Jesse Garcia(III)
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Jesse Garcia
Garcia has been widely recognized for his role in the highly acclaimed
"Quinceañera," winner of the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at
the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and Official Selection for the 2006
Berlin Film Festival. For his performance as Carlos, Garcia was
nominated and won the prestigious ALMA Award (American Latino Media
Arts) as Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture in 2007.
Garcia, can most recently be seen in Joss Whedon's "The Avengers."
Number one opening weekend film of all time, with $200.7 and over
$1billion worldwide, to date. Other credits include, "A Beautiful
Life," opposite Angela Sarafyan, "Periphery," opposite Steven Grayhm,
Tessa Thompson, and Jess Weixler, and "Days of Wrath," opposite Wilmer
Valderrama, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Ana Claudia Talancon and Laurence
Fishburne, where he plays Mario, the Kingpin of the Triple Sevens, in a
story about the intertwining lives of a teacher, TV news crew and rival
gang members. Also, in Hue Rhodes', "Saint John of Las Vegas,",
opposite Steve Buscemi and Romany Malco. As well as, Youssef Delaras',
"Bedrooms," with Julie Benz and Xander Berkeley, Mun Chee Yong's,
"Where the Road Meets the Sun," Joshua Homnick's, "Los Foley Guys,"
with Rainn Wilson and Al Madrigal, the highly anticipated zombie flick
"Re-Kill," the Broadway debut of the stage production of "The Pee-wee
Herman Show."
Garcia also appears in The Sundance 2007 film, "La Misma Luna," also
known as "Under the Same Moon," alongside Kate del Castillo and America
Ferrera. In addition, Garcia starred in Twentieth Century Fox's, "The
Comebacks," where he plays a tough "rich-street kid" football player
with an attitude.
Born in Rawlins, Wyoming, Garcia spent most of his childhood in Hanna,
WY, a town with a population of just over seven hundred people. His
acting debut came in 1987 when he was cast in the challenging role of
Brown Bear. With a winter coat turned inside out (to look like brown
fur) and construction paper ears pinned to his hood, Garcia recalls
that he presented a striking likeness to a real brown bear. With his
lines memorized, blocking mastered and adrenaline surging, Garcia (6)
was well prepared. He heard his cue line and crawled out of his cave,
violently thrashing his head from side to side. With teeth bared and
tonsils flaring, he reared up on his hindquarters pawing the air; then
he growled with all his might - "RRRAAAWWWRRR!" The first graders
(sitting on the floor of their small classroom) giggled. It was not
exactly the reaction Garcia was aiming for, but from the mouth of that
cardboard cave, an actor was born.
Following this performance, Garcia took a 15-year hiatus from the show
business industry to concentrate on his schoolwork. He received grants
and scholarships for Co-Ed Cheerleading at Eastern Wyoming College and
the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
In the middle of his first year at U of N, a classmate of Garcia's,
Jennifer Jerosik, told him that she was moving to Atlanta, GA to study
acting with Judson Vaughn, a filmmaker/actor/teacher who she'd heard
speaking at a convention in Chicago. Instantly Garcia's Inner-Bear
growled again and he decided he wanted to join her.
After a 45-minute telephone interview, Garcia was accepted to study at
WHAT Films, the film development/production company and training
facility headed by Vaughn. A week later, Garcia dropped out of school,
and he and Jennifer packed everything they owned into his 1993,
burgundy Mercury Cougar and drove 1,580 miles southeast to Atlanta -
not the quickest route to Hollywood, but his years in Atlanta prepared
him well for what would become his profession. At WHAT Films he learned
to act, write and to direct, and he got sound career advice from Vaughn
and from writer/director Ben Taylor (Abgeschminkt!). Others at WHAT who
were particularly helpful to Garcia included Roxzane Mims, Lavon Lacey,
Chet Dixon and Ralph Price, to name a few.
While in Atlanta, Garcia honed his comedic skills performing in
"Sketchworks," Bob Harter, Della Cole and Jen Kelly's sketch comedy
group. Garcia's first feature film role came when fellow WHAT Films
actor Chet Dixon (Cold Mountain, Days of Wrath) prompted director
Stacey Childers to cast him her film "Delivery Boy Chronicles."
In Dec, 2003, he moved to Los Angeles in hopes of advancing his career.
In 2005, he was featured in nine national commercials, including such
major brands as McDonalds, Toyota, Avis, MGD, Bud Light, State Farm and
others. His television and independent films included such projects as
HBO's "Walkout," directed by Edward James Olmos, guest spots on FX's
Sons of Anarchy, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, ER, The Shield, TNT's The
Closer, Law and Order: CI, NCIS, Nickelodeon's Unfabulous, Jerry
Bruckheimer's FOX series Justice and FX's Sons of Anarchy.
As well as keeping busy with his acting career, Garcia has taken on the
challenge of directing and producing. Producer and lead actor in a
short feature titled, "American Identity," directed by Stephen Rollins, he was honored with opening the Short Film Competition at the 2007 Cannes
Film Festival. Also, he produced and was a lead actor in John Irwin's short
film, "Sold," with an all-star cast and crew, a film about the reality
of human trafficking. "Sold" premiered at the Los Angeles Latino
International Film Festival in 2011 and has made the festival circuit
around the world. The DBAC, PSA campaign with fellow filmmakers, Doug
Spain, Jeremy Valdez, and Walter Perez.
Garcia recently wrapped principal photography on his directorial debut,
short film, "The Price We Pay." A film about a scarred and depressed
soldier coming home from war to find his relationship with his
neighborhood, best friend and wife, not how he left it. Shot in a less
than conventional manner, with subtle science fiction elements, the
film is already stirring up attention in the film making and military
communities.
As of 2013, Garcia is in post-production for his short, "The Price We
Pay." He is also writing and has several projects in development as a
producer, director and actor. He is also in development for his
feature film directorial debut and is in search of projects to direct
in the near future.
Garcia has been widely recognized for his role in the highly acclaimed
"Quinceañera," winner of the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at
the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and Official Selection for the 2006
Berlin Film Festival. For his performance as Carlos, Garcia was
nominated and won the prestigious ALMA Award (American Latino Media
Arts) as Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture in 2007.
Garcia, can most recently be seen in Joss Whedon's "The Avengers."
Number one opening weekend film of all time, with $200.7 and over
$1billion worldwide, to date. Other credits include, "A Beautiful
Life," opposite Angela Sarafyan, "Periphery," opposite Steven Grayhm,
Tessa Thompson, and Jess Weixler, and "Days of Wrath," opposite Wilmer
Valderrama, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Ana Claudia Talancon and Laurence
Fishburne, where he plays Mario, the Kingpin of the Triple Sevens, in a
story about the intertwining lives of a teacher, TV news crew and rival
gang members. Also, in Hue Rhodes', "Saint John of Las Vegas,",
opposite Steve Buscemi and Romany Malco. As well as, Youssef Delaras',
"Bedrooms," with Julie Benz and Xander Berkeley, Mun Chee Yong's,
"Where the Road Meets the Sun," Joshua Homnick's, "Los Foley Guys,"
with Rainn Wilson and Al Madrigal, the highly anticipated zombie flick
"Re-Kill," the Broadway debut of the stage production of "The Pee-wee
Herman Show."
Garcia also appears in The Sundance 2007 film, "La Misma Luna," also
known as "Under the Same Moon," alongside Kate del Castillo and America
Ferrera. In addition, Garcia starred in Twentieth Century Fox's, "The
Comebacks," where he plays a tough "rich-street kid" football player
with an attitude.
Born in Rawlins, Wyoming, Garcia spent most of his childhood in Hanna,
WY, a town with a population of just over seven hundred people. His
acting debut came in 1987 when he was cast in the challenging role of
Brown Bear. With a winter coat turned inside out (to look like brown
fur) and construction paper ears pinned to his hood, Garcia recalls
that he presented a striking likeness to a real brown bear. With his
lines memorized, blocking mastered and adrenaline surging, Garcia (6)
was well prepared. He heard his cue line and crawled out of his cave,
violently thrashing his head from side to side. With teeth bared and
tonsils flaring, he reared up on his hindquarters pawing the air; then
he growled with all his might - "RRRAAAWWWRRR!" The first graders
(sitting on the floor of their small classroom) giggled. It was not
exactly the reaction Garcia was aiming for, but from the mouth of that
cardboard cave, an actor was born.
Following this performance, Garcia took a 15-year hiatus from the show
business industry to concentrate on his schoolwork. He received grants
and scholarships for Co-Ed Cheerleading at Eastern Wyoming College and
the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
In the middle of his first year at U of N, a classmate of Garcia's,
Jennifer Jerosik, told him that she was moving to Atlanta, GA to study
acting with Judson Vaughn, a filmmaker/actor/teacher who she'd heard
speaking at a convention in Chicago. Instantly Garcia's Inner-Bear
growled again and he decided he wanted to join her.
After a 45-minute telephone interview, Garcia was accepted to study at
WHAT Films, the film development/production company and training
facility headed by Vaughn. A week later, Garcia dropped out of school,
and he and Jennifer packed everything they owned into his 1993,
burgundy Mercury Cougar and drove 1,580 miles southeast to Atlanta -
not the quickest route to Hollywood, but his years in Atlanta prepared
him well for what would become his profession. At WHAT Films he learned
to act, write and to direct, and he got sound career advice from Vaughn
and from writer/director Ben Taylor (Abgeschminkt!). Others at WHAT who
were particularly helpful to Garcia included Roxzane Mims, Lavon Lacey,
Chet Dixon and Ralph Price, to name a few.
While in Atlanta, Garcia honed his comedic skills performing in
"Sketchworks," Bob Harter, Della Cole and Jen Kelly's sketch comedy
group. Garcia's first feature film role came when fellow WHAT Films
actor Chet Dixon (Cold Mountain, Days of Wrath) prompted director
Stacey Childers to cast him her film "Delivery Boy Chronicles."
In Dec, 2003, he moved to Los Angeles in hopes of advancing his career.
In 2005, he was featured in nine national commercials, including such
major brands as McDonalds, Toyota, Avis, MGD, Bud Light, State Farm and
others. His television and independent films included such projects as
HBO's "Walkout," directed by Edward James Olmos, guest spots on FX's
Sons of Anarchy, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, ER, The Shield, TNT's The
Closer, Law and Order: CI, NCIS, Nickelodeon's Unfabulous, Jerry
Bruckheimer's FOX series Justice and FX's Sons of Anarchy.
As well as keeping busy with his acting career, Garcia has taken on the
challenge of directing and producing. Producer and lead actor in a
short feature titled, "American Identity," directed by Stephen Rollins, he was honored with opening the Short Film Competition at the 2007 Cannes
Film Festival. Also, he produced and was a lead actor in John Irwin's short
film, "Sold," with an all-star cast and crew, a film about the reality
of human trafficking. "Sold" premiered at the Los Angeles Latino
International Film Festival in 2011 and has made the festival circuit
around the world. The DBAC, PSA campaign with fellow filmmakers, Doug
Spain, Jeremy Valdez, and Walter Perez.
Garcia recently wrapped principal photography on his directorial debut,
short film, "The Price We Pay." A film about a scarred and depressed
soldier coming home from war to find his relationship with his
neighborhood, best friend and wife, not how he left it. Shot in a less
than conventional manner, with subtle science fiction elements, the
film is already stirring up attention in the film making and military
communities.
As of 2013, Garcia is in post-production for his short, "The Price We
Pay." He is also writing and has several projects in development as a
producer, director and actor. He is also in development for his
feature film directorial debut and is in search of projects to direct
in the near future.