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Best Known For
From The Untouchables to Stand and Deliver to Ocean's Eleven, Andy Garcia built an impressive acting resume.
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Play NowAndy Garcia. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:55, May 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/andy-garcia-9542439.
Andy Garcia. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/andy-garcia-9542439 [Accessed 19 May 2013].
"Andy Garcia." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 19 2013, 10:55 http://www.biography.com/people/andy-garcia-9542439.
"Andy Garcia," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/andy-garcia-9542439 [accessed May 19, 2013].
"Andy Garcia," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/andy-garcia-9542439 (accessed May 19, 2013).
Andy Garcia [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/andy-garcia-9542439.
Andy Garcia, http://www.biography.com/people/andy-garcia-9542439 (last visited May 19, 2013).
Andy Garcia. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/andy-garcia-9542439. Accessed May 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Andy Garcia was born on April 12, 1956, in Havana, Cuba. Political upheaval in that country forced his family to Miami when he was a child. After college, Garcia moved to Hollywood to pursue acting. In 1983, he made his film debut in the baseball film Blue Skies Again. Garcia's big break came in 1987, when he landed a significant role in the blockbuster film The Untouchables, starring Kevin Costner. In 1994,
he made his directorial debut with the film Cachao ... Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos (Cachao ... Like His Rhythm There Is No Other), which received high praise from critics worldwide. Garcia also produced an album based on the film that was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2001, Garcia teamed with an all-star cast for director Steven Soderbergh's remake of Ocean's Eleven. Three years later, he returned to perform in the film's sequel, Ocean's Twelve.
Early Life
Born Andrés Arturo García Menéndez on April 12, 1956, in Havana, Cuba, where his father was a lawyer and landowner, Andy Garcia has established himself as one of Hollywood's leading actors. He starred in a number of popular films in the late 1980s and '90s, including The Untouchables (1987); Stand and Deliver (1988); The Godfather: Part III (1990); Internal Affairs (1990); and Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995).
Garcia has lived in the United States since he was a child, but his choice of film projects in the mid-1990s is indicative of his strong interest in his Latin-American roots. In 1997, he starred as the early 20th century Spanish poet Federico García Lorca in The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca and as the legendary Cuban musician Arturo Sandoval in HBO's For Love or Country (2000).
Two years after Garcia was born, Cuba became embroiled in revolution, and in January 1959 Fidel Castro assumed power in that country. Garcia's father lost his property as a result of Castro's confiscation of land from private owners. In 1961 the U.S. government backed an invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro forces. That invasion effort failed and caused many Cuban residents to flee to Spain for the United States.
In the midst of this political turmoil, when Garcia was 5 years old, he and his family moved to Miami, Florida. Once in Miami, Garcia attended the local high school, where he played basketball for a time. After contracting mononucleosis, which he believed dulled his athletic edge, he discovered acting. He went on to study acting at Florida International University and performed in regional theater productions until 1978.
Aspiring Actor
Like many other struggling actors who dream of stardom, Garcia was attracted to Hollywood, the hub of the movie industry. In 1978, he moved to what he referred to Hollywood. He worked as a waiter to earn a living while he auditioned for parts. In 1980, he secured a role with an improvisational group at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
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