Professionally, 41-year old Andy Garcia has become famous starring in gangster films such as The Untouchables, The Godfather Part III, Black Rain, Internal Affairs and Hoodlum, based on the life of crime boss Lucky Luciano. But he has also made romantic films like When A Man Loves A Woman with Meg Ryan and Accidental Hero with Geena Davis and Dustin Hoffman.

Though 'heart and soul' a Cuban, Andy Garcia has succeeded in doing what very few factors of Spanish background have managed to do in Hollywood, interpreting Americans, Italians, Spaniards, and in his last film, Night Falls on Manhattan, an Irish policeman. "It's a big achievement," he admits without false modesty, "but I'd like to see other Spanish actors have the same opportunities," he adds with characteristic generosity. Magnetic, charming, and cordial, he converses on all subjects without "the typical restrictions" imposed by film stars. He begins by telling of his arrival in the USA at the age of five when his family fled from Cuba: "We had to start all over again." Andrés Arturo García Mendez (Andy) arrived in Miami together with his parents René and María and his brother Rene: "Luckily, in just a few years, papa did quite well," pointed out Andy. René García made a million-dollar fortune importing perfumes. Today Andy's brother René carries on running the business. "I never had a feeling for business. Since I was a boy, I was much more interested in the cinema and the theatre." When he was studying Dramatic Arts at Florida International University, he met and fell in love with María Victoria García (Marivi). The couple married in 1982 and have three daughters: Dominik, Daniela, and Alejandra. They divide their time between their houses in Los Angeles and Miami: "We try to be together as much as possible, in a place like Hollywood, it's important to keep strong family ties. A lot of temptations exist there," the actor says.

In Night Falls on Manhattan, he plays the part of Sean Casey, an honest copy of mixed parentage, viz., half-Irish and half-Puerto Rican, who ends up being elected New York City district attorney: "The project attracted me because I wanted to work with Sidney Lumet. And I was also interested in the theme, the interrelationships, our choices, as regards what is ethical or moral. After they elect me district attorney I have to decide between destroying the evidence or protecting my father ... a difficult dilemma." Completing the cast are Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Liebman, and Lena Olin.

J.E.: You usually lay rather serious parts on the screen, but in real life as we're speaking, you have an excellent sense of humour and a quite positive outlook on life ...

A.G.: I just enjoy life, that's all. That doesn't mean to say that I'm a person who doesn't suffer from stress, but I appreciate life and I appreciate that at times one is blessed with certain opportunities that one must be grateful for. And I try to relax. You know what I mean? I don't take things too seriously. I take my work quite seriously, but not the results because that's the commercial side of what I do. It's a highly variable aspect that I have no control over. I once read something that William Soroyan said and with which I totally agree. He was asked if it mattered to him whether his works were successful and he answered: "the fact that my work exists is already a success," and I think that's a very healthy attitude. I take the reviews of my films with a pinch of salt, because if you don't, you can become constantly obsessed, especially in this town. My daughters attend school with other children whose parents also work in the motion picture industry. In Los Angeles, we're under fire from all sides and have to make a conscious effort not to let the industry become the totality of our lives.