Demián Bichir

Demián Bichir Nájera (Spanish pronunciation: [deˈmjam biˈtʃir ˈnaxeɾa]; born August 1, 1963)^[1] is a Mexican actor.^[2][3][4] He is from a well-known family of Mexican actors, the Bichir family,^[5] which includes his parents Alejandro Bichir and Maricruz Nájera and his brothers Odiseo Bichir and Bruno Bichir. He began his acting career in many Mexican telenovelas and films before achieving fame for roles in Mexican films, such as the record-breaking Sexo, pudor y lágrimas and Sin noticias de Dios. In the U.S., he played Detective Marco Ruiz in the FX drama television series The Bridge.^[6] He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for A Better Life (2011) and played Bob in Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight.

Early life

Bichir was born at Torreon,^[1][7] the son of actor Alejandro Bichir and actress Maricruz Nájera.^[1] He began his career in the theater and became a member of the National Theater Company at the age of 13, performing Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky, among others. His mastery of the greats at a young age garnered him several awards from the Mexican Association of Theater Critics.^[8]

Career

Bichir in 2012

Early career

Bichir's first film role was the United States production Choices of the Heart. He got his first starring character in the Telenovela El Rincon de los Prodigios, where he acts as a stranger who performs miracles in front of the people confronting the corrupt authorities and the church. Bichir continued his acting roles in telenovelas with film productions of Mexico, Spain and the United States. After a long retirement of the Mexican telenovelas in favor of a film career, he returned to TV Azteca and played an honest detective who tries to tackle corruption and drug problems in Mexico in the telenovela Nada Personal. His performance led him to act as the same detective in Con Toda El Alma.

Mexican film breakout

Bichir at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International

His film Sexo, pudor y lágrimas (1999) broke box-office records in Mexico becoming the #1 film in the history of Mexican cinema. He performed one of the main characters and brought him sufficient praise to earn him the Ariel. The film brought a lot of attention to him and to his brothers. They acted in so many films that in the MTV Movie Awards-México a special category was created: "Mejor Bichir en una Película" ("Best Bichir in a movie"). He earned this award for the 2003 film Bendito infierno (Holy Hell or Don't Tempt Me), in which he co-starred with Victoria Abril, Penélope Cruz and Gael García Bernal.

United States

He starred in the American film In the Time of the Butterflies (2001) with Salma Hayek, based on the real life of a group of sisters who fought against the government of a Dominican dictator. Later, he got some recognition when he depicted Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh's biopic Che (2008) on the life of Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara.^[9]

He was exposed to a wider American audience with his recurring role as Esteban Reyes, the corrupt mayor of Tijuana and love interest of Nancy Botwin from season four to seven in Showtime's Weeds.

Bichir found mainstream U.S. work following his critically acclaimed performance as Carlos Galindo in the 2011 drama A Better Life, which garnered him nominations for the Independent Spirit Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. On 24 January 2012, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in A Better Life.^[10][11] His nomination came as a shock to Mexican and American audiences alike. He is the first male Mexican actor to receive this nomination since Anthony Quinn. Though Bichir failed to win the award, he followed it up with roles in the major American releases Savages, The Heat, and Machete Kills. In 2013, he began starring in the FX drama television series The Bridge as Detective Marco Ruiz.

Bichir made his directorial debut, Refugio, which is set to be released in 2016.^[12][13] In February 2016, Bichir was cast in Alien: Covenant, the second installment of the Alien prequel series.^[14]

Political activism

Bichir is an ACLU Ambassador for Immigration Rights.^[15][16][17]

Personal life

At the age of 22, Bichir moved to New York City with his ex-girlfriend in order to get into the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. For a brief period, he did not act and started working at the Rosa Mexicano Restaurant in NYC while learning English. Later, he moved to Los Angeles but failed to land in any acting roles, ultimately deciding to go back to his native Mexico, where he found great success.^[18] Since 2011, Bichir has been in a relationship with actress Stefanie Sherk.^[19]

Bichir was married to Mexican singer Lisset Gutiérrez, whom he divorced in 2003. He stated that he finds long-term commitment difficult. He had a short-lived relationship which led to the birth of his daughter, Gala,^[20] in May 2011 in Spain.^[21] He remains involved in his daughter's life.^[22]

Bichir holds dual Mexican and American citizenship.^[23] He splits his time between homes in Los Angeles and Mexico City.^[15][20]

Filmography

Film

Television

Dubbing roles

• The Little Mermaid - Eric, Louis
• Jetsons the Movie - Apollo Blue
• Aladdin - Aladdin
• The Road to El Dorado - Tulio

Accolades

References

External links

• Demián Bichir at the Internet Movie Database
• Radio interview with Demián Bichir on Fresh Air discussing The Bridge (38 mins, 2013)