Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada Bio
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is an American actor, film, and television producer. Recognized for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his generation by Vanity Fair in 2017 and one of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century by The New York Times in 2020. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2016, he featured on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Early Life and Background
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada was born on March 9, 1979, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, to a Guatemalan mother, María Eugenia Estrada Nicolle, and a Cuban father, Óscar Gonzalo Hernández-Cano, a pulmonologist. He has an older sister, climate scientist Nicole, and a younger brother, journalist Mike. Isaac’s family immigrated to the United States when he was five months old, and they frequently moved around the country, living in Baltimore, New Orleans, and Miami, where they eventually settled. Isaac became a United States citizen in 2006. He has French origins through his grandfather and describes himself as “a big mix of many things”. He speaks English and Spanish.Issac attended the private grade school Westminster Christian School in southern Florida. Drawn to creating music and film content since a young age, he struggled growing up in Miami, which he viewed as not being a flourishing place for the arts due to its conservative nature. When he was four, he and his sister organized plays in their backyard. Around age ten, Isaac made a home movie called The Avenger, in which he played dual characters; he also participated in school plays. He wrote his first play in fifth grade, based on the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark, featuring a doubtful platypus. He found great joy in performing, which proved to be a stress relief during his parents’ separation and his mother’s illness.
Path to Hollywood
Growing up in a religious household, Isaac was a rebellious child and often caused trouble at school. He was expelled at one point and later moved with his mother to Palm Beach, where he attended a public high school. Isaac formed a band with boys he met in a trailer park, learned music, played guitar, and continued to make home movies, inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s work. He joined a Christian ska punk band named The Blinking Underdogs, which enjoyed some success, opening for Green Day. During this time, Isaac took a two-day workshop with a casting director and won a brief part in the independent film Illtown (1998). A chance encounter with artistic director John Rodaz at the Area Stage Company in Miami Beach resulted in several roles on stage. To avoid being typecast as a “Latino gangster,” he used Isaac as his surname at auditions. To support himself financially, he worked as an orderly at the hospital where his father worked.Issac considered enlisting in the Marines at one point but ultimately studied performing arts at Miami Dade College while continuing to act in plays. During a trip to New York City to play a young Fidel Castro in an Off-Broadway production, he successfully auditioned to study at the Juilliard School. While a student there, he was cast in a production of Macbeth and worked on the film All About the Benjamins (2002). Isaac graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2005.
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada Career
Early Career (2005–2010)
After graduating from Juilliard, Isaac continued to write music and performed in small New York clubs, and played Proteus in Two Gentlemen of Verona (2005) in The Public Theatre. The following year, he portrayed Federico García Lorca in New York City Center’s production of Beauty of the Father. In 2006, he briefly appeared on the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent and played Joseph in the biblical epic The Nativity Story, opposite Keisha Castle-Hughes. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $46 million against a budget of $35 million. A critic noted that Isaac brought a freshness and vulnerability to the role. Isaac played Romeo alongside Lauren Ambrose in the Public Theater’s Romeo and Juliet (2007). For much of the rest of the 2000s, he played minor roles in films like The Life Before Her Eyes (2007), Che (2008), Body of Lies (2008), and Agora (2009). He won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as José Ramos-Horta in Balibo (2009).
Breakthrough (2011–2014)
In 2011, Isaac received recognition for several supporting roles. His first role that year was of an asylum orderly in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. He played a security guard in Madonna’s W.E. (2011) and portrayed a musician in 10 Years, in which he performed his own song. Isaac had a notable role as an ex-convict in Nicolas Winding Refn’s critically acclaimed action drama Drive (2011). Drive earned $81.3 million against a production budget of $15 million. In 2013, Isaac played the titular character of a struggling folk singer in the Coen brothers’ drama Inside Llewyn Davis. The film received acclaim, as did Isaac’s performance, which proved to be his breakthrough role. For the film, Isaac was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. In 2014, he starred with Jessica Chastain in J. C. Chandor’s A Most Violent Year, which was a critical success.
Notable Works and Milestones
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada’s signature work includes Inside Llewyn Davis, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He has won several awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for Show Me a Hero (2015).
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada Award Nominations
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada has received numerous nominations throughout his career, including nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and several Golden Globe nominations.
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada Awards Won
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada has won several prestigious awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for Show Me a Hero (2016).
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada Family
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada is married to Danish film director Elvira Lind, whom he met in 2012 and married in 2017. They have two sons: Eugene, born in 2017, and Mads, born in 2019. He lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Personal Life
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada is indifferent to his celebrity status and remains close with his family. He is close friends with actor Pedro Pascal, whom he met while both starred in a 2005 Off-Broadway production. Isaac expressed support for Armenia during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and solidarity with the people of Gaza during the Gaza war.
