James Garner

James Scott Burmgarner was born on April 7, 1928 in Norman, Oklahoma (United States). Before becoming an actor, James Garner , as he was known in the world, performed the most varied functions, from a gas station attendant to a swimsuit model.

At the age of 26, he performed for the first time in a theater on Broadway, where he was given a role without dialogue. There she also began to read the texts to the main actors in the plays, so that she could get to know the trade, something that years later he would recognize as “a great lesson.” Later she began to get small roles in television series and commercials. Also around this time he signed a contract with Warner, a company that, in the future, would bring him joy, but also displeasure.

In 1956, director David Buttler gave him his first major role in The Girl He Left Behind which, although minor, was a great break for the actor. After other secondary appearances, Warner gave him a leading role in the television series that gave him popularity, Maverick , which ended in 1960, due to economic discussions between Garner and the production company.

At the beginning of this decade he returned to the big screen, often playing the same role that had made him known to American audiences, that of Maverick: a witty, charming and talkative man, in the good sense of the word. He stood out in films such as The Great Escape , The Slander , Get Away, Darling or The Americanization of Emily (his best film, according to Garner himself, where he worked with Julie Andrews , an actress with whom he would repeat in Víctor or Victoria ).

In 1966, and after the success of the comedy A Sheriff Needs Help Too , Garner agreed to make a sequel, Whip , but unfortunately it fared much worse than the original. The actor then decided to return to television after 11 years of absence from the small screen. Here he would play a sheriff again, in the Nichols series . So much role as a cowboy would earn him recognition in the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1990. In 1973, John Wayne stated in an interview that Garner was the best American actor, quite a recognition; but that of the rest of the public would still take time to arrive.

A year later, in 1974, he starred in one of his best-remembered television roles, The Rockford Files , for which he earned an Emmy and several nominations. However, again due to disagreements between the actor and the production company, which refused to give him the corresponding percentage of profits, the series ended in 1980. James Garner returned to the movies and went on a streak in which, badly Wayne, you’ve been in some pretty bad movies.

Garner showed a great facility for comedy, and that also came out in real life, where he took advantage of any opportunity to give vent to his sense of humor; Suffice it to quote the phrase that he released to a journalist when he asked him if he would agree to do a scene naked: “I don’t make horror movies.”

1985 was a big year for the actor’s career, earning his first Oscar nomination for Murphy’s Romance . And he shot the film version of Maverick (1994) , directed by Richard Donner , in addition to working under the orders of Robert Benton ( At sunset , 1998) and Clint Eastwood ( Space Cowboys , 2000). But it was, without a doubt, his performances for television, the ones that would give the actor the most fruit, who returned to the small screen in the 90s with the series Barbarians at the Gate ., where he showed that drama was also perfectly given to him. For this role Garner got a new award, the Golden Globe for best male performance.