Eugenio Derbez, Crossover Award: I’m ready to direct in English

Eugenio Derbez, the man who at age 52 burned his boats, and left the stability he had in Mexico to take his chances in the US and conquer Hollywood, was recognized by PRODU with the Crossover Honorary Award.

“I thought I would regret not trying rather than trying and failing,” he said. The first thing he had to face in the US were the stereotypes regarding Latin Americans, which translated into acting offers to play drug traffickers, gang members, or, in the best of cases, a gardener.

“And Latinos are much more than that, I wanted the role of an accountant or a teacher… Now that I have the opportunity to produce and create my own productions, I have the strength to break with those stereotypes and dignify the Latinos on the screen, from the US,” pointed out the actor, writer, and director.

The presenters highlighted that No Se Aceptan Devoluciones also broke stereotypes, as it was something different from what Derbez used to produce and it succeeded. “In Hollywood, every time they wanted to reach the Latino market, they made an immigrant movie, with characters called Martínez, López, etc. But Latinos were looking for a fun movie with characters that were not criminals.”

He also revealed what he considers key to being versatile: “Be in command of your career.” Many times actors take roles that they don’t want because that was what came up, he recommended instead that the best thing is to reach the producer with their own script. “A good script opens the doors of any producer in Hollywood.”

On the other hand, he expressed his admiration and gratitude for the actor Adam Sandler, whom he described as a “great human being”. And to conclude he announced that his next step will be to direct in English. “I’m ready,” he assured.