Gael García Bernal

Acting

Gael García Bernal

Born 1978-11-30 · Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Gael García Bernal is a Mexican actor and filmmaker. He is known for his performances in the films Amores perros (2000), Y tu mamá también (2001), Bad Education (2004), The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), Babel (2006), Coco (2017), Old (2021), and Cassandro (2023). He has also played music conductor Rodrigo de Souza in the television drama series Mozart in the Jungle (2014–2018) and starred in the Disney+ special Werewolf by Night (2022). García Bernal was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of a young Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries in 2005, and in 2016 won his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for Mozart in the Jungle. He and fellow actor Diego Luna founded the production company Canana Films in Mexico City. In 2016, Time magazine named him in the annual Time 100 Most Influential People list. In 2020, The New York Times ranked him No. 25 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.

Acting credits

Coco poster
8.2

Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.

Coco

2017

Old poster
6.3

A group of families on a tropical holiday discover that the secluded beach where they are staying is somehow causing them to age rapidly – reducing their entire lives into a single day.

Old

2021

Babel poster
7.2

Tragedy strikes a married couple vacationing in the Moroccan desert, which jumpstarts an interlocking story involving four different families.

Babel

2006

Y Tu Mamá También poster
7.4

In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.

Y Tu Mamá También

2001

Amores Perros poster
7.6

A fatalistic car crash in Mexico city sets off a chain of events in the lives of three people: a supermodel, a young man wanting to run off with his sister-in-law, and a homeless man.

Amores Perros

2000

Werewolf by Night poster
7.0

On a dark and somber night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader’s life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster.

Werewolf by Night

2022

The Mother poster
6.6

A deadly female assassin comes out of hiding to protect the daughter that she gave up years before, while on the run from dangerous men.

The Mother

2023

Holland poster
5.4

Teacher Nancy's life with her husband in Holland, Michigan, tumbles into a twisted tale when she and a colleague become suspicious of a secret.

Holland

2025

Blindness poster
6.5

When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine.

Blindness

2008

Letters to Juliet poster
7.0

An American girl on vacation in Italy finds an unanswered "letter to Juliet" -- one of thousands of missives left at the fictional lover's Verona courtyard, which are typically answered by the "secretaries of Juliet" -- and she goes on a quest to find the lovers referenced in the letter.

Letters to Juliet

2010

Bad Education poster
7.4

When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.

Bad Education

2004

Nothing Between Us poster
5.5

Living in Mexico City, Guillermo and Mechi, in Buenos Aires, are separated by over 4,000 miles and their marriages, both having structured family lives. Working for the same multinational food manufacturer they meet by chance at a corporate offsite. The attraction between them proves immediate and irresistible. The sudden spark makes them face their own desires and changes them in deeper ways than they thought possible.

Nothing Between Us

2026

The Motorcycle Diaries poster
7.4

Based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he and best friend Alberto Granado had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s.

The Motorcycle Diaries

2004

Wasp Network poster
6.0

Havana, Cuba, 1990. René González, an airplane pilot, unexpectedly flees the country, leaving behind his wife Olga and his daughter Irma, and begins a new life in Miami, where he becomes a member of an anti-Castro organization.

Wasp Network

2020

Desierto poster
6.2

A group of Mexican emigrants attempts to cross the Mexican-US border. What begins as a hopeful journey becomes a harrowing, bloody and primal fight for survival when a deranged, rifle-toting vigilante and his loyal Belgian Malinois dog chase the group of unarmed men and women through the treacherous borderland. In the harsh, unforgiving desert terrain, the odds are stacked firmly against them as they discover there’s nowhere to hide from the unrelenting, merciless killer.

Desierto

2015

No poster
7.2

In 1988, Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, due to international pressure, is forced to call a plebiscite on his presidency. The country will vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to Pinochet extending his rule for another eight years. Opposition leaders for the ‘No’ vote persuade a brash young advertising executive, René Saavedra, to spearhead their campaign. Against all odds, with scant resources and while under scrutiny by the despot’s minions, Saavedra and his team devise an audacious plan to win the election and set Chile free.

No

2012

The Limits of Control poster
6.0

A mysterious stranger works outside the law and keeps his objectives hidden, trusting no one. While his demeanor is paradoxically focused and dreamlike all at once, he embarks on a journey that not only takes him across Spain, but also through his own consciousness.

The Limits of Control

2009

The Kindergarten Teacher poster
6.5

Lisa Spinelli is a Staten Island teacher who is unusually devoted to her students. When she discovers one of her five-year-olds is a prodigy, she becomes fascinated with the boy, ultimately risking her family and freedom to nurture his talent.

The Kindergarten Teacher

2018

Vamps poster
5.3

The modern-day story focuses on two beautiful young vampires who are living the good nightlife in New York until love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality.

Vamps

2012

Hombre al agua poster
NR

Camilo, a Cuban lifeguard, saves Mexican businessman Abel from drowning. Grateful, Abel brings Camilo to Mexico, where he marries Abel's daughter, Juana, and they have a child. But Camilo soon discovers his new life is part of Abel's Machiavellian plan of manipulation and control. With his world collapsing, Camilo must uncover the plot and take control of his destiny. Will he find a way out, or remain trapped in the power game?

Hombre al agua

2026

The Science of Sleep poster
7.0

A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.

The Science of Sleep

2006

The Crime of Padre Amaro poster
6.7

Sent to Mexico to help take care of aging Father Benito, young Father Amaro faces a moral challenge when he meets a 16-year-old girl who he starts an affair with. Likewise, the girl's mother had been having an affair with Father Benito. Father Amaro must choose between a holy or sinful life.

The Crime of Padre Amaro

2002

Magellan poster
6.4

At the dawn of the modern era, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan leads an expedition under the Spanish crown in search of the first westward route to the Spice Islands. He embarks on a perilous journey across the uncharted Pacific, where his fleet faces starvation, mutiny, and the psychological toll of endless seas. Upon reaching the shores of Cebu, Magellan is pulled into a fatal conflict with the natives by his drive to spread Catholicism, culminating in his tragic doom.

Magellan

2025

Common Ground: Under Construction Notes poster
10.0

The making of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Babel is chronicled through an observational approach that captures the creative and logistical challenges of filming a deeply interconnected narrative across four continents. Directed by Carlos Armella and Pedro González-Rubio, the documentary reveals Iñárritu’s commitment to authenticity and cultural sensitivity, from collaborating with local actors and communities to meticulously recreating environments. Through behind-the-scenes footage and the director’s reflective commentary, it delves into themes of human connection, the boundaries we hold within ourselves, and the visceral nature of communication, offering profound insights into the philosophy behind the acclaimed film.

Common Ground: Under Construction Notes

2007

Behind the camera

Leagues poster
6.0

Moving between classrooms – static interiors and roaring, raucous exteriors – Leagues explores the subject of academic exclusion in native communities. Named after an archaic unit of measurement, Martel's postcolonial film depicts how education, though a social tool, can also create division and discrimination.

Leagues

2015

Hombre al agua poster
NR

Camilo, a Cuban lifeguard, saves Mexican businessman Abel from drowning. Grateful, Abel brings Camilo to Mexico, where he marries Abel's daughter, Juana, and they have a child. But Camilo soon discovers his new life is part of Abel's Machiavellian plan of manipulation and control. With his world collapsing, Camilo must uncover the plot and take control of his destiny. Will he find a way out, or remain trapped in the power game?

Hombre al agua

2026

Hombre al agua poster
NR

Camilo, a Cuban lifeguard, saves Mexican businessman Abel from drowning. Grateful, Abel brings Camilo to Mexico, where he marries Abel's daughter, Juana, and they have a child. But Camilo soon discovers his new life is part of Abel's Machiavellian plan of manipulation and control. With his world collapsing, Camilo must uncover the plot and take control of his destiny. Will he find a way out, or remain trapped in the power game?

Hombre al agua

2026

Hombre al agua poster
NR

Camilo, a Cuban lifeguard, saves Mexican businessman Abel from drowning. Grateful, Abel brings Camilo to Mexico, where he marries Abel's daughter, Juana, and they have a child. But Camilo soon discovers his new life is part of Abel's Machiavellian plan of manipulation and control. With his world collapsing, Camilo must uncover the plot and take control of his destiny. Will he find a way out, or remain trapped in the power game?

Hombre al agua

2026

Chicuarotes poster
7.8

Cagalera and Moloteco are two teenagers from San Gregorio Atlapulco who are desperate to get out and move up and away from oppressive circumstances. When they hear of an opportunity to buy a spot in the electrician’s union, which could transform their lives, they quickly devolve into the criminal, adult underworld of Mexico City in a bid to buy their freedom.

Chicuarotes

2019

Chicuarotes poster
7.8

Cagalera and Moloteco are two teenagers from San Gregorio Atlapulco who are desperate to get out and move up and away from oppressive circumstances. When they hear of an opportunity to buy a spot in the electrician’s union, which could transform their lives, they quickly devolve into the criminal, adult underworld of Mexico City in a bid to buy their freedom.

Chicuarotes

2019

Madly poster
4.9

Madly explores love in all its permutations in six short films from a vibrant group of filmmakers representing Japan, Argentina, the UK, the US, India, and Australia. All forms of love are on display in this anthology. And all manners of feelings expressed from jubilance to depression are done so strongly.

Madly

2016

Madly poster
4.9

Madly explores love in all its permutations in six short films from a vibrant group of filmmakers representing Japan, Argentina, the UK, the US, India, and Australia. All forms of love are on display in this anthology. And all manners of feelings expressed from jubilance to depression are done so strongly.

Madly

2016

The letter poster
NR

Part of the film "8", Gael García Bernal delivers a film on universal education.

The letter

2008

8 poster
5.4

8 shorts centered around 8 themes directed by 8 famous film directors involved and sharing their opinion on progress, on the set-backs and the challenges our planet faces today.

8

2008

8 poster
5.4

8 shorts centered around 8 themes directed by 8 famous film directors involved and sharing their opinion on progress, on the set-backs and the challenges our planet faces today.

8

2008

8 poster
5.4

8 shorts centered around 8 themes directed by 8 famous film directors involved and sharing their opinion on progress, on the set-backs and the challenges our planet faces today.

8

2008

Thesis on a Domestication poster
6.7

A successful transgender actress decided to adopt a child with her lawyer husband . She juggles her career, marriage, and the adoption in pursuit of domestic happiness, all while trying to embrace her flaws and contradictions and also claim and defend her right to ambition, desire, and security. But that pursuit is eventually thwarted when they visit the actress's hometown.

Thesis on a Domestication

2025

Revolución poster
5.1

Made up of 10 short films, 'Revolucion' analyzes through the eyes of the directors what is the revolution today and what it means to the young minds of Mexico.

Revolución

2010

Who Is Dayani Cristal? poster
6.5

An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for identity leads us back across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo.

Who Is Dayani Cristal?

2013

The Empty Classroom poster
NR

Eleven award winning directors explore why nearly one out of every two students in Latin America never graduates high school.

The Empty Classroom

2015

Déficit poster
5.1

Cristóbal is the son of a corrupt politician with great power. Without his parents at home, he decides to have a party with his wealthy friends. In contrast, there will be the life of the house gardener.

Déficit

2007

Los Invisibles poster
NR

This short documentary reviews the lives and experiences of mexican and centroamerican migrants as they try to reach the US border.

Los Invisibles

2010

No artwork available
5.0

Romina goes to Silvina's to give her a haircut. They met through an online platform that connects people offering and looking for services of all kinds.

The Visible Hand

2015