Raised in suburb of Sydney, Australia, this dark-haired son of a Colombian immigrant first began studying dance at around age six. While his school chums were pursuing more mundane things, Garcia was attending ballet and tap classes at the famed Capital Dance Studios. He earned his first paycheck as a teenager tap dancing on the steps of Sydney's town hall under the direction of Baz Luhrmann and subsequently collaborated with Dein Perry, co-founding the All Tap Company. (Garcia was not involved with Perry's subsequent more well-known troupe Tap Dogs.)
Garcia made his acting debut with a one-line role on the Australian TV series "Home and Away" but it was his stage role as the younger brother in the popular stage musical "Hot Shoe Shuffle" that first catapulted him to attention. Following a successful tour of Australia, he recreated the part in London's West End and went on to appear in a handful of other important productions in England. In 1995, he played Doody in a production of "Grease" and then displayed his dramatic chops as Al in the stage adaptation of "Birdy" in 1997. In between, Garcia was a presence on British TV as a co-presenter on the children's program "Boiled Eggs and Soldiers" and playing an Australian student in "Dream Team" (both 1996).
Garcia landed his first film role as an American miner ogled by Stephen Fry's Oscar Wilde in the 1997 biopic "Wilde". Later that year, he created a stir stepping into John Travolta's platform shoes as Tony Manero in the London staging of "Saturday Night Fever". While many felt the show had problems, there were almost unanimous raves for Garcia and his sexy, swaggering take on the role. Turning down the opportunity to recreate the role on Broadway (he did not want to sign a one-year contract), he reunited with Dein Perry for Perry's feature directorial debut "Bootmen" (2000), playing Sean, a young steelworker who leaves his job to pursue tap dancing. Before audiences could see him display his considerable terpsichorean gifts, however, they could view his star-making turn in "Coyote Ugly". Capitalizing on the hype and buzz, Garcia signed to star opposite Drew Barrymore (as her grown son!) in the romantic comedy "Riding in Cars with Boys" (2001).