Carlos Gallardo's journey to fame began with the critically acclaimed film 'El Mariachi', which he not only starred in but also produced, under the direction of his close friend Robert Rodriguez. This low-budget film, made for a mere $7,000, went on to win the 1993 Sundance Film Festival and paved the way for his future projects.
Following the success of 'El Mariachi', Carlos worked as an actor and co-producer on 'Desperado', a film that helped launch the English language careers of Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas. This movie opened doors to numerous new projects, including 'Bravo' and 'Single Action', where Carlos took on the roles of producer, director, actor, and screenwriter.
Carlos went on to produce the third film in the Mariachi trilogy, 'Once Upon a Time in Mexico', featuring an all-star cast including Johnny Depp, Willem Defoe, Enrique Iglesias, Eva Mendes, Salma Hayek, and Antonio Banderas. The Mariachi trilogy has grossed over $246 million worldwide.
In 2007, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized Carlos' long-time work as a minority filmmaker and honored him with the award 'Oscar Night America', a recognition from the academy as a Latino filmmaker.
Carlos also made a cameo appearance in Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's award-winning action thriller 'Planet Terror' in 2007. His other recent credits include the drama 'Jazzed up Hoodlums', directed by new talent Stephen Marsh, the action horror film 'Dead Hooker in a Trunk', and the short futuristic western 'The Price'.
In 2012, 'El Mariachi' was given the prestigious honor of being named by the US Library of Congress as one of only 25 films to be preserved as part of the National Film Registry, the world's largest archive of film, TV, and sound recordings.
Carlos has collaborated with Chee, meeting in late 2009, and they have worked together on projects such as Bandido 2 and Redcon1. Redcon1 premiered in the UK at The Raindance film festival and was released across the UK in September 2018, winning over 30 awards worldwide.
Carlos has reunited with Robert Rodriguez for the upcoming film "RED 11" in 2019. He continues to discover new directors and help them achieve their goals in the film industry.
