Eugenio Derbez goes ‘Overboard’ to make it big in Hollywood
Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez had it all.
He was a superstar back home who was recognized every time he stepped outside his door. The actor/writer/ director’s 2013 comedy film “Instructions Not Included” is North America’s highest-grossing Spanish language film and Derbez appeared in a variety of successful TV projects in Mexico going back to the ’80s.
But 3 years ago, he packed up everything and left, trading Mexico City for Los Angeles with the goal of making it in Hollywood. He tried his hand at drama (the faith-based “Miracles from Heaven” with Jennifer Garner), science-fiction (“Geostorm” with Gerard Butler), fantasy (the upcoming “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” with Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren) as well as the broad comedies for which he’s known (“How to Be a Latin Lover” with Salma Hayek and Kristen Bell).
Still, much of the U.S. has no idea who he is.
Derbez, 56, is hoping to
change that with “Overboard,” a remake of the 1987 Goldie Hawn-Kurt Russell comedy about an arrogant, rich heiress who treats the hired help, meaning Russell’s working-class character, like dirt. He gets his revenge when, after an accident, she loses her memory and he convinces her that they’re husband and wife. She then is forced to see the world through his eyes.
In the new version, which Derbez stars in and co-produces, the roles are reversed. He plays the rich Latin playboy with head trauma while Anna Faris is the ill-treated maid who convinces him they’re a couple. Eva Langoria plays her best friend who’s in on the scheme.
We chatted with Derbez during his recent press swing through Houston for the film, which opens Friday.
Q: Why remake “Overboard?”
A: I did a movie four years ago called “Instructions Not Included.” It was a huge surprise for everyone, for me especially. It became the highestgrossing Spanish-language film. After that, I had meetings with the executives at the studios; a lot of doors opened. When I was at MGM, they offered me a list of remakes in case I was interested and when I saw “Overboard,” I was really excited. I grew up watching that film. I went to the movies in Mexico with my mom to watch “Overboard.” I had a movie-star crush on Goldie Hawn.
Q: But you reversed the sexes?
A: Because we avoid direct comparisons to Goldie and Kurt. Also because, we’re breaking stereotypes. The normal thing to do in Hollywood is that the Latino is going to play the poor guy and the (white American) girl is going to play the millionaire. We decided to switch it. … It feels different. Also, nowadays, it would be kind of rude to have a guy kidnapping a woman and making her work.
Q: In the movie, you have a Speedy Gonzalez tattoo and one of your next projects is an animated Speedy Gonzalez film.
A: We decided to use Speedy for many reasons. We have permission from Warners to use it and also because it would be a wink to the next movie.
Q: I assume the Speedy Gonzalez character will be updated?
A: A little bit, but it was surprising to me that a lot of people here in the U.S. and at the studio, they haven’t touched Speedy for years because they think, or they thought, that it was offensive or politically incorrect, and it’s not. They were surprised when I told them that. They were like, “Is it OK with you and Mexicans?” Yes, we love Speedy. And I use that line in the movie, we love Speedy because he’s Mexican, he’s fast, he outsmarts the gringo cats to bring delicious cheese to his people. In Mexico, he’s like a superhero.
Q: How was the transition from Mexico, where people recognized you on the street, to Los Angeles where most don’t?
A: It’s like two different lives at the same time. It’s hard to explain because, one day, I was living in another country, in another house, in another language, in another office … I had this world where I am pretty well-known and famous and this other where nobody knows me. It’s so weird.
Q: Do you miss your old life?
A: No, actually I’m loving this new life because I’m feeling more freedom. I can walk easily everywhere. I feel young because I need to conquer the world again. It’s like going back to my first years when I was struggling and fighting to make a career in Mexico.
Q: I read that you had to change your acting style for the U.S.?
A: The worst thing I can do for (an American) director or producer is to make them watch my TV shows. They are so broad and so big that they get scared. The style in Mexico and Latin America is big, a lot of gestures. Here in the U.S., everything is grounded and natural. I play around with words in my (Spanish-language) comedy style. Here, I have to reinvent myself because I can’t use words like that. I’m barely learning the language. … So it’s been really hard for me to change everything, get rid of all the information, and start all over again.
Q: When you go back to Mexico, what’s the reaction? Do they feel that you’ve sold out?
A: They are happy and excited, and let me tell you why. For example, in Salma’s case, she went to the U.S. and she left Mexico and she never went back. But I keep in touch with my people and I’ve been doing movies with some Spanish in them. … I’m always dubbing my movies into Spanish so they feel it’s more Mexican or Latino. Those kinds of things make them think that I’m still with them, that I’m not forgetting them. I’m just trying to grow and that’s why they feel they’re part of my success in a certain way.
Q: With the success of so many Mexican directors, is this an opportune time for you to be in Hollywood?
A: These guys opened a lot of doors for us. Before them, being Latino or Mexican in Hollywood was an issue. Then came (Alfonso) Cuarón (“Gravity”), (Alejandro) Iñárritu (“The Revenant”) and (Guillermo) del Toro (“The Shape of Water”) and (cinematographer Emmanuel) Lubezki. These guys are amazing and that has opened a lot of eyes in Hollywood.
Q: Have you had much success in getting non-Latinos in the U.S. to come to your movies?
A: Yes. That’s what I want. That’s my goal. That’s why I’m switching to English. Little by little, I’m crossing over and I think this movie (“Overboard”) … is my best chance because it’s a well-known film in the U.S. Hopefully, this is going to be my vehicle for the real, real crossover.
Q: What’s the goal? A: I would love to be involved in more movies that I don’t produce. Right now, it’s me hiring myself because that’s what I need to do. Hopefully, one day I can just act instead of produce, direct, blah, blah, blah.
Q: You’d rather just act than direct if you had the choice?
A: I love directing, producing sometimes is exhausting. … Actually, I like directing more than acting.
Q: So would you leave acting for directing?
A: Yeah, in the future. Right now, I would like to direct here and there. I would leave (acting) for directing in 10 years, something like that.