Gael García Bernal is starring in the 2023 biopic ‘Cassandro,’ which “follows the true story of Cassandro, the ‘exotico’ character created by Saúl Armendáriz, [a] gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who rose to international stardom.”
More than 20 years ago, the 44-year-old Mexican actor previously played a queer character in ‘Y Tu Mama Tambien,’ and he also portrayed a drag queen in Pedro Almodóvar’s 2004 film ‘Bad Education.’
With regards to his recent gay role in ‘Cassandro,’ he did an interview with IndieWire, wherein he shared:
“There was this thing that we kept saying,
If you scratch the surface, what’s really behind the macho guy? A man that loves other men.”
Bernal noted that Armendáriz paved a way for acceptance in a society steeped in homophobia in Mexico.
“He showed the truth behind the mask, in a way. This is something that happens throughout the culture in Mexico that has been accepted, in an interesting kind of hypocrisy. There are many different aspects, many different colors, to macho culture in Mexico compared with the United States,” the actor stated.
Furthermore, he opened up about pushing beyond his identity when it comes to portraying roles.
“It is a quite dangerous to think that we can only represent people who are like us. In that sense, if you want reality, then nobody better than Saúl to create Cassandro,” Bernal expressed.
‘Cassandro’ is directed by Roger Ross Williams, and it premiered on January 20 at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. It will also be released on Amazon Prime Video later this year.
Sources: indiewire.com, imdb.com
He’s played other good gay roles. I know there’s a debate normally on whether straight actors should play gay roles. I don’t mind personally but understand the debate.