Oscar Isaac facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Oscar Isaac
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Isaac in 2022
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| Born |
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada
March 9, 1979 Guatemala City, Guatemala
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| Education |
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| Years active | 1998–present |
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Works
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List of roles and awards |
| Spouse(s) |
Elvira Lind
(m. 2017) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Nicole Hernandez Hammer (sister) |
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a talented American actor. He is known for playing many different types of characters. People say he has helped change how Latino characters are shown in Hollywood movies.
Vanity Fair magazine called him the best actor of his generation in 2017. The New York Times also named him one of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century in 2020. He has won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2016, he was on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Oscar Isaac was born in Guatemala. His family moved to the United States when he was a baby. As a teenager, he played in a punk band and acted in school plays. He got his first small movie role when he was young. After studying at the famous Juilliard School, he started getting more acting jobs.
He played Joseph in the movie The Nativity Story (2006). He also won an award for playing political leader José Ramos-Horta in the film Balibo (2009). He became widely known after starring as a singer in the musical drama Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). This role earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
Isaac has starred in many popular films. These include the thriller Ex Machina (2015) and the superhero movie X-Men: Apocalypse (2016). He became a global star playing Poe Dameron in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019). He also appeared in Dune (2021) and voiced a character in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).
On television, Oscar Isaac has starred in several miniseries. He won a Golden Globe Award for his role in Show Me a Hero (2015). He also played the main character in Moon Knight (2022) from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has also performed in plays like Hamlet (2017).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada was born on March 9, 1979, in Guatemala City. His mother was from Guatemala, and his father was from Cuba. He has an older sister, Nicole, who is a climate scientist. He also has a younger brother, Mike, who is a journalist.
Isaac's family moved to the US when he was five months old. They lived in different cities like Baltimore, New Orleans, and Miami. They eventually settled in Miami. Isaac became a United States citizen in 2006. He speaks both English and Spanish.
From a young age, Isaac loved making music and films. When he was four, he and his sister would put on plays in their backyard. Around age 10, he made a home movie called The Avenger. He also acted in school plays. He wrote his first play in fifth grade, which was about Noah's Ark. He enjoyed performing for people.
Isaac attended Westminster Christian School in southern Florida. He later went to a public high school in Palm Beach. There, he formed a band with friends. He learned to play guitar and kept making home movies.
At age 14, Isaac's band performed a song at a talent show. He later joined a ska punk band called The Blinking Underdogs. This band even opened for the famous group Green Day. During this time, he got a small part in the independent film Illtown (1998). He also started acting in plays in Miami Beach. To avoid being typecast (always playing the same kind of role), he started using "Isaac" as his last name for auditions.
He studied performing arts at Miami Dade College. While visiting New York City for a play, he successfully auditioned for the Juilliard School. He graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2005.
Career Highlights
Early Roles and Breakthrough (2005–2014)
After graduating, Isaac continued to make music and perform in small clubs. He also acted in plays. In 2006, he played Joseph in the movie The Nativity Story. This film was the first to premiere at the Vatican City. Critics praised his fresh and real portrayal of Joseph.
For much of the 2000s, Isaac played smaller roles in films. These included The Life Before Her Eyes (2007) and Body of Lies (2008). He won an award for his role as José Ramos-Horta in the Australian film Balibo (2009).
In 2010, Isaac played the villain King John in Robin Hood. He enjoyed playing a villain because it allowed him to show more sides of the character. Critics noted how he skillfully stood out in the film.
In 2011, he gained more recognition for supporting roles. He played a security guard in W.E. (2011) and a musician in 10 Years. He also played an ex-convict in the action drama Drive (2011). Critics praised his intelligent and sincere performance in Drive.
In 2013, Isaac starred as Llewyn Davis, a struggling folk singer, in the film Inside Llewyn Davis. He learned a special guitar technique for the role. The film and his performance received great praise. Many critics called it his breakthrough role. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for this film.
In 2014, Isaac starred with Jessica Chastain in A Most Violent Year. He played Abel Morales, a business owner trying to protect his company in a dangerous city. He researched Latin Americans' history to prepare for the role. Critics highly praised his performance, calling it a "master class" in acting. He won an award for Best Actor from the National Board of Review.
Mainstream Success (2015–Present)
In 2015, Isaac played a reclusive inventor in the science fiction film Ex Machina. He based his character's personality on a chess champion. The film was very successful, and Isaac's performance was highly praised.
He also took on his first main role on television in the HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero. He played politician Nick Wasicsko. His performance won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a miniseries.
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Isaac became a huge star playing Poe Dameron, an X-wing pilot, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). He loved Star Wars films since he was a child. He even suggested that his character be from a moon that appeared in the first Star Wars film, which was filmed in his home country, Guatemala. The film was a massive success, earning $2 billion worldwide.
In 2016, he played the villain Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse. He was a fan of X-Men comics growing up. He had to wear a heavy costume and lots of makeup for the role. He also starred in The Promise, a historical drama.
In 2017, Isaac starred as Prince Hamlet in a play called Hamlet. Critics praised his strong and dedicated performance on stage. He also appeared in the film Suburbicon and returned as Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. This film was also a huge success, earning $1.3 billion.
Since 2018, Isaac has continued to take on diverse roles. He starred in Operation Finale (2018), where he also worked as a producer for the first time. He played an Israeli secret agent who captured a Nazi fugitive. He also voiced a character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).
In 2019, he reprised his role as Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final film in the sequel trilogy. He also starred in the Netflix film Triple Frontier. He voiced Gomez Addams in the animated film The Addams Family. Fans had suggested him for the role because he looked like the actor who played Gomez in the 1990s films.
In 2021, he starred with Jessica Chastain in the miniseries Scenes from a Marriage. Their performances and chemistry were highly praised. He was nominated for several awards for this role. He also played William Tell in the crime drama The Card Counter. Critics called his performance one of his best. He returned as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family 2 and played the father of the main character in Dune.
In 2022, Isaac starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Moon Knight. He played the main superhero, a man with a complex mind who has different personalities. He also helped produce the show. To prepare, he researched the condition his character had and gave each personality a different nationality. Critics praised his amazing performance.
In 2023, he starred in a play called The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. Later that year, he voiced Spider-Man 2099 in the animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The film was very successful.
Looking ahead, Oscar Isaac is set to voice Jesus Christ in the film The King of Kings in 2025. He will also voice Miguel O'Hara again in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse and play Victor Frankenstein in a horror film called Frankenstein.
Personal Life
Oscar Isaac values his privacy and stays close with his family. He is married to Danish film director Elvira Lind. They met in 2012 and got married in 2017. They have two sons, Eugene (born in 2017) and Mads (born in 2019). He lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Isaac is good friends with actor Pedro Pascal. They met in 2005 while acting in a play together. They later starred together in the 2019 film Triple Frontier.
See also
In Spanish: Oscar Isaac para niños
