Demian Bichir talks "Twilight" and "A Better Life"

Honored for his extraordinarily moving, and now Oscar-nominated, portrayal of an undocumented worker in A Better Life, Demian Bichir was presented with a Virtuoso Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF). Collider was there to cover and attend the event, and we’ve compiled the highlights of what the well-respected actor had to say, both on the press line and during the Q&A.

While there, Demian Bichir talked about what the whole award season experience has been like for him, getting to bond with some of his fellow nominees, what it means to him to be recognized for this powerful character, how he initially met director Chris Weitz a couple years prior when he auditioned for The Twilight Saga: New Moon, flying back and forth to Mexico so that he can continue a play that he’s currently doing, and how his nomination is dedicated to the 11 million human beings who work with pride, power and dignity to help this society go forward. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Question: What’s this whole award season experience been like for you?

DEMIAN BICHIR: It’s been pretty intense and a little fun, with very little time to rest. We’ve been going from one interview to another, and it’s been really great. We’re just having a good time and enjoying the ride.

What has been the biggest highlight?

BICHIR: Going out there and talking to different audiences and having those Q&As is always really interesting. And then, Chris [Weitz] and I had the chance to take the film to Washington D.C., and go to the capitol building and talk to a couple of senators who were pushing immigration reform and the Dream Act really strongly. And, we got a chance to talk to Cecilia Munoz at the White House, and she’s in charge of immigration issues. Just to witness how much a two-hour film can change everyone’s perspective towards an issue such as this, that’s really important and is going on everywhere, as we speak, was the moving part of all of this.

Have you gotten to bond with some of your fellow nominees?

BICHIR: I think we’re going to have that chance to spend some time and exchange some thoughts about our films at the luncheon for the Academy Awards. We had the chance to talk to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at the SAG Awards, and they were really, really nice. They were really moved by the film and they liked it a lot. They just wanted to talk about that. It was brief, but very nice.

Read the rest at Collider

Via Twilightish