Biography

Born in New York City, Jsu Garcia was raised by his Cuban born parents who had fled their native homeland for the promise of a better life in the United States. Growing up on the streets of Newark, Garcia had to deal with a neighborhood of toughs. He became aware of his acting talents when a bully intended to mug him and steal his bicycle. But when the six year old broke into crocodile tears, he so disheartened his assailant that he allowed Garcia to leave unharmed and with his bike. "It was then I knew I could act," Garcia declares.

Determined to be an actor, Garcia migrated to Hollywood and moved into a friend's basement. He made it livable by dry walling it and adding a portable toilet and a bed. Garcia's first break came when he auditioned for the TV show Fame and got the part. He then landed a role in Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street in which he appeared opposite Johnny Depp. This was followed by an appearance in Universal's Gotcha opposite Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino, and then in quick succession in features such as The Cotton Club, Wildcats, Vampires in Brooklyn, Candyman III: Day of the Dead, Predator 2 and Oscar-winning Traffic, where he played Benjamin Bratt's brother.

In 2002, Garcia had two co-starring roles: that of Mel Gibson's heroic buddy in Randall Wallace's We Were Soldiers and a villainous Communist guerilla who battles good guy Arnold Schwarzenegger in Andrew Davis' Collateral Damage. In 2003, Garcia stars in the popular indie film Klepto, followed by a major starring role in John Hamburg's Along Came Polly, opposite Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston and Philip Seymour Hoffman in 2004, and then a co-starring role with John Leguizamo in Sueño (2005).

Garcia was then chosen to participate in the Sundance Lab (2005) where he worked on a project called Tiny Dancer and worked with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sally Field, and was coached one-on-one with Robert Redford in an intensive personal one hour session. Garcia then landed this same role in which he worked on at Sundance, in the feature film Tiny Dancer that was filmed in 2006.

One of Garcia's most challenging roles to date has been as "Che Guevara" in Andy Garcia's passionate Cuban story, The Lost City (2005), and then in 2008 in Steven Soderbergh's Che, his character Jorge Sotús starred opposite Benecio Del Toro (as "Che") in 2008.

In 1998, he began his own production company partnering with long time friend and spiritual teacher John-Roger in the creation Scott J-R Productions, and the pair have since written and produced six short films and two features. Garcia and John-Roger's first feature film Spiritual Warriors was described as the 'Spiritual Movie Hit of 2008' and screened in 53 cities across 22 countries and was officially selected for international film festivals in Toronto, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Cartagena, Beverly Hills and Hamburg. Inspired by Dr. John-Roger's L.A. Times #1 bestselling book Spiritual Warrior, (the book made popular by Paris Hilton and Heather Locklear photographed with copies in hand), this indie film received critical acclaim and was the #2 'Spiritual Film' searched DVD on Amazon.com in 2008.

Garcia made his directorial debut co-directing The Wayshower (2012) with John-Roger, filmed primarily in Utah, and with major scenes shot on location in Morocco, France, England, Peru and Spain. The Wayshower stars Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts, Peter Stormare and Academy Award nominee Sally Kirkland and Garcia also plays the leading role as 'Jesus'. Garcia worked closely with Academy Award winner Dane Davis (The Matrix) on the sound design, and was mentored by Academy Award winning Director Stephen Soderbergh throughout the directing and editing process and the result is an independent film with strikingly high production value. The Wayshower won Best Ensemble Cast at the FirstGlance Film Festival in Hollywood, and continues to screen at film festivals in 2011.

Garcia has numerous television show roles to his credit including guest appearances on CSI: NY starring opposite Gary Sinise CSI: Miami, JAG, Arli$$ and Murder One, and a major recurring role in Without A Trace. Garcia also played the sexy male lead in the ABC/Touchstone TV Movie Then Came Jones for Brancato/Selke the creative team behind Boomtown, and starred in Carsey/Warner's These Guys a comedy pilot for ABC.

Theater has also played a decisive part in Garcia's career. He received the L.A. Dramalogue's Award for Best Acting Achievement in the Fig Tree Theatre's version of Short Eyes. His other notable stage performances include roles in Rainmaker and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

One of the most important aspects of Garcia's life is his work and service to his friend and spiritual teacher John-Roger and to their work in Peace Awareness Trainings through the Peace Theological Seminary and College of Philosophy (PTS). Together they have traveled to more than twenty countries over for Peace Awareness Trainings, bringing peace to all cultures and lands, including troubled areas such as Egypt and Israel.

Garcia's dedication to his spiritual and personal growth also includes his participation and facilitation of many seminars, workshops and retreats with PTS and Insight Seminars, and he also completed his Masters and Doctorate in Spiritual Science in 2008. Garcia is also an ordained minister in the church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, and volunteers for various non-profit organizations including the Heartfelt and Educare Foundations.

Garcia currently lives in Los Angeles California.

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