Demian Bichir's Oscar Nomination Brings A Whole New Light To A City He Describes As 'Diet Coke': MY LA

Current Gig: Oscar Hopeful

Context: While Demian Bichir is already a mega star in Mexico, recently he has a lot to celebrate here in Los Angeles. Bichir has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his film "A Better Life" and he's in with good company: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman and Jean Dujardin. But 48-year-old Bichir is no stranger to running with the big dogs. He has worked with director Steven Soderbergh, starred alongside Benicio Del Toro and is perhaps most well known in the US for his recurring role on the hit show "Weeds." HuffPost LA had the pleasure of speaking with the recent nominee to learn about his road to the Oscars, how different his hometown of Mexico City is and why he didn't become a professional soccer player.

Comments

[Judy Silk]

03:25 PM on 02/01/2012

His acting was superior to every other male character played this year. He shared his humanity with us, his pain and struggle, his pride, his determination, his joys, his sorrows. He didn't gloss anything over, he didn't hammer us over the head. He invited us into his heart. Anyone who saw the picture had to come out with a fresh perspective. One of the most impactful films and performances of the past 10 years. With or without an Oscar, he is a winner.

[alguien]

02:02 PM on 02/01/2012

he's so sexy i watched "weeds" just for him.

[whowhatwhywherewhen]

01:22 PM on 02/01/2012

I would LOVE it if this guy was an Oscar upset. He was awesome in Weeds and I would be really happy if he took the golden man away from the "front runners".

[IATSE MEMBER]

01:07 PM on 02/01/2012

A Better Life : Now on DVD and Blu-Ray!!

[Recalled]

09:29 PM on 01/31/2012

Oh? I thought he had always hated hated just hated acting and that's why he was doing it.

[tosc]

08:59 PM on 01/31/2012

to fall in love with acting is to fall in love with oneself!

[DREGstudios]

05:38 PM on 01/31/2012

The Academy certainly went with much higher brow nominees this year which I think will lose them a large portion of their young audience. After doing better at being in touch with the public the past two years, these stiff nominees just fall flat. I usually have something in common with the choice but not this year- if the contenders seem stuffy to you, check out my own Top 10 Movie Picks of 2011 at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/01/top-10-movie-picks-of-2011.html where you won’t see a single of the Academy’s nominees for Best Picture but you will get some movie artwork I drew up as well as the reviews!