How Latin star Eugenio Derbez managed to “reinvent” himself with CODA and his new Rom-Com

Making movies in Hollywood is not easy. But given that he is the highest-grossing Spanish-language writer, director and film star ever filmed, it would be fair to expect the path to high-profile projects to be a little easier than Eugenio Derbes’ experience.

Derbez, who established himself with Mexican sitcoms in the early 2000s, was a big hit at the box office in 2013. Instructions are not included.The comedy he wrote, directed and starred in is a playboy who suddenly has to take care of a 6-year-old daughter. With a worldwide gross of 100.5 million dollars, a figure that has not yet been raised to another film in Spanish, the star moved to the United States the following year. discounts.

“early Instructions are not included.“I was always in meetings with producers, directors, execs, and with every idea that came to my mind, they would say, ‘You know, this is too Latin for the common market,’ and they rejected my ideas,” Derbez said. . . hollywood reporter. And although after the success he could meet with the executives of all the studios InstructionsThe conversations he had so far were different from what he expected, as he was surprised to have the responsibility of coming up with the project he already had. “I thought they would give me a lot of scenarios and offers. They used to say, “If you have a script, we’re here for you.”

After a tortuous path, the star, who founded the production company 3Pas Studios in 2014 to start developing his own projects, had a memorable year. Derbez was previously best known in the United States for his role with Anna Faris in the 2018 remake of the 2018 hit Gold Hawk-Kurt Russell. On board. He is a member now CODA The team that won the SAG Award for Best Actor — he plays Bernardo Villalobos, the assistant manager of the high school team — was on stage with his peers at the 2022 Oscars when the group won the Best Picture award.

“Definitely, CODA “It changed my career and my life in so many ways,” Derbez said. “Today, everyone in the industry, as well as my core audience, perceives me differently. Thank God. Now they offer more dramatic roles than I expected in the past. I’ve done two dramas since then, so I’m happy. CODA This gives me the opportunity to reinvent myself here in the United States. That doesn’t mean you should stop doing comedy; “It means I can now do other dramas besides comedy, which I am the producer of.”

He’s not leaving comedy anytime soon, but he’s careful to do so on his own terms. Derbez is currently starring in Hulu’s latest romantic comedy JamesIn which he plays a main character, a Mexican-American immigrant with a mere existence and lots of love life, who is mistakenly identified as the glamorous movie star’s (Samara Weaving) secret beauty and pulls a trick. Divert attention from your dirty personal situation.

It turns out that the film, a French remake of the same name from 2006, is a project to which Derbez has been entitled since its version in 2014, the year it first arrived in the United States. Much lighter and dumber. Then the 2016 election was held and the world didn’t seem so light and dumb.

“Barack Obama was president at the time, but in 2016 everything changed and it was a completely different country, so we felt like we had to change the landscape again,” Derbez recalled. “We basically started from scratch and we wanted to give all immigrants more civilization and we talk about them differently. I think we got the script right because it’s fun and you can feel like there’s a lot of messages behind it.”

Of course, even acceptance James Done as he wanted, despite his producer status. Just as Derbez is proud that he and his producing partner were able to promote On board Rehashing expectations that her character would be rich and Faris playing a less domineering person, the star knew she would stand her ground when it comes to giving. James A less common ending than typical rom-com fans might expect, and one that won consistent praise from critics. “It was a big fight with the studios, but in the end, thank God, we won,” he says.

Derbez, who hopes to return to directing in the near future, still enjoys making people laugh. However, he sees the comedy genre changing, as other comedians have noted, revealing that he is “not a big fan of political correctness”. As she explains: “My mother died of lung cancer. But if you told me a joke about a woman who had cancer, I would definitely laugh and laugh a lot. I probably wouldn’t have connected the dots between my mother and the joke because I’m used to it; It helps me to be happier in life when you laugh at everything. To me, a joke is a joke. It’s not like you’re trying to make fun of me. It’s not fun for my mother. “It’s just a joke to me.”

No matter where it goes, the star feels an energy it hasn’t felt since it started decades ago. “I feel like I’m growing now because I try to reach a new audience every day,” he says. “When I see someone who isn’t my main audience, someone who isn’t Latino, and they ask me for an autograph or a photo or talk to me about my films, I get emotional. It helps me because I feel like I’m hungry for success again. I want to conquer the world again.”