May 16, 2006

An indy screen pin-up thanks to leads in Latin hits Amores Perros and Y Tu Mamàè Tambièn, Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal’s breakout role was the young Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries. In his next role, the 28-year-old plays Elvis, the prodigal son of Williams Hurt’s preacher character, in steamy Southern melodrama The King, which is released on Friday.

You’ve got a devoted female following. Do you find it weird or do you enjoy it?
It makes me feel really, really nice. It makes me feel shy, too, and a little nervous but happy. Why not?

Some actors say they’d prefer people to concentrate on their art.
Yes but those are the ones that aren’t pin-ups, aren’t they? Ha ha. I dunno. I didn’t ask for it to happen but it’s nice. The way I see myself has to do with the way I wake up every morning. It’s more elemental and natural. I don’t see myself as a sex god. Although sometimes I think I perform like that! No, no, not really – but it’s impossible to control. It’s a bit like a nickname. The more you say ‘don’t call me that’ the more people do. You just have to accept these things and feel pleased.

Do you feel pigeonholed by Hollywood as a Latino actor?
Maybe for the industry I am a ‘Latino’ actor. I can’t see myself from that perspective but in industry terms perhaps I’m put in the parts of the ‘good Latino’ or ‘sexy Latino’. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll be cast as the ‘veterinarian Latino’. I find those niches really silly.

How much time do you spend in Mexico these days?
I live there. It’s where I’m from and where I want to live my life. Fortunately, with this job I can always escape for a little while. I hear people saying ‘I hate Mexico City’ all the time. Everyone says it. Everyone hates their own city. I try to enjoy wherever I am – even if it’s Los Angeles. It’s so crazy there. It’s like the Pyongyang of capitalism. You just think ‘what the f***?’ I go there for four days, do promotion and spend three days hanging out and having fun, then leave.

What did you think of the depiction of Mexico City in last year’s Battle In Heaven?
It was amazing. I loved it. It rang so true. If you’re from Latin America you immediately understand the social backdrop. In Latin America there is a strong class system and racial separation. That film was an emotional X-ray of what we’re living, which is a low-impact civil war, day by day.

From 13, I did plays constantly until I left school. It was great. I loved to be with adults. Especially grown-up girls

You grew up acting in plays with your parents. How was it being a child actor?
It wasn’t really acting, just playing around. When I was 12, I did a soap opera. Then, from the age of 13, I did plays constantly until I left school. It was great. I loved to be with adults. Especially grown-up girls.

Why was that?
Why do you think? The bees and the birds. But doing these experimental plays also introduced me to the avant-garde. I was so pretentious, whatever people liked I didn’t like. I loved trashy 1970s French films and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. I saw things and read about them but I didn’t understand them. I pretended to be avant-garde about modern art, music, films – everything. That’s what happens when you grow up in a world like that. Even though I was completely pretentious I didn’t feel very cool or comfortable with myself. Underneath, I was like every other teenager.

How did you approach the role of Elvis in The King?
It’s a pretty extraordinary story, a classical tragedy set in modern Texas. The bastard son coming home, the lost empire… I wanted to make it feel like a nightmare so I made my body slower than usual. I tried never to move fast. In a nightmare, when something bad is going to happen you see it coming way ahead and that’s how this film is.

What was it like working with William Hurt?
I was really, really scared of him at first. I was worried how to hold the attention of such an amazing actor. I needn’t have been, though, because he’s a really loving person. He’s very generous and I learned a lot from him. What he does with his face is amazing and the way he uses his body and plays with voices. He’s someone I admire a lot.

What do you do when you’re not acting?
I’ve been going to a lot of seminars recently on politics and economics and religion and theatre and film. It’s interesting. I’m much more open now than when I was younger. When I was doing Blood Wedding at The Almeida last year it was cool because I got to hang out in Islington with my old friends from school. I went to the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. I just like hanging out with friends and having fun.

Source: Metro