Danay Garcia | ||||||||||||||
Danay Garcia (born July 5, 1984) is a Cuban film and television actress. She played the role of Sofia Lugo in Fox network's drama series, Prison Break.
Career
Garcia started gymnastics at the age of 5 and then began dancing by the age of 6. Garcia then began modeling in addition to dance, and finally turned her attention to theatre.
Her first role for the public was playing the lead role in "Maria Antonia," by Eugenio Hernandez Espinosa. She was the youngest actor in Havana’s theatre history to perform the role of a 40 yr old character, while she was only 17 yrs old. Her next leading role, "Yerma," by Ferderico Garcia Lorca, was another huge hit for similar reasons. From ages 17-19, Garcia continued her intensive study in the theatre, working 7 days a week in productions.
Garcia learned English, studying with teachers and dialect coaches, such as Robert Easton, Joel Goldes and John Sperry, and began booking commercials. Feeling cut off from her childhood art forms, she began ballet studies at the Debby Allen Dance Academy, while pursuing acting studies with renowned coach, Ivana Chubbuck. She steadily moved up to Ivana’s Master class, and booked her first U.S. feature film role playing opposite Marisa Tomei in “Danika.”
Garcia moved on to CSI:NY and CSI:Miami roles, a feature film – From Mexico With Love - and then landed her big break as series regular, Sofia Lugo, in the Golden-Globe winning Fox television series, Prison Break. The show was an instant international hit, especially with the introduction of Garcia’s thinking-woman role in the 3rd and 4th seasons.
During the 2007 writer’s strike, Garcia made it through multiple rounds of auditions for the Bond girl, Camille Montes, in MGM and Eon Productions’ “Quantum of Solace.” After being selected to screen test with Daniel Craig, the production company unfortunately couldn’t proceed with hiring her, due to a clause in her Fox contract.
After “Prison Break,” she landed the principal guest role of Anna, in A&E’s “The Cleaner” series, and followed that with a dark, conflicted character in the feature film, “Rehab.” Garcia teamed up with others too, as both a cowriter and co-creator, for TV and film projects.
She then landed her first feature to be performed in her native Spanish language, “Cenizas Eternas,” which was shot across 2 months, on location in the Amazon rainforest. Garcia credits her time there, acting with the indigenous Yanomami, Panare, Piaroa and Jibis tribes, as a life-changing experience.
Garcia was next cast as Coqui in the Fina Torres’ helmed drama, “Liz en Septiembre,” which shot on location in the Caribbean Islands of Venezuela. It's based on the multi-award winning Broadway play, “Last Summer at the Blue Fish Cove,” by playwright Jane Chambers. Torres wrote the role of Coqui specifically for Garcia, after being impressed by her fearless and risk-taking performances. While shooting “Liz en Septiembre,” Garcia experienced numerous transitions in her personal life and found solace and catharsis in turning to expressing herself on the page. She began outlining a new passion project on her own, a feature film script with leading role for her. For Garcia, this project marks an evolution and expansion of her ongoing artistic growth.
She then accepted the lead role of Monica in the U.S.-Brazilian coproduction, “Man Camp” where she expanded her acting skills into comedy. She next appeared in the long-running CW Network series, “Supernatural,”.
Garcia transitioned back to her theatre roots with the lead role of Electra, in the tragedy, “Oresteia,” produced by the critically acclaimed composer and director, Lucas Thanos. Garcia also secured the role of Shereen, the girlfriend and primary muse of Jimmy, in the feature film, “Boost,” with Danny Trejo, which is planning a festival release.
Early Life
Danay Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba. Garcia’s father’s side of the family is Chinese-Italian, and her mother’s family is of Spanish-Cuban descent. Her first name, Danay (Dah-nye), is Greek, and in translation means the Goddess of Abundance
Garcia started gymnastics at the age of 5 and then began dancing by the age of 6. Dance became her way of expressing herself and her individuality. Garcia says, “Dance is one of my necessities because it’s the closest way I found to being present in self expression. It makes me happy being able to affect others through my dancing. In the rhythms, you can’t miss being present, and that’s what I love, that connection to life in the present and to other people.” Dance also contributed to Garcia’s ongoing work ethic, while instilling a lifelong reliance on discipline that she continues using to achieve her goals.
Garcia then began modeling in addition to dance, and likewise turned her attention to theatre. It was in the theatre where she found her true passion – the ultimate combination of her past pursuits of being on stage and telling stories, along with the challenges of working with emotions and the complicated mysteries of human behavior.
From ages 17-19, Garcia continued her intensive study in the theatre, working 7 days a week in productions. She decided it was necessary to relocate to America because it was her husband’s native land. The only way to accomplish that was for Garcia to escape the Cuban regime - which she did, along with her 2 yr old son. She and her son were granted political asylum in the United States.
ReferencesDanay Garcia Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
