In 1982, García married Marivi Lorido. The couple has four children: daughters Dominik García-Lorido (b. 1983), Daniella (b. 1988), Alessandra (b. 1991) and son Andres (b. 2002). The family divide their time between Toluca Lake, Los Angeles and Key Biscayne, Florida.

García began acting at Florida International University but soon went to Hollywood. He had a short role in the first episode of Murder, She Wrote as “1st white tough”, in 1984. He played the role of a gang member in the first episode of TV series Hill Street Blues. He appeared in a supporting role in The Mean Season in 1985, alongside Kurt Russell, and director Brian De Palma cast him in The Untouchables in 1987.

García acted in the Ridley Scott film Black Rain in 1989 with Michael Douglas. Francis Ford Coppola cast Garcia as Vincent Mancini, the illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone, in The Godfather Part III. García earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

In 2006, he appeared in the last episode of the Turkish TV series Kurtlar Vadisi, along with Sharon Stone.

García has been slated to direct the upcoming film Hemingway & Fuentes about famous writer Ernest Hemingway co-written by García and Hemingway’s niece Hilary Hemingway. Originally, announced stars included Anthony Hopkins, Annette Bening and García himself. Filming was originally to have begun in January 2013, but due to delays, Hopkins left the project and Garcia announced that the role of Hemingway would be played by actor Jon Voight.

García has expressed, on a number of occasions, his distaste for the communist regime that has ruled Cuba since the revolution that occurred there from 1953 to 1959. Following Fidel Castro’s death in November 2016, García criticized his legacy, stating: “It is necessary for me to express the deep sorrow that I feel for all the Cuban people…that have suffered the atrocities and repression caused by Fidel Castro and his totalitarian regime.”

Garcia has had a recent career resurgence in film. He starred in four films in 2018. He starred in the critical and box office success Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again as Fernando Cienfuegos alongside Cher, Amanda Seyfried, Lily James, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgaard and Pierce Brosnan. The film is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 81%, with the critics consensus reading, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again doubles down on just about everything fans loved about the original — and my my, how can fans resist it?” When asked about singing with Cher, Garcia told NBC’s Today show, “It was sublime. One thing is to act with Cher who is a great actress and then to be asked to sing with her”.