When actor Andy Garcia arrived in Los Angeles, seeking a career in entertainment, he had no idea that he’d end up becoming a longtime resident.
“I moved to Los Angeles in 1978, looking for work as an actor,” Garcia says. “I lived in Hollywood in a storefront apartment on Sycamore and Fountain. I lived there a couple of years, moved, and have been in Los Angeles ever since.”
The early years were hard, with Garcia working various jobs including stints as “a professional waiter, mostly at the Beverly Hilton, and loading trucks for Roadway at their distribution docks in the City of Commerce,” he says.
Today, the actor is known for roles in “The Godfather Part III,” which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for supporting actor; “Ocean’s Eleven” and its sequels; and the title role in the 2022 “Father of the Bride” remake. Currently, he stars in Paramount+’s drama “Landman,” playing the dangerous cartel boss Gallino, who holds a powerful position opposite fixer Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) in the series’ oil industry and cartel feud.
Los Angeles is also the setting for “Diamond,” a movie written and directed by Garcia, that pays tribute to 1940s Los Angeles. The contemporary film noir story, which just wrapped production, stars Garcia as a private eye who operates like a 1940s Raymond Chandleresque detective in present day Los Angeles.
“Los Angeles has been our home for many years,” Garcia says. “I never thought it would be my home for this long, but it has been. I’m fortunate that I have all my family living nearby.” Ideal Sundays for the actor are built around family, watching football games on TV, eating Italian cuisine or a good steak, and finding time to play golf at Lakeside Golf Club.
7 a.m.: Coffee first, then Pilates
I’m always up by 7 a.m., regardless. After I wake up, I do Pilates at home with a Gratz reformer. But not before coffee! After that, it’s breakfast at home and football time.
10 a.m.: Golf with a stop at the drink shack
Usually on a Sunday, we get ready for football on the East Coast, like watching the Miami Dolphins, which starts at 10 a.m. If there’s not a game on, I’d squeeze in a little golf at Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank, where I’m a member. It’s a great walking course. The membership is a great hang. It’s very family oriented. There’s always a lot of kids around on Sundays and the weekends. There’s a shack in the middle of the course that serves sandwiches, beer, cocktails, soft drinks and so forth. After several holes, if you want to stop, you can get a snack or a drink there. For me, it’s to get a drink.
2 p.m.: Late lunch
It’s a four-hour round, and since breakfast was at home, lunch would be in the clubhouse. I recommend the Cobb salad, which comes as a very large serving, so you don’t need anything else with it. They also have a junior cheeseburger. It’s somewhere in between a big burger and a slider. It’s quite delicious. If I want to go a bit on the unhealthy side, that would be my go-to.
3:30 p.m.: Back home for family plans
I’d then head home for more ball games on TV. The grandkids are there. We just hang out at the house, and decide what to do for the evening. We either cook at home, or if we’re up for a road trip, we’ll pick one of the restaurants that we like.
7 p.m.: Dinner out for gnocchi or ribeye
We usually have dinner early, so if we’re going out, we head for one of our favorite restaurants. In the Beverly Hills area, we like to go to Via Alloro because our friend Tanino Drago runs the place. Tanino’s the chef and owner, and is a very old friend of ours. He actually did my daughter’s wedding here at the house. I tend to always get their spinach gnocchi bolognese, as part of the arrangement on the table. The menus change but they always have it or regular gnocchi. We’ve known the Drago family for years and it’s a place a lot of our friends frequent. We love Tanino and the way he cooks, the atmosphere. It’s like going to a place that’s like family.
Another favorite is Angelini Osteria on Beverly Boulevard. Gino Angelini, the chef there, is a neighbor, so we go there a lot. When the family goes, it’s my wife and I, four kids, the kids have two husbands and a significant other, and three grandkids, so that’s 12 around the table.
We also love going to Musso & Frank Grill in Hollywood. We try to order the ribeye cap steak. It’s a limited supply, so sometimes they run out of it. For me, it’s a martini and a ribeye cap. As soon as I could afford to go out to dinner, in the early ’80s, I started to go to Musso. It’s easy to get to. Parking’s right behind the restaurant, and they’re great people. I love the history of the place, and the food is terrific. It’s a classic steakhouse.
9 p.m.: A nightcap and a little piano music
After dinner, we go home. I’d have a nightcap. Sometimes it’s a little bourbon, or an Italian digestif like Amaro Averna. Then I’d do a little piano playing. I play original material because I don’t read music. That’s how I learned the instrument, so it’s themes I’ve developed, or improvisation. I started as a percussionist when I was very young. I play all the Afro-Cuban percussion instruments that are inherent in Cuban music. I started to play piano at age 30 for a film I directed called “The Lost City,“ which I wrote the original music for. I was always interested in piano. My aunt played classical piano and it always called to me.
11 p.m.: Off to bed
I go to bed no later than 11 p.m. My ideal Sunday is always around the family. What are we doing today? Are the kids coming over? Are we cooking? Do you guys want to go out to dinner? It’s always about gathering the clan.
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