaro” (2002), “The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004), “Bad Education” (2004), “Babel” (2006), “Even the Rain” (2010), “Casa de Mi Padre” (2011) and “No” (2012).
García Bernal was nominated for a BAFTA Best Actor Award for “The Motorcycle Diaries” and “No” received a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. He continued to land acting, directing and voice roles in the mid- to late-2010s. He won a 2016 Golden Globe for Best Actor — Television Series Musical Or Comedy for “Mozart in the Jungle,” Amazon Studios’ web TV series. Time magazine in 2016 named him a Most Influential person.
In the movie “El Crimen del padre Amaro,” García Bernal plays a young priest who forms a relationship with a teen girl whom he impregnates. He pressures her to get an abortion and the unregulated procedure kills her. The Catholic Church attempted to stop its release in Mexico.
He married Argentinean actress Dolores Fonzi in 2009. They have two children, Lazaro and Libertad.
