Meet Diego Garcia | Actor / Singer / Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Diego Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Diego, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Did I choose an artistic / creative career, or did it choose me? 🙂
I was a very shy kid growing up and a daydreamer. I loved movies, television, plays and musical theatre. I realized I wished I could gain the nerve to do those things, so I joined choir and band class. I realized when something made me nervous or challenged me in some way, I would HAVE to say yes. So by the time I was in high school, I had gained the nerve to sing in front of people and audition for almost every production I could be a part of. Whether that was as an actor or even behind the scenes, running lights, sound, or even stage crew. I loved being a part of a project where it took everyone’s part to create something special for the audience. I fell in love with the hard work it took to rehearse and prepare. I was taught an amazing work ethic that would help prepare me in everything I did.
I originally thought I’d be a professional baseball player coming out of high school, but my life and career path for the arts prevailed. I quickly got involved with the theatre program in college and went from one show to the next for years to come. I was thrilled to build my resume and be a part of as many productions that I could. Theatre lead to musical theatre, children’s theatre to on camera extra work to on camera principle in film and commercials. This eternal drive finally got me to Hollywood! Met some talented friends, and we built a theatre on theatre row, where we quickly produced plays and sketch comedy. I even started a band! I have always been drawn to the arts. I want to do it all. I even started a podcast (The Actor Factor) where we discuss how people got their inspiration into the arts, which keeps me inspired on the regular.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
You can’t get anywhere without taking risks.
I’m proud of being involved in over 80 national commercials (one of them was a Super Bowl ad for Amazon in 2023), I’ve won the “Best Male Vocals” Award at the HMMA’s (Hollywood Music and Media Awards) for my rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, surviving in this beast of a business for the last 25 years. 🙂

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m vegetarian (mostly vegan) and would take them to some of my favorite restaurants (Tomato Joe’s in Santa Clarita has excellent vegan pizza choices, Mr. Charlies in Los Angeles, Din Tai Fung – amazing vegan sushi and Sugar Taco.)
I would also take them to some of my favorite live music spots (where I sometimes perform myself): Harvelle’s, Killer Yacht Club, The Mint, Cinema Bar, TR!P.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Brad Ashten is my long time friend and creative partner in building the theatre back in the day, shooting films, short films, putting on plays, producing live events for the band and my co-host on The Actor Factor.

Website: https://www.diegogarciaactor.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diegovgarcia

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diegojvg

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Stage11music

Other: Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-actor-factor/id1669323132

Image Credits
All photos by me, except the Actor Factor logo art by: Sam Weller
And the Singing one by: Christo Dimassis