INTERVIEW: Andy Garcia On Playing A Mexican Revolutionary in GREATER GLORY

Andy Garcia portrays an unknown Mexican hero in the historical drama FOR GREATER GLORY and CineMovie talks to the prolific actor about the little known true story of religious persecutions in Mexico and why he works co-star Eva Longoria into his acting contracts.

Not many know about the Cristero War, a Mexican civil war in the 1920s that caused the death of 200,000 Mexicans.  When people revolted over the Mexican government's persecution of Catholics in 1922,  a retired Mexican general Enrique Gorostieta Velarde was hired to lead the revolt with an army of peasants. FOR GREATER GLORY broke box office records in Mexico last April when it became the second highest grossing movie opening behind Titanic. Garcia hopes the success of the movie down south translates to audiences in the United States when it opens June 1st.

"It's an important story to tell. Obviously a lot of people didn't know about it which is a great curiosity. It needs to be talked about why it happened."

Playing a real-life general wasn't the first time Garcia has taken on a historical figure. The veteran actor portrayed writer Frederico Garcia Lorca, Cuban musician Arturo Sandoval, Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani during his long movie career.  He's set to play a lesser known real-life Cuban figure in his passion project Hemingway & Fuentes with co-stars Anthony Hopkins and Annette Bening.  

Garcia told CineMovie's Fernando Esquivel there are many Latino stories he'd like to tell on the big screen specifically from his Cuban heritage.  He's currently looking for financing for his next directorial gig with Hemingway & Fuentes.  The film is based on the true story of Ernest Hemingway during his time in Cuba and his encounter with a fisherman that inspired his story Old Man and the Sea.  He admits films based on real-life people or events are difficult to get greenly in Hollywood because they are seen as "not commercially accessible."  Regardless, he looks forward to making the film. He's off to a great start with a known cast.

When it came to his GREATER GLORY on-screen leading lady Eva Longoria, the Cuban-born actor cracked his first smile during the interview when the subject turned to the "Desperate Housewives" actress. On set, they got along beautifully he said, and he considers the Texan-born Latina a "great actress" and "generous lady." Garcia enjoyed the experience of working with Longoria, that he joked that he has her written into all his movie contracts.  After shooting FOR GREATER GLORY, the two worked together again in another film The Truth with Forest Whitaker and he plans on seeing her again for a third collaboration in the near future.

FOR GREATER GLORY opens in movie theaters June 1, 2012.