Andy Garcia has been working since the late '70s, and he's a synonym of quality, charisma, and charm. Be it as a lead character or playing in an ensemble, Garcia always knows to win over audiences and make himself one of their favorite characters. Here are Andy Garcia’s 10 best performances, ranked.
10 The Lost City (2005)
The Lost City was Garcia’s directing debut in a movie he also starred in. The film is about Fico Fellove (Garcia), the owner of a club named El Trópico in Cuba when the Marxist Revolution began. While he tries to remain open for business, the new war affects him and those around him, showing in how many ways it changed everything.
Garcia knows how to direct himself and gives a nuanced performance that shows every color in the actor's palette. He’s able to convey his character's struggle as the Revolution is creating conflict in his business, family, love life, and the whole country.
9 Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018)
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again is the sequel to the successful Meryl Streep musical. In this movie, set five years after the first one, two stories are unfolding: Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is opening her mother’s hotel, and in the past, Donna (Lily James) meets the three possible dads.
Garcia appears in a small role as Fernando, playing the love interest to Sophie’s grandmother, Ruby (played by Cher). In this role, the actor is able to show his great singing and his moves as part of the last couple of musical numbers in the film. It's a different tone for the actor that fits right in, showing how he’s able to do any genre and style possible, including musicals.
8 Black Rain (1989)
Black Rain is about two New York cops who track a Yakuza member from New York to Osaka. Those lawmen are Nick Conklin (Michael Douglas) and Charlie Vincent (Garcia), a yin and yang of cops, where Garcia plays the good cop to Douglas, the bad cop. The film was directed by Ridley Scott and shot in Osaka, and both actors have great performances.
Garcia’s role is less showy, but he’s able to show that his character is good at his job and also a decent person with every decision he takes in his body language and way of talking.
7 When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
When A Man Loves A Woman tells the story of Alice Green (Meg Ryan), a school counselor with a drinking problem. Garcia plays his loving husband, Michael. The film is a tour de force for both actors, as all the substance abuse problems Alice's character has, affect her, his husband, and his kids, making for a very dramatic, blunt, and compelling dramatic story.
About his performance, Garcia told the Santa Monica Mirror:” All the roles have emotionally demanding aspects. “When A Man Loves A Woman” would certainly be one that was very difficult emotionally to explore because it was about the destruction of a family due to my alcoholic wife, who was played by Meg Ryan. Those takes were pretty heavy in every scene, and there wasn’t a lot of relaxation in that film.”
6 For Love Or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000)
For Love Or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story is a biopic about Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, a man who became a famous musician while his country was in a Revolution. Garcia is also Cuban and has done many projects about his country of origin, so it makes perfect sense that he was the cast to play someone as important as Sandoval.
The actor plays the character with all the respect and charisma it deserves, making the project a must-see for his fans and also all those who are interested in jazz and Cuba.
5 City Island (2009)
City Island is a unique comedy about a family living on City Island, full of secrets. Garcia plays the patriarch Vince Rizzo, a prison guard that dreams of becoming an actor and discovers he has an illegitimate son at the prison he works at. So he helps get him out of prison and gets him to work in his home.
Each of the family members has secrets of their own, making for some surprising developments. Garcia knows how to be a lead actor and how to play well with an ensemble cast, and here he does both, having the most crucial role as all the stories of his family go through him and also playing both the comedy and drama of the different situations.
4 Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Ocean’s Eleven is one of the best American heist movies, and also one of the funniest. Soderbergh is all-in making these movie stars look stunning, and have the time of their lives while they’re trying to steal from three casinos. The film has a stacked cast led by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and Matt Damon, and as such, they needed a villain as charismatic as them. Enter Andy Garcia as Terry Benedict, the owner of the casinos they’re stealing from and current partner of Ocean’s ex, Tess (Roberts).
Although it’s obvious from the start that he will be on the losing side in the end, it’s still fun seeing him trying to avoid the inevitable. Garcia’s performance is good enough that he repeats as one of the villains in Ocean’s Twelve (his scenes where he finds everyone are pretty fun, especially in the scene with Casey Affleck and Scott Caan), and he even becomes part of the team in Ocean’s Thirteen.
3 Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995)
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead tells the story of ex-gangster, Jimmy “The Saint” Tosnia (Garcia), who, since his legit business isn’t going well, accepts to do one last job for his old boss. As always, with the “one last job,” things don’t go according to plan at all. Although the movie was called another bad copy of Quentin Tarantino’s style when it was released, it's better than people remember.
Garcia’s performance is great, as he moves through the film being cool while also showing some angst, and the unique dialogue suits him perfectly, showing he should’ve done a Tarantino film by now.
2 The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Godfather Part III is a film that still creates very different opinions depending on who you ask; for some, it’s a great movie, and for others is a letdown from the first two. What’s for sure is that the ending of the Corleone saga was the confirmation of Andy Garcia’s talents, as his performance is one of the best things in the whole film. While Michael (Al Pacino) tries to make the family legit, Vincent Mancini (Garcia) becomes the heir to the empire as he’s the illegitimate son of Sonny (James Caan). Vincent also falls in love with Michael’s daughter, Mary (Sofia Coppola, before she became a great director).
The last part of the trilogy has some great moments, and most are when Al Pacino and Andy Garcia interact, making an unofficial pass on the torch between the actors. Critics agreed as the actor got his only Academy Award nomination for his role in this film.
1 The Untouchables (1987)
The Untouchables was Andy Garcia’s breakout film. The story of how Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) captured Al Capone (Robert De Niro) for tax evasion was dramatized by Brian De Palma at the top of his game. Garcia plays the youngest member of Ness's team, a marksman named George Stone.
Although he’s not the lead, Garcia’s talents are already obvious, as he’s able to hang with both Kevin Costner and Sean Connery in his old-man-who-can-still-battle phase (a couple of years later, he was cast as Indiana Jones's father). The film is as thrilling and tense as a movie can be, and it has one of the all-time best shootouts in movies that also can reference an old Russian masterpiece.
About working with Sean Connery, Garcia told Coming Soon: “Connery, I worked with all the time. Of course, he was a hero of mine growing up in the sixties. He was James Bond. He was the hero of our times, and so getting a chance to work with him was a great honor.”