Jorge Garcia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jorge Garcia
Garcia at the March 2012 WonderCon
Born	(1973-04-28) April 28, 1973 (age 52) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Actor, voice actor, comedian
Years active	1997–present
Spouse(s)	Rebecca Birdsall ​ (m. 2019)​

Jorge Garcia (born April 28, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He is well-known for playing Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the popular TV show Lost from 2004 to 2010. Before Lost, he was noticed for his role as Hector Lopez on the TV series Becker.

Jorge has also starred in other TV shows like Alcatraz and Hawaii Five-0. You might have also seen him in the Netflix movie The Ridiculous 6. Currently, he is in the comedy series Bookie. He even appeared on the cover of the band Weezer's 2010 album, Hurley.

Early Life and School

Jorge Garcia was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His mom, Dora Mesa, is a professor from Cuba. His dad, Humberto Garcia, is a doctor from Chile. Jorge grew up in San Juan Capistrano, California in Orange County, California.

He went to San Clemente High School. While in high school, he was on the wrestling team. People even called him "Baby-Faced Killer"! In his last year, he won the "Triton of the Year" award. This was the top award given to a student graduating that year.

After high school, Jorge went to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). He studied Communication Studies and graduated in 1995. He also took acting classes at the Beverly Hills Playhouse acting school.

Acting Career

Before becoming a famous actor, Jorge Garcia worked at a store called Borders for six years. During this time, he went to many auditions. He also appeared in a few commercials. He once said that his first time being recognized in public was from a Jack in the Box commercial. This commercial played a lot on local TV.

Getting Cast in Lost

Jorge was the very first actor chosen for the TV show Lost. The show's creators saw him on another show called Curb Your Enthusiasm. They liked him so much that they created the character of Hugo Reyes especially for him!

Other TV Shows and Movies

During his time on Lost, Jorge also wrote a blog about the show. It was called Dispatches from the Island. He also had a weekly podcast where he talked about the show's scripts.

In 2010, Jorge was featured on the front cover of Weezer's album Hurley. The album was even named after his character from Lost. He also sang with Weezer at some of their concerts that year.

After Lost, Jorge appeared in the TV series Alcatraz in 2012. He played Dr. Diego Soto, an expert on Alcatraz. He also had a guest role on How I Met Your Mother in an episode called "Blitzgiving". This episode even made jokes about his time on Lost.

From 2013 to 2020, Jorge played Jerry Ortega on Hawaii Five-0. He started as a guest star and then became a main character. He also appeared in the movie The Healer in 2017.

In 2016, Jorge started a podcast about kaiju films (giant monster movies) called Kaiju Podcast. In 2022, he was a contestant on The Masked Singer. He performed as "Cyclops" and was eliminated in the third episode.

Filmography