Why not use Real Mexican Actors as Mexican Actors

[angrymexican]

Hey All,
first I would like to say, this is not to be taken as a Racist comments nor are racist comments welcomed. We are all professionals and this is a clarification for me only(unless anyone alse ever wondered)

Okay, that said, I would like to know why Mexican characters are portrayed by mostly Puerto Ricans or others. Is this becuase of the Screen actors guild or some other goup, union, or special employment laws? For example: "Traffic" (this is one of my favorite movies of all time. I know that Benicio del Toro is from Puerto Rico but played a Mexican. Dont get me wrong he is one of my favorite actors but, his spanish is really bad. Jacob Vargas (Benicios Partner in the movie) he is mexican but has lived here and his spanish is horrible. I would like to see movies with real clean "Mexican Spanish" when a mexican is to be one of the characters.

Also, one major complaint I had about the movie cronicas was the fact the the main charater John Liguizamo spoke English with a Brookyn accent. Everything else was good about his performance until he spoke english.

Anyway, I would like to hear your opinions on this matter as I am confused about this when "my people" (My family asks me: "why don't they put mexican actors in the movies?")

Thanks to anyone who responds.

[Erik Olson]

Is Antonio Banderas Puerto Rican? I dunno, but I bet it has more to do with represented talent than anything else.

I had a good friend from Lisbon who worked tirelessly to get roles stateside - he was never even cast in a Brazilian role. I'd be interested to know how big the mainstream North American market and talent pool is for hispanic entertainment?

Casting calls must be very competitive when they come up at all.

e

[angrymexican]

Antonio is from Máalga Spain. He is good but you can hear a slight accent. I would really like to see Jorge Salinas (he was in amores perros and one of the top "Novela" actors in Mexico. Also there is Gael Garcia Bernal (Amores perros Motorcycle diaries, el padre amaro, y tu mama tambien etc.., Jesus Ochoa (he is in one of 50 cent music videos and possibly the only I really see these days)
But maybe you need to be registered here in the US or something. This is what I would like to know.

Thanks overlandfilms for replying

[Luis Caffesse]

I think overland's right - racially specific roles are very competative.
I mean, what would Puerto Rican's do if only mexican's were cast in mexican roles?

I have a friend who is Indian - yet he's played everything from Pakistani, to Saudi, to ... well, odly enough he's even been asked to audition for mexican roles.

It's more about talent than anything else, I think.
If you can pass for mexican - then you can get the role, if you're right for it.

It would seem ridiculous to pass on someone as talented as Benicio Del Toro because he is puerto rican. Acting is the art of faking it while telling the truth, after all.

Getting non mexicans to play mexicans isn't really any different than getting Matt Damon to play an international spy - as long as someone looks like they could be that part, then the rest is up to the talent of the individual.

That's my take anyhow.

[Jim Brennan]

As long as Charlton Heston stays north of the border and John Wayne stays out of Mongolia...

[Blaine]

I think overland's right - racially specific roles are very competative.
I mean, what would Puerto Rican's do if only mexican's were cast in mexican roles?

I have a friend who is Indian - yet he's played everything from Pakistani, to Saudi, to ... well, odly enough he's even been asked to audition for mexican roles.

It's more about talent than anything else, I think.
If you can pass for mexican - then you can get the role, if you're right for it.

It would seem ridiculous to pass on someone as talented as Benicio Del Toro because he is puerto rican. Acting is the art of faking it while telling the truth, after all.

Getting non mexicans to play mexicans isn't really any different than getting Matt Damon to play an international spy - as long as someone looks like they could be that part, then the rest is up to the talent of the individual.

That's my take anyhow.

Well put, Luis :thumbsup: You might as well ask about Aussies playing Americans :evil:


As long as Charlton Heston stays north of the border and John Wayne stays out of Mongolia...

LMAO!! I just watched "Touch of Evil" last week. "Mr. Vargas", right. :grin:

[Jim Brennan]

Yeah! Damn that Russell Crowe!

[Luis Caffesse]

Well put, Luis :thumbsup: You might as well ask about Aussies playing Americans :evil:


That's true - in fact, lately we've seen deluge of non-americans playing american roles:

House (TV) lead actor is british.
Prison Break (TV) both main actors are not americans.
Batman Returns - half of that cast was made up of nonamericans playing american roles.
Mel Gibson has played numerous American roles, as has Russel Crowe.
the list goes on....

Again, I think it just comes down to who can play the role - not who most closely resembles the character in reality.

To quote SNL - "Acting! Genius! Thank you!"

[angrymexican]

I gree with you on this Overlanfilms, and I love Benicio del toro. But what I am wondering is the language or better yet, the accent is so noticable to me that it seems wierd. I don't know if asian are really speaking "well spoken Chinese or Japanese" I think they might say the same about their actors... May that is where my dilema is, I know what it is supposed to sound like. You get me? It might sound right to most non spanish speaking movie fans ..

I think that is it.

[Luis Caffesse]

I agree with you, I"m bilingual and can spot the 'bad spanish' a mile away - and it makes me cringe everytime. But the majority of the movie going audience isn't going to care.

I'm sure many british people cringe when we see American's pulling off bad english accents. But that hasn't stopped us from doing it.

Perhaps as the mexican population grows in this country we'll see more of a push for 'authentic' accents... but I think it's going to be a while. As somone already pointed out, only a few decades ago we had Charlton Heston playing a mexican. While that's something that we find laughable today - it does put things in perspective.

As far as accents go though - you have to keep in mind that if unilingual americans are helming these films - from the producers on down - then they may not even take the spanish accent into consideration.

Soderbergh doesn't speak spanish as far as I know.
All he knows is Benicio Del Toro is a great actor... and that's all he probably cares about.

[Jim Brennan]

There's a big brouhaha about memoirs of a Geisha because of the ethnicity of the actresses.

[Blaine]

And my favorite movie of all time had a Scotsman playing an Arab. Sean Connery in "The Wind and the Lion" accent and all.:thumbsup:

[Jim Brennan]

Or Connery the Scot playing an Egyptian-born-Spaniard training a Frenchman playing a Scot in Highlander


I loved The Wind and The Lion. "Mrs. Petikaris, you are a lot of trouble."

[Blaine]

Or Connery the Scot playing an Egyptian-born-Spaniard training a Frenchman playing a Scot in Highlander


I loved The Wind and The Lion. "Mrs. Petikaris, you are a lot of trouble."

I was beginning to think that I'm the only one who'd seen it. And how about the Japanese ambassador to Sec. of State Hay after making an eloquent toast, "You likey fork, you likey knifey?"

[Luis Caffesse]

Or Connery the Scot playing an Egyptian-born-Spaniard training a Frenchman playing a Scot in Highlander

woah, you just blew my mind.

[Cpt. Shiner]

Most in an American audicence will not pick up on poor foreign accents unless they speak the language themselves. A name actor draws an audience. Why would you sacrifice a big draw for something most of the audience won't even pick up on? Especially when the actor is of Benicio del Toro's caliber. Why replace him with someone who is relatively unknown?

[Sean Michael]

Consider Cold Mountain, the American Civil War plight of two Southerners --Aussie Nicole Kidman and Brit Jude Law--in North Carolina (shot in Romania). :grin:

Southerners can spot a fake Southern accent a mile away...but at a certain point, the main issue is whether the actors/locations in question will be accepted by most audiences in their roles.

[Cpt. Shiner]

Accents matter little, the overall performance is what matters.

[Blaine]

Southerners can spot a fake Southern accent a mile away...but at a certain point, the main issue is whether the actors/locations in question will be accepted by most audiences in their roles.

Yeah, if you don't speak the language, you're not going to pick up the accent. I remember some Germans from Hamburg making fun of a Bavarian's "southern" accent. It all sounded like German to me and I could even understand some of the language at the time. :thumbsup:

[Blaine]

Accents matter little, the overall performance is what matters.

If the performance is good enough, this can be true. But you have to respect Crowe, Kidman and Poppy Montgomery among others that use dialogue coaches to get that "American" accent right.

[GenJerDan]

That's true - in fact, lately we've seen deluge of non-americans playing american roles:

House (TV) lead actor is british.
Prison Break (TV) both main actors are not americans.
Batman Returns - half of that cast was made up of nonamericans playing american roles.
Mel Gibson has played numerous American roles, as has Russel Crowe.
the list goes on....

Without A Trace: aren't LaPaglia & Montgomery both from Oz? (Checked. Yep)

Oh, and Mel Gibson is Australian the same way the BeeGees were. Just whisked away there for a while. He was born in the 'States. Peekskill, for Pete's sake.

[Cpt. Shiner]

If the performance is good enough, this can be true. But you have to respect Crowe, Kidman and Poppy Montgomery among others that use dialogue coaches to get that "American" accent right.

Of course, a solid performance with a good accent is even better. The performance is what really matters, though. Most audiences will forgive a bad accent, not a bad performance.

[Jim Brennan]

A bad accent is bad news. You're better ff not trying if you can't do. There was this guy Kevin once, who really dug Robin Hood...

[Blaine]

A bad accent is bad news. You're better ff not trying if you can't do. There was this guy Kevin once, who really dug Robin Hood...

Yeah, Robin Hood. That's another story. Kostner's make the theater and the better one shot at the same time gets sent to television.

http://yoursay.imdb.com/title/tt0102797/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxrdz0xfHE9cm9iaW 4gaG9vZHxmdD0xfG14PTIwfGxtPTUwMHxjbz0xfGh0bWw9MXxu bT0x;fc=7;ft=94;fm=1
This was the best Robin Hood ever.

[Jim Brennan]

Yep. Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman. Second best version ever.

[J.R. Hudson]

The reality is that there aren't that many 'mexican' roles to play in the grand scheme. If we were in Mexico making films about Mexico starring Mexicans then we see a more abundant Mexican infleunce and representation. However, we are in America, watching films predominantly about white (With anglo ancestry) people.

I don't mnean to sound insensitive; but oh well.

Mexicans played by Anglos, Aussies playing English, English playing American, who cares ?

[Jim Brennan]

I think that the fact that there are so few good ethnic roles is why this is such a tough pill for some people to swallow. Ultimately, it's all fantasy and you use what works. But If I were a good Mexican actor, and a hispanic role went to Hank Azaria because he does a funny bit with an accent...I have to admit, it would bug me.

[Tlalconetl]

Benicio definitely had a shitty fucked up accent in Traffic. And so did his sidekick. That dude is a straight out pocho. The movie was great, but I found their crappy Spanish accents very distracting. I used to get real pist off at Hollywood movies when non-Mexicans played Mexicans. Today, I just get mildly irritated. But it's definitely an issue among Mexicans. The shittiest part though, is that Mexican/Chicano filmmakers in the US often don't hire Mexicans even when their movies are about Mexicans!! Luis Valdez hired Lou Diomand Phillips to play Ritchie Valenz in La Bamba; Gregory Nava hired Jennifer Lopez to play Selena, Robert Rodriguez hired Antonio Banderas for Desperado--no mames! This shit does matter. It matters to the performance and to the Mexican audience. Scorcese and Coppola have made quite a few films about Italians, and the actors they hire are Italian. Why? Because they add a cultural authenticy to the characters and the performance that many accomplished non-Italian actors could never pull off.

[eignacio]

I think that the fact that there are so few good ethnic roles is why this is such a tough pill for some people to swallow. Ultimately, it's all fantasy and you use what works. But If I were a good Mexican actor, and a hispanic role went to Hank Azaria because he does a funny bit with an accent...I have to admit, it would bug me.


On that note...If some white guy pulled his eyes back with tape and talked with a funny Chinese accent...that would bug me. Umm...there should be SOME Boundaries on certain types of casting.

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/6783/batiffanysrooney23pu.th.jpg (http://img33.imageshack.us/my.php?image=batiffanysrooney23pu.jpg)

[SilverWolf]

I understand the point that you are trying to make but sometimes the people that play the roles in movies aren't always what they are playing.
Why dont mexican parts don't go to mexicans? I don't know.
How come the cartoon character aladdin isn't modeled after arab features ? His face is actually from tom cruise. And why do the rest of the arabs in aladdin wear turbins and their faces are dark and gloomy ?
Or how come none of the main stars in Memoirs of Geshia are japanese ?
Or how come Jason Scott Lee plays Mowgli in the jungle book when Mowgli is in India and Jason Scott Lee is of Hawaiin and Chinese decent ? The truth is this happens to all cultures and races of people in movies and it's not something that is singled out in any particular culture or race.

[Blaine]

And how about David Carradine in Kung Fu? Half Chinese? Yeah, right. :thumbsup:

[SilverWolf]

Classic:thumbsup:
He is the fastest slow man I have ever seen

[ullanta]

Well, what about pretty much the ENTIRE CAREER of Ben Kingsley?

And the atrocious Russian accents?

And the lack of a decent Quechua accent from anyone but Cyndi Lauper?

It's not just the accents, and the ethnicities, fellas... why cant' they get people who know anything about computers to consult on "geeky" dialogue? Why can't they use decent pianists for hand-shots (or even use actors who can play a piano for pianist roles)? Why can't anyone get microgravity issues correct in sci-fi movies?

I guess it would take the fun away.

Anyway, why is Gael Garcia Bernal playing Che?

[Cryogenic Filmworks]

Consider Cold Mountain, the American Civil War plight of two Southerners --Aussie Nicole Kidman and Brit Jude Law--in North Carolina (shot in Romania). :grin:


Actually Kidman is like Gibson, born here (Hawaii), moved to DC for 3 years then to Sydney where her parents were from.
Date of birth (location)
20 June 1967
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

[angrymexican]

I understand the point that you are trying to make but sometimes the people that play the roles in movies aren't always what they are playing.
Why dont mexican parts don't go to mexicans? I don't know.
How come the cartoon character aladdin isn't modeled after arab features ? His face is actually from tom cruise. And why do the rest of the arabs in aladdin wear turbins and their faces are dark and gloomy ?
Or how come none of the main stars in Memoirs of Geshia are japanese ?
Or how come Jason Scott Lee plays Mowgli in the jungle book when Mowgli is in India and Jason Scott Lee is of Hawaiin and Chinese decent ? The truth is this happens to all cultures and races of people in movies and it's not something that is singled out in any particular culture or race.

Hey Silverwolf,
the only reason I brought up Mexican is becuase that is what I am and it bothers me when this happens. I was under the assumption that there might me some union regulations or something stopping the movie companies from hiring anyone not a member of some group. The other thing is when they do hire Mexican, it seems they get the really ugly ones (not saying Im handsome than the rest) Anyways, you know how it is.

thanks for your response.

[kimko]

yeah so a mexican can play indian also ? right? because of the mixed blood indian and spanish and possibly french soooo....you could play more roles? couldn't you?

[kimko]

i don't know about you but i like it when EDDY MURPHY plays an old jewish man and i like BILLY CRISTOL playing an old black man. thats entertainment!

[Blaine]

and i like BILLY CRISTOL playing an old black man. thats entertainment!
He and Christopher Guest were great in that SNL skit about the Negro Leagues baseball players. Cooking smelts in the stands. :grin: :grin: :grin:

[angrymexican]

I think Danny Trejo can play an Indian. Both American (Lou Diamond Philips Brother) and from India, and also I think he could be like a terrorist Character (a guy with a bomb). As long as he doesn't show his tatoo on his chest.

I have gotten some good feedback from everyone. I think someone should go to Mexico and see the "Americans" in some of the Mexican Comedies. Now there you can hear the accents. I think they make me laugh becuase of the way they sound versus what they say. I think they just get the lightest skinned Mexican you can find and have them fake spanish with a funny american accent.

oh well,

I guess you have to use what you can get sometimes.

[kimko]

i worked with Trejo on a set called trojan or something like that. and he had a great story about him and bobby deniro on HEAT. how bobby d. saw his death scene like so...then bobby asked him what he thought and Danny said this is bobby d. mind you so i said yeah sure thing mr.deniro

[Luis Caffesse]

Kimko...that was so close to making sense....
Sounds like a great story!
:thumbsup:

Am I the only one who couldn't follow it?

[SilverWolf]

No he lost me around " I worked with Trejo":evil:

[kimko]

i'm sorry i was in a hurry. Danny was talking to us (me and this other stunt guy)about the movie he did with robert deniro HEAT and there is a scene where bobby's character comes over to dannys character and danny's all messed up almost dead he asks about his wife to which bobby replies shes dead so danny ask bobby to kill him cause he doesn't want to live anymore,little does dannys character know that bobby was there to kill him anyway,but he feels bad about it, heavy scene. but when danny explained how bobby d. changed the original scene to that, man that was great! but the way danny said mr. deniro was asking him how do you see the scene, man you had to be there he's a great story teller. he also told us how he started in films...from prison, he was boxing and some director or producer i forget which one he said, approached him and asked him to help train the actor Patrick Ryan O'neil for the movie with Barbara Streisand i forgot the name of the movie. the man told danny to look him up when he got out, well danny did just that, and the guy actually helped him out in his career turning his life around. man i can't believe i remember that! that was in the early 90s:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[kimko]

He and Christopher Guest were great in that SNL skit about the Negro Leagues baseball players. Cooking smelts in the stands. :grin: :grin: :grin:oh man now you talkin:thumbsup: :grin: :grin:

[KevinPeeples]

This is a bit off topic, but very close, but recently on Arrested development, Charlize Theron, who is from south africa, played a british girl, which wasnt that great in my opinion. Seems anyone can play anything. I think she shouldnt play MRF british girls.

[Blaine]

Charlize Theron.. Seems anyone can play anything. I think she shouldnt play MRF british girls.
As far as I'm concerned she can play anything! :thumbsup:

http://charlizeonline.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_premiere02.jpg

[David Jimerson]

That's true - in fact, lately we've seen deluge of non-americans playing american roles:
This is true, but . . .


Batman Returns - half of that cast was made up of nonamericans playing american roles.
Who? Keaton, Walken, Pfeiffer, DeVito . . . ?


Mel Gibson has played numerous American roles, as has Russel Crowe.
the list goes on....
Gibson's from Poughkeepsie, NY. He grew up in Oz but always considered himself American.

[David Jimerson]

Southerners can spot a fake Southern accent a mile away...but at a certain point, the main issue is whether the actors/locations in question will be accepted by most audiences in their roles.

The worst imitator of (any) American accents?

Kenneth Branagh. His attempts are veritable geography lessons.

[KevinPeeples]

As far as I'm concerned she can play anything!

Well, yes, I love everything shes done and shes a great actress, beautiful, yes, but she didnt do that good of a job with the voice. Didnt sound natural at all, and the character she played didnt do justice with the costming.

But she is still nice to watch.

[kimko]

As far as I'm concerned she can play anything! :thumbsup:

http://charlizeonline.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_premiere02.jpgoh man i said that out loud then i scrolled down bingo:thumbsup: