1980s Garcia began acting at Florida International University but soon went to
Hollywood. He had a short role alongside
Angela Lansbury in "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes", the first episode of
Murder, She Wrote as "1st White Tough", in 1984. He played the role of a gang member in "
Hill Street Station", the first episode of TV series
Hill Street Blues. He appeared in a supporting role in
The Mean Season in 1985, alongside
Kurt Russell. In 1987, Garcia received an acting breakthrough in
Brian De Palma's crime drama
The Untouchables. The film starred
Kevin Costner,
Sean Connery,
Charles Martin Smith,
Patricia Clarkson, and
Robert De Niro. The film follows
Eliot Ness as he forms the
Untouchables law enforcement team to bring
Al Capone to justice during the
Prohibition era. It received widespread critical acclaim and was a financial success. In 1989, Garcia acted in the
Ridley Scott action thriller
Black Rain with
Michael Douglas as Detective Charlie Vincent. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a financial success, earning $134 million.
1990s In 1989,
Francis Ford Coppola cast Garcia as
Vincent Mancini, the illegitimate son of
Sonny Corleone (James Caan), in
The Godfather Part III (1990). The film stars
Al Pacino,
Diane Keaton, and
Eli Wallach. The film concludes the story of
Michael Corleone (Pacino), the patriarch of the
Corleone family, who attempts to legitimize his criminal empire. For his performance, Garcia earned an
Academy Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actor at the
63rd Academy Awards, as well as a
Golden Globe Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actor at the
48th Golden Globe Awards. Garcia is the
first Cuban to be nominated for an acting Oscar. In the 1990s, Garcia appeared in the
Mike Figgis film
Internal Affairs, in which his character Raymond Avilla engages in a battle of wits with a corrupt fellow police officer Dennis Peck, played by
Richard Gere. In 1992, he played John Bubber, a
cynical everyman in
Stephen Frears'
Hero starring
Dustin Hoffman,
Geena Davis, and
Joan Cusack. That same year, he co-starred with
Uma Thurman in the thriller
Jennifer 8. In 1994, he played Michael Green, the enabling husband of Alice, an alcoholic played by
Meg Ryan in
When a Man Loves a Woman. In 1995, he portrayed Jimmy "The Saint" Tosnia, a tragic criminal in ''
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead alongside Christopher Lloyd, Steve Buscemi, and Christopher Walken. He starred as Sean Casey, a hotshot lawyer in the 1996 Sidney Lumet drama Night Falls on Manhattan alongside Richard Dreyfus, and James Gandolfini. He played mobster Lucky Luciano in Hoodlum (1997) alongside Tim Roth, and Laurence Fishburne. He portrayed a Detective Frank Conner, cop trying to save his gravely ill son Matthew (Joseph Cross) in the 1998 action thriller Desperate Measures'' starring
Michael Keaton and
Marcia Gay Harden.
2000s with
Julianna Margulies (left) and his daughter
Dominik García-Lorido In 2000, Garcia starred and produced the
HBO film,
For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story. The film is about Cuba's
jazz scene and the life of trumpeter and composer
Arturo Sandoval. It starred
Gloria Estefan as Emilia, and
Charles S. Dutton as jazz legend
Dizzy Gillespie. For his performance, Garcia received nominations for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the
53rd Primetime Emmy Awards and the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film at the
58th Golden Globe Awards. Garcia portrayed the arrogant Las Vegas casino owner Terry Benedict in
Steven Soderbergh's ''
Ocean's Eleven (2001), a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper movie starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts. The film was a massive commercial success earning $450 million at the box office. He also appeared in the sequels Ocean's Twelve (2004), and Ocean's Thirteen'' (2007). Garcia co-wrote, directed, and starred in
The Lost City alongside
Dustin Hoffman and
Bill Murray. In 2005, he appeared in the last two episodes of the Turkish TV series
Valley of the Wolves, along with
Sharon Stone. In 2008, he starred in the first segment of
New York, I Love You which was directed by
Jiang Wen starring
Hayden Christensen and
Rachel Bilson. Since 2009, Garcia has been slated to direct the film
Hemingway & Fuentes about writer
Ernest Hemingway, co-written by Garcia and Hemingway's niece
Hilary Hemingway. They secured financing for the film in 2012, and Garcia himself,
Anthony Hopkins, and
Annette Bening were announced as stars. Filming was originally to have begun in January 2013, but due to delays, Hopkins left the project in 2014 and was replaced by
Jon Voight.
2010s Towards the end of the 2010s, Garcia had a career resurgence. He starred in four films in 2018. He appeared as Fernando Cienfuegos in the critical and commercial success
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again alongside
Cher,
Amanda Seyfried,
Lily James,
Colin Firth,
Stellan Skarsgård, and
Pierce Brosnan. When asked about singing with
Cher, Garcia told NBC's
Today show, "It was sublime. One thing is to act with Cher who is a great actress and then to be asked to sing with her". Garcia also starred in the
Paramount romantic comedy,
Book Club, alongside
Diane Keaton,
Candice Bergen,
Jane Fonda, and
Mary Steenburgen. The film was a box office success grossing over $89 million worldwide against its $10 million budget. He also starred in
Clint Eastwood's drama film,
The Mule alongside Eastwood,
Bradley Cooper,
Dianne Wiest, Laurence Fishburne and
Michael Peña. It grossed $174.8 million and received positive reviews from critics. Garcia appeared in the
HBO movie
My Dinner with Hervé alongside
Peter Dinklage and
Jamie Dornan. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and received an Emmy nomination for
Outstanding Television Movie.
2020s In 2020, Garcia starred in
Charles McDougall's comedic film
Ana. Also that year, he starred in
Thor Freudenthal's critically acclaimed
coming of age drama
Words on Bathroom Walls. The following year, he made an uncredited cameo in the comedy film
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar starring
Kirsten Wiig and Jamie Dornan. That same year, he starred in the action films
Redemption Day and the
Guy Ritchie film
Wrath of Man. In 2022, he starred in the comedy
Big Gold Brick. He also starred opposite Gloria Estefan again in the
romantic comedy HBO Max film
Father of the Bride. It is the third filmed version of the 1949
novel of the same name by
Edward Streeter.
Time praised Garcia on his comedic turn writing, "Garcia carries the film ably with his gruff elegance". Garcia appeared in the 2023 action comedy film
Expend4bles as Marsh, a
CIA agent who is also a double agent and the main antagonist of the film. ==Personal life==