  gael garcÃ­a bernal (; born november 30, 1978) is a mexican film actor, director, and producer. he founded canana films in mexico city. ==early life== gael garcÃ­a bernal was born in guadalajara, mexico, the son of patricia bernal, an actress and former model, and josÃ© Ãngel garcÃ­a, an actor and director. his stepfather is sergio yazbek, whom his mother married when garcÃ­a bernal was young. the boy started acting at just a year old and spent most of his teen years starring in telenovelas. garcia studied the international baccalaureate, with chemistry being his favorite subject. when he was fourteen, he taught indigenous peoples in mexico to read, often working with the huichol indians. in his later teens, he took part in peaceful demonstrations during the chiapas uprising of 1994. ==career== garcÃ­a bernal was becoming a soap opera heartthrob. at age 19, he left mexico's television world to study acting at the central school of speech and drama in london, the first person from mexico to be accepted into the program. briefly before this, he had begun to study philosophy at [[una
1978_births 20th-century_Mexican_male_actors 21st-century_Mexican_male_actors Alumni_of_the_Central_School_of_Speech_and_Drama Living_people Male_actors_from_Guadalajara,_Jalisco Mexican_film_directors Mexican_male_child_actors Mexican_male_film_actors Mexican_male_telenovela_actors