Spent his youth acting in plays with his thespian parents in Mexico

Starred in the short film "De Tripas Corazon" which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film

Left Mexico and travelled to London; worked odd jobs before being accepted at the presitigious Central School of Speech and Drama

Co-starred in the critically acclaimed "Amores Perros" by director Alejandro González Iñárritu

Co-starred with Diego Luna in the international hit "Y Tu Mama"

Starred as Che Guevarra in the English language "Fidel" miniseries for Showtime

Appeared with Penelope Cruz in "Sin noticias de Dios"

Starred as Father Amaro in "The Crime of Father Amaro"

Cast as Che Guevara in "The Motorcyle Diaries" based on the journals of Che Guevara, as he recounts the adventures he and best friend Alberto Granado, had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s

Starred in Pedro Almodóvar's "Bad Education" which centers on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends

Plays an intense Mexican-American in his first major English language role in "The King," directed by the British documentary-maker James Marsh

Played a young man who learns to manipulate his dreams in Michel Gondry's "The Science of Sleep"

Cast in "Babel," directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and co-starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett

Co-starred with Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo in Fernando Meirelles' "Blindness"