Do we like Gael García Bernal?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Years of speaking up for migrants and queer stories, with no harmful words found; the only mark is a prickly restaurant moment.
Gael García Bernal was born in Guadalajara in 1978, and he was on Mexican telly in a telenovela by 1989. At 17 a student strike pushed him to Europe, and he became the first Mexican student at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. Then came Amores Perros and Y Tu Mamá También, the latter alongside his lifelong mate Diego Luna.
The nearest thing to a scandal is small and recent. In April 2026 a content creator filmed him eating in a Mexico City restaurant, and he went over and told him “A la próxima pregúntame antes”. The creator later called him arrogant in a YouTube interview but admitted he was neither violent nor insulting, and the encounter ended with a fist bump. Opinion split: some saw a fair boundary, others thought public figures should always be available to fans.
His recent work doesn't change the picture. Cassandro and now Hombre al agua, a comedy he directed set in Mérida, come with no sign of the culture-war company we watch for. The Hombre al agua cast includes Jorge Salinas and Esmeralda Pimentel, with a cameo from Ricky Martin.
The recent news is a bit cheeky rather than ugly. Closing Cannes in May, he said he wouldn't present an award in French because his French was terrible, though “mucho mejor que la reputación de la FIFA”. It went viral weeks before the World Cup, and it fits a man who isn't shy about needling the powerful.
The good stuff is real. After the September 2017 earthquake he and Diego Luna started a relief fund with Omaze and Ambulante, the documentary festival they launched, sending donations to local groups rebuilding schools, housing and clinics. He also took Johnnie Walker's owner Diageo to court over its use of his image in a 2011 ad, and Mexico's Supreme Court sided with him and Luna.
So: a decent bloke with a good filmography who has used his platform for migrants, queer stories and documentary. The record is thin on climate and public health, and his one dust-up is a man asking to be asked first.