Jesse García (born December 14, 1982) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in Quinceañera and Flamin' Hot for which he won Imagen Awards Best Actor.
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Early life and education
Garcia was born December 14, 1982 in Rawlins, Wyoming, and spent most of his childhood in Hanna, Wyoming. His father is from the Mexican state of Durango and his mother, a native of Wyoming, is of Spanish descent. He has a younger sister. He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, though he no longer practices that faith.
In high school, Garcia was heavily involved with cheerleading. He subsequently attended the University of Nebraska on a cheerleading scholarship and studied exercise science. Garcia later moved to Atlanta and took classes at What Films where he learned to write, direct, act, and produce original material. In 2003, he moved to Los Angeles.
Career
Garcia starred in the 2006 film Quinceañera, written and directed by Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer with executive producer Todd Haynes, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic Independent Feature Competition. Quinceañera was also selected to play at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. Garcia won Best Actor at the 2007 ALMA Awards for his role as Carlos, a troubled gay teenager, in Quinceañera.
Garcia appeared in the thriller Locker 13 in 2009. He appeared in the 2010 revival of The Pee-wee Herman Show and in the 2010 music video of Wisin & Yandel's "Estoy enamorado". He made a cameo appearance on Marvel's The Avengers in 2012.
He portrayed Richard Montañez in the biographical movie Flamin' Hot (2023), based on Montañez's disputed claim of inventing Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
In 2026, he appeared as Menetus, in Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey.
