The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - South Beach Sessions - Eugenio Derbez

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

Even as "king of Latino comedy", Eugenio Derbez always dreamed of Hollywood. Now, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Eugenio shares with Dan how he's overcome countless doubts over the decades, fought to break stereotypes of Latinos in media, and the pride he feels in seeing the joyous representation of Mexican culture in his Apple TV+ series, ACAPULCO. He also reveals the humbling experience of writing, directing, and starring in the all-time highest grossing Spanish-language film in the world ("Instructions Not Included") to leaving a life of success and stardom in Mexico in pursuit of making it (again) in Hollywood. The first two episodes of the fourth and final season of ACAPULCO are now available on Apple TV+, with new episodes every Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to DraftKings Network. More flights. More of all the things you want in a travel rewards card and then some. Get your ticket to more with the new BMO VI Porter MasterCard and get up to $2,400 in value in your first 13 months. Terms and conditions apply. Visit bmo.com slash VI Porter to learn more. More. Music Welcome to South Beach Sessions. It's smoldering in here. We've gotten a Latin American icon in here. He's here to teach me how to be a better latin lover among other things uh... welcome when you're done as uh... for me we'll get a little bit day uh... that's yes uh... you know him perhaps

uh... the fourth and final season of a couple call is a great representation for latin people on the apple tv plus i want to talk to you about sort of the ownership you have over that because i imagine you have great pride in the success of being able to represent Latin people and Your culture the way you are, but I want to talk to you about biographically your into the entirety of your career So thank you for making the time for us Did you have a choice on what you were going to do professionally because if you're in soap operas by the age of 12 years old

I'm assuming that there was only one way for you from the beginning. Well, you did your homework. Thanks for all the research. But yeah, I started pretty soon when I was pretty young, when I was 12, doing telenovelas, because my mom was the soap opera queen in Mexico. She did the first soap opera ever in 1956. And she was known for being like the

soap opera queen. And so when I was born, I was used to watch my mom on TV all the time. And every day that I didn't have school, I went to the set with her. And so I was literally born and raised in a set. Was it strange having a mother like that? What a strange time and what a strange profession for a child to see his mother in. Everyone was telling me that. And my classmates were always like asking me,

what, how do you feel, you know, that your mom is an actress? What do you feel when you see her on television? And it was like, I feel the same when you watch your mom in the kitchen. So for me, it was something natural. I remember that every time I walked through this in the street with her people were stopping her for pictures or autographs and For me it was like something normal So that's why nowadays I can take pictures with everyone and it's part of my life I grew up watching my mom doing this on a daily basis. So it was like no strange for me

I'm going a little bit deeper earlier than I should, but was there any weirdness in the idea of your mother has to be preoccupied with what she's doing in order to be good at it? It requires a certain level of obsession to reach that level of fame, and children can get in the way of ambition. No, honestly, I always tell this story to my friends

that I don't remember my mom sleeping in a bed, ever. She was always, during the day, she was always acting, shooting on set, but in the late night, she was always like helping us with homework. And then when we were all asleep, she was studying. I remember like in the middle of the night waking up and she was always like studying her scripts or working on her scripts and or helping my dad on his work too. So she was a great wife, a great mom, and a great actress.

And what I learned from her was how committed she was. I remember that one day she was doing a telenovela called Simplemente Maria, Maria Isabel, it was the first version, a very popular soap opera in Latin America, where she was playing an indigenous that she was like a maid. And then she marries the, you know, the, El Patron. Godfather.

The Godfather, yeah. So she went for a week. I remember that we were driving and I was too little, but my father was explaining us and my mom too, that she went there to train, to understand how they behave. So she went to the small, small town to learn how to talk in Nahuatl. Nahuatl is a dialect. A dialect. An indigenous language. An indigenous dialect. And she learned how to walk barefoot. And she learned how to,

this thing where they carry the baby. It was like. It was like a bassoon. I don't know the word you were looking for. Yes, but she learned everything about the culture. And she went for a week and she slept there in a small... ...hub. In a jacal. You know? In a hut.

So it was very committed. So I learned from the best. Are you that committed? Is that, we were just talking before you arrived and you said you're just coming into Miami and leaving and there's no time to do anything but promotion. That there's no time to enjoy the city, no time to enjoy restaurants, no time to enjoy anything.

It's work, work, work. Yeah, I think I learned from her and I love it. And I'm a workaholic. I don't know if it's a good thing, but at least it works for my profession What would your family have to say about that because they do reality TV shows that the entertainment industry is something that has I'm gonna use the word infected, but if you like it, it's an addiction that you're enjoying obsessively But the family enjoys it. It's a family affair. Well

My I have four kids and the three grownups, they were like, uh, the three of them at a certain point, they said, I'm not going to do this. I don't want to be an actor like you. I want to do something else. But years later, they ended up being in the show business too. So they are very successful. Thank God. And they have

their own shows, their own movies. Right now, the three of them, the three grownups, they're starring in Disney. If you have the platform, you can see their movies. And each one, they are starting their own movie. So one day, Amazon approached us and said, we want to do a reality show. And I was like, there's no way I'm going to bring cameras into my house. And they said, well, let's do a travel show. And I thought it was a good idea.

So I agreed and we did a travel show with my entire family because all of them are in the show business. So it was kind of attractive for the audience. And I felt that it was going to be like, okay, just traveling with cameras around, they're going to pay for our travels. Sounds like a good plan and they're going to pay us. So I was like, oh, okay, I can see them once a year for a month, travel with them, be together. It sounds like a great idea.

But then when we were shooting, I discovered that it was kind of tricky because they want drama. So every time that I was like, one of my kids or my wife was like, you know, I'm tired of this. I'm not doing this. Or I'm not in the mood. The producer will say, it's okay if you wanna leave, just say it in front of the camera.

It's okay if you're mad, just say it in front of the camera. It's okay if you're fighting, just fight in front of the camera. And I was like, wait, wait, wait, this is not. You were surprised that a reality show about Latin people would require a certain amount of drama in order to be televised? I...

They tricked you. You were a fool if you were. Yeah, honestly, but I think I didn't think, I didn't think about it enough, because as you said, it's normal, but for me it was just about just traveling and being followed with cameras all around, but it was not.

It sounded like a great idea the way you presented. Exactly. I could spend time with my family, we can work together, we all enjoy working. But one of the things you mentioned for children, two of the children had a show where they took a bit of pride in starting a business away from the family name, right? Because your name can cast a shadow, can it not? Yes. name, right? Because your name can cast a shadow, can it not? Yes, they are always like complaining that people say that they have everything because I am their dad and they got everything easy because they're my kids. And it's not. They're

hardworking people. They bring their own ideas. So they came up with this spin-off of the reality show, the travel show. They came up with this idea literally like a year ago. And I thought it was gonna be, I told them, I don't think it's a good idea. And I was sure it was not gonna work. And it was a huge success. So Amazon immediately said, let's do a second season so they they're shooting right now the second

season. I was really surprised but at the same time I was really happy to see that they did something by themselves and it worked. Can you explain to us what the burden of expectation is carrying your last name, beyond everyone thinking that they were just given everything? Well, it happened to me. Exactly the same thing. I just told you that my mom was the queen of the telenovelas. She was a huge name in show business when I was a kid.

So when I wanted to be an actor, no one believed in me because they thought that I was just like, following my mom's steps because I was there. And they were like, ah, now Sylvia, my mom's name was Sylvia, they were like, oh, now Sylvia's kid wanna be an actor. Uh-huh, of course. So they didn't give me an opportunity. For many, many years, I was knocking at the doors

and asking all the producers that they knew me for years. I was asking for an opportunity, and they never gave me a real opportunity. They just gave me really one line here, another there. And same happens with my kids. They are really struggling. They just gave me like really one line here, another there. And same happens with my kids. They are really struggling. Well, they were.

Not now. Thank God. But at the beginning it was really hard for them because everyone thought like they're the kids of Eugenio, but they don't have talent. I'm going to try and explain to people the disconnect between what you are in America and what you are in Mexico because I can't even imagine what that transition was like for you just to get into Hollywood. How humbling was trying to get into Hollywood when they're asking you for very basic information and you're an enormous star, an enormous star in Mexico, but they're asking you how to spell your name

as you're going to tryouts and auditions here in the States. It was a great lesson for me. And it was like, I felt that I was living in two different worlds, in two different bodies. Every time that I was in Mexico, you know, imagine, so to make this clear for people that are hearing this and they don't know me, it's like, imagine Adam Sandler moving to China.

Of course, Adam Sandler is a worldwide name and they know him everywhere. But imagine that no one knows him there and he moves to China to start all over again from scratch and no one can even pronounce his name. And that was me here when I moved here. It was like, I remember that I was, of course, trying to make it in Hollywood.

And I had some meetings with producers, so I arrived to the studios and the valet parkings were like crazy, like, Señor Derbez, Mr. Derbez, wow, can I take a picture? Yeah, yeah, I'm going to leave your car here in front of the door. They were treating me as a king. Cut to, I was in the producer's office and they were like, what's your name? How do I spell it? Sit down, wait an hour or more.

And at the end, sometimes they were like, oh, he's too busy, so, but you can come back tomorrow if you want. So it was like living in this two worlds where I was the king for some people and no one for some other. And that makes you humble and that makes you realize that you are not better than anyone. It's just that you are trendy in one place and completely not trendy in another one.

Now that you have life's wisdom and experiences, what atmospheres do you prefer to be in? Because even with Coda and the success, the Latin voice of Donkey and Shrek, the better version of Shrek, the Spanish version of Shrek, everyone has to tell you this. Where do you prefer being? Where are you more comfortable?

In the United States, because I'm out of my comfort zone. And I prefer that because being here makes me a better person because I feel that I have to fight. In Mexico, I am already someone and I feel that I'm in my comfort zone. I don't need to do anything. Here in the US, every single day, as you can tell, I'm still learning the language. I'm struggling always with my English. So every single day I have to, I study English. I started taking dramatic, because I'm a comedian, so I started taking acting lessons with a dramatic teacher for drama,

because I wanted to do drama also here. And so every single day, I am learning something new. I am fighting for a place in this industry because there's still a lot of people who doesn't know who I am. So I prefer to be here because that way I'm like awake, I'm fighting, I feel alive, I feel like I have 16 years old and I have to conquer the world.

And when I'm in Mexico, I'm too relaxed. It's an interesting choice though. You're choosing discomfort over comfort. You're forcing growth on yourself in your sixties. Yeah. Because? Because it makes me better. It makes me feel that I'm still alive, that I have still something to conquer.

I am always excited for new stuff. In Mexico, I'm like tagged. Like I say, he's a comedian, he's funny. He's this is that in the US. I'm constantly like They just what I did Cota that who thank God got an Oscar as best picture three years ago and it's a drama and No one would have hired me in Mexico for a drama ever So this kind of things makes me feel alive. What was the need though to go from comedian to drama? Which one's harder?

Honestly, comedy, comedy is harder. At the beginning was a little hard for me because I was not used to doing drama. But now that I've tried both, I feel that comedy, you know why? Because comedy is underrated. No one respects comedy. You see comedy like a sub-genre. You know what I mean?

Like it's a comedy. You never got a nomination for a comedy at the Oscars or the Golden Globes. Yeah, but all the important awards, they don't consider comedy and it's really hard to make a good comedy. They only, so this happened to me when I was doing, after shooting Koda, I was invited to the best parties ever. I felt respected, I felt important, I felt seen, and never happened to me when I was a comedian, or I was just doing comedy. Well, the guy is a funny guy, and that's it.

And it's way harder to make people laugh than make them cry. So I understood, I was like, because I was always like, why Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller, a lot of comedians, Robin Williams, they went from comedy to drama drama and they never went back. And now I get it. It's for us, it's kind of, it's easier

and you feel more respected by doing drama than by doing comedy. Explain to me how it is that you were feeling seen just because you were getting awards. You had already had so many accomplishments. There was something in being validated by the American arts in a place that you had chosen to grow beyond your discomforts that made you feel more accomplished? Yes. Probably because here in the U.S., because I'm in a new phase for a lot of people, they were looking at me in a different way.

And I got invited to the Oscars twice. I got invited to the Golden Globes. I got invited to a lot of places because I was doing a drama that was nominated for the Golden Globes and the Oscars and the SAG Awards and everything. So I felt seen for first time in my career in a different way because I don't know, people knew me in Latin America for being a comedian, but again, it's different.

I can't explain it exactly, but it was like, oh, he's the funny guy versus, oh my God, this guy is a great actor. Well, but I understand what you're saying. It's the difference between a thespian and a payaso. Not that you're necessarily a clown, but you had been for 20 or 30 years, someone who's just making people laugh.

So you're showing them that you have, that there's more range to your talents. Yeah, but probably it's harder to be a payaso than a thespian, you know, because it's very complicated to make people laugh. But at the same time, yeah, you feel more important when you're doing drama for some reason. All right, listen, I got some bad news. We're running out of summer.

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and Resorting Kansas. 21 and over, age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Voighton, Ontario. Bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.co slash audio. Can you explain to people though what your life is in Mexico, who you are in Mexico,

what your daily walking life is in Mexico, who you are in Mexico, what your daily walking around is in Mexico as someone who's been on television through generations and has had your family on television through generations. Well it's it's hard for me to walk in Mexico City that that's why I'm right now I'm very comfortable in the US because here I can walk. In Mexico I cannot walk in the streets because it would be complicated. I mean, people are always very nice to me, but you know, I have to take pictures and autographs

every single time. So, I hate to talk about me. But yeah, I mean. Well, I hate to break this to you. That's what we're going to be doing over the course of this hour. We're going to talk about Acapulco as well, but I wanted this to be biographical and to the degree that people perhaps aren't noticing the work that you're doing or the importance of the work you're doing because you're representing

Latin American people with a humility, with a color, with a grace, with a fluency between languages with Acapulco and the other places where you have ownership that you should have great pride in because it's something that many Latin people are noticing, the ownership that you're taking over the things that you're doing and how important it is for you to sort of introduce to the United States a little bit of your culture, your flavor. Exactly, well, my shows have been rerunning in Mexico and here in the US on Univision,

they're still rerunning my shows for the last 30 years. And thank God with great ratings. So after like many, many years of doing television and being like the king of comedy in television in Mexico and Latin America, I made a movie called Instructions Not Included. That movie became a huge hit. It became the highest grossing Spanish language film ever,

worldwide, ever. And you did it like for real. You produced it, you edited it, you had everything to do. You were, you had your hands on everything. On everything. I co-wrote it, I directed it, I starred, I produced it, I edited, I did everything. On everything. I co-wrote it, I directed it, I starred it, I produced it, I edited it, I did everything. And a lot of people always ask me, why you did so many things? Because I didn't have the money to pay a lot of people.

So I did everything. And after that movie, I always wanted to come to Hollywood, always. It was like my dream since I was a kid. And I tried a couple of times. I did a movie with Adam Sandler, Jack and Jill. I did a series in CBS with Rob Schneider called Rob. I did a play on Broadway. And after that, I said, okay I tried nothing

happened I'm going back to my country. I'm gonna do my movie that I want to do and and I'm gonna forget about the American dream. So I went back to Mexico I did this movie that I'm telling you called Instruction Not Included. It was a huge hit here in the US. So my agents finally told me, move to the US because it's now or never. So after that's what I was telling you. Imagine Adam Sandler all of a sudden moving to China. I was the, my show was number one on television 10 years ago, and I had to make a decision.

So I took a leap of faith. I shut down, I shut off my office, my life, my friends, my family, everything. I closed my office and I moved to LA 11 years exactly 11 years ago and I start from scratch in Los Angeles 11 years ago and I opened my own production company and 11 years later I'm here I am. Tell me about the beginnings of that the difficulties the struggles the complications of the very beginning of that, where you thought you were gonna shut down your Hollywood dreams and now you're in production, you're in ownership, I'm gonna make my own things.

I'm not gonna be acting in my things, I'm going to make sure that everything I'm doing is basically owned and created by me. I learned after I came to this country and my agents were like, it's now or never, you're gonna have a lot of meetings, opportunities. I met with all these producers and they were like, oh, congratulations on your film, it did amazing.

But they never offered me anything. They were like, what's your next project, what do we have? I was like, nothing. I mean, I never thought it was gonna be a success, so I don't have another movie for now, but if you have anything, and they were like, well, we'll call you. Nothing happened.

So I learned that I had to produce my own stuff. And then they were, the few things that they were offering me were the same. They were like the gang member, the narco, the the the villain or best case scenario, the gardener or the cook in the kitchen. And I was like, I need to change this. That wasn't that long ago, though, for that still to be the typecast for Latin actors. Yeah, I know.

But 11 years ago, it was just that kind of roles. And that's when I said, I need to open my own production company, because that's what I did in Mexico. And I'm going to start producing my own stuff. And I promised myself to try to portray Latinos in a positive way. And since then, all my movies have done that. I rejected a lot of projects, great projects

with great actors, because they were often me, the narco, I'm not saying that I wouldn't do a narco someday, but at least for this first 10 years, I decided only to portray Latinos in a positive way. That's why, for example, they offered me Overboard, the remake of Overboard. So if you remember the original original one with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. She's the billionaire, like a billionaire, and Kurt Russell was the carpenter. And the executives at MGM told me, this would be perfect for you

because you can be the carpenter and we can get an American actress to play the billionaire. And I was like, hmm, hmm wait and why not the opposite because in Mexico we have a lot of people that with a lot of money Carlos is Lee means a billionaire I think it's that he was once number one most men in the world and I was like why not the opposite I want to play the billionaire and let's, and we hired finally Anna Faris to place a, a pizza delivery girl.

So, and it was a huge success among Latinos because they loved finally being, seeing the Latino who's successful and not always the, the, the waiter or the narco or the gang member. How moved are you when you just daily look at the set of Al Capulco or you have and you see just how Latin a cast it is for something that's appearing on Apple TV Plus that's you know product that's Americanized? You know what I love about Al Capulco? Exactly what you said.

I feel proud. And that was the intention since the beginning. I grew up watching, first of all, shows that were for an entire family. Watching The Love Boat, The Adam Family, The Monsters, all these shows that were the Flintstones. And I remember sitting down with my parents and watching TV. Nowadays, you can't. Everything is kidnapping, murders, sex, violence. And I wanted to do a show that can be family friendly, first of all, and who can portray Mexico in a different

way. Because every single thing about Mexico that you see on television here in the US is about how many people were killed yesterday or fentanyl, drugs, narcos, same thing. And Mexico is more than that. I wanted to show people that we, Latinos in general, we are warm, we love to hug, we love to kiss, we love to dance, we love to sing, and I wanted to show that to the entire world.

And that's why we did this show in English. It's bilingual, but it's more English than Spanish, because this is for the entire world. And that's why we did this show in English. It's bilingual, but it's more English than Spanish, because this is for the general market. It's not a show for Latinos. It's really important to understand that Acapulco is not for Latinos. It's for everyone worldwide. And I'm happy to learn that right now, more Americans

watch the show, more Americans than Latinos. So I'm happy to show Mexico and Latinos in a different way. When you talk about the things that you have pride in that you've created professionally, and instructions not included, when you talk about the story of that, is there anything that gives you greater pride, just personal pride, where I'm the one asking you you gotta put down your humility for a second and enjoy the ego of no, I made something there

that I am proudest of. Of all the things that you've made, what do you choose? I think instruction not included. Because it's based a little bit on my life and the fact that it beats a lot of records. I mean, I told you, it's the highest-grossing Spanish language film, more than the Almodóvar films. Guillermo del Toro's pants labyrinth and were the fourth Mass the international film

How do you say that the film festival no at the general and box office the fourth and it's like a It sold a ton. It's all the time than anything It's like a... It sold a ton. It sold more than anything. More than anything. Anybody understands the language of, it was wildly successful beyond even your dreams, correct? Whatever.

Absolutely. What were your expectations for it? Nothing. I remember that like a month before launching Instruction Unincluded, my co-producer told me we didn't have money for publicity. We need some investors. And I was like, you know what? I really believe in this project.

What if I invest my own money here? And she was like, no, no, no, no, don't do that. You're gonna lose money. It was a huge mistake. I would be a millionaire by now. I would be in a yacht in the middle of the ocean. It was a huge mistake in order to pay your own money to invest in this?

Yeah, but- You're still saying it's a huge mistake? No, it was a mistake not to do it. But back then they told me, don't invest your money in the movie because, and they showed me, the highest grossing Mexican movie ever is El crimen del padre Amaro. I still remember the name is El crimen del padre Amaro.

I still remember the name, El crimen del padre Amaro. That movie made 180 million pesos and it was number one ever in Mexico. They said, even if you do 180 million pesos, even if you do that, you would get even. And it's very risky. And no one has done that in the last 11 years. So don't do it. Well, I made 600 million pesos. So imagine just in Mexico, in general, the movie made $100 million dollars.

What you're lamenting to me right now is that you wanted to put your own money in, they would not let you put your own money in, and if you'd been allowed to put your own money in, it would have multiplied by, it would have been much better to have ownership of it, is what you're saying. Of course. The movie cost $5 million dollars in general. So imagine and it made more than a hundred million dollars. Explain to people when you're getting your hands dirty

with the doing of everything because you don't have money for editing because you have to do the writing. Explain to the people the painstaking process of pouring your dreams into something like that. Well, first of all, everything started because I was very popular. My shows were very popular. I was like the number one comedian on TV.

But when I tried to do movies, to change the movies, no one wanted to hire me because they said, no, no, you're the funny guy from television. I'm not going to risk my movie because back then they were doing a lot of dramas. Basically, Mexican movies were dramatic movies. No one was doing comedies. And I was like, that's weird, but that's the way it was. And I always wanted to make a movie and they didn't let me. They said, I cannot put you, because people,

they're going to laugh at the moment they see your face in a drama. And they didn't give me the opportunity. And that's when I learned that I have to write my own movie. Actually, I wanted to put at the end, to say thank you to all the people who rejected me because by doing that, you forced me to write my own movie. And it was real. And because of them, because they rejected me, I was able to write my own movie and to produce my own movie. And that's how I started doing instruction, not included.

It took me 12 years because no one wanted to invest in that movie. No one wanted to direct that movie. And the few that wanted to direct it, they were not good enough, so I didn't want to. And then, it took me 12 years on year six an executive an executive from Fox US said I will produce it because I know you that you're popular and But you need to change the ending and the ending is everything in that movie and I was like No, I'm not going to betray my script, my project just because I need to please the Hollywood standards because they said there's

no way and I want to spoil in case you haven't seen it, but they said, there's no way a Hollywood movie will end like this. So you need to change it. And I was like, well, thank you, but I'm not doing it. And I didn't do it with Fox. No, not with Sony back then because they wanted me to change the ending. You said you wanted to put at the end, thank you to everyone who rejected me. You didn't end up putting it. No, because my co-producers said, don't do it

because it's going to sound like you are like a. Small petty. Yeah. Don't do it. But I really want it, but it was honest. I was like, I don't want to complain. It's a real thank you because you made me grow. I would say to the people listening to this, I don't know how you feel about the last 10 years about how Mexico has been portrayed in this country, but I have said on our show a number of different times that generally speaking,

in the totality of the American media, Hispanics are largely underrepresented given what it is that we do in the demo, but also Latins and Hispanics aren't whimperers. We're grateful to be in this country, so you will not be hearing a whole lot in the way of complaints that are continually pointing out to everybody, hey, do you know how unfair this is that we're not represented demographically in the industries the way that we represent the population? What do you want Americans to know about Mexico and Mexicans that have been contaminated

over the last 10 years in this country? Well, I feel that a lot of people here in the US, they don't understand exactly what's Mexico, first of all. Some people, they don't even know that it's just in the south of the border. You know? They just know Tijuana. And Tijuana is not Mexico.

If you fly to Mexico City, you will discover a completely, it's like, like a wild version of New York, but it's completely different. So, and, and, and I, I feel bad because I feel that we're not well represented. We are, we're not well known. They just see us like immigrants, like people who just pick tomatoes in the fields, or we're cook or waiters, and we are much more than that. That's why for me it was so important to produce movies like Overboard or Instruction Not Included

or even Coda, because I'm playing a positive, Latinos in a positive way. And that's important to you because? Because that's who we are. We're not just narcos or lazy people sitting or taking a siesta, you know, in the middle of the day. We are hardworking people. We are nice people.

We are hardworking people. And I don't feel they see us like that here in the U.S. When you look at the amount of struggles that you had breaking through in the United States, what time period are we talking about? How much time is being put into you wanting to break through here in the United States? That's a great question, because when I was eight years old,

I used to go with my mom to the movies and I watched literally every single weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at least two and two, three or four movies a day. So I grew up watching Hollywood movies. I love them. And I wanted to be a Hollywood actor since I was eight years old. I was watching the Oscars every single year with my mom. Every single year.

It was, that's why when we won the Oscar with Koda, there's a moment when I look to the sky because I was like, mom, finally I'm here. But since I was eight, I was obsessed with Hollywood. And then I forgot about it because I started my career. I was struggling in Mexico to be someone. And then I forget about my dream. It was until I was 42 years old

when a manager contacted me and said, I would like to meet with you because I heard that you're popular in Latin America and Mexico. And that was exactly two weeks after my mom passed away. So I feel that that was my mom sending me a signal and telling me, remember your dream. and two weeks after my mom passed away and I received that call I said of course I had a dream what happened with the dream now that I am popular that I made a career in Mexico it's time to go for my dream and I opened the yellow pages and I looked for a school, Berlitz, and I started learning English

because I had the basics back then. So that was in 2002. And I started learning English in 2002 and I started my career in the US by studying English and then doing a small play here in LA, back in LA, in a small theater and that's how I started. The way you're challenging yourself though is interesting because you say it's your dream, doing comedy or doing funny in your second language is really, really hard, really hard.

But you're already a successful comedian. Now you're trying to do something that you're tackling as degree of difficulty that is much harder just because it's your Hollywood dream, because your mom is speaking to you from the beyond. Was she obsessed with Hollywood? Was Hollywood something, what was happening in your childhood

that made you wanna watch two and three movies a day, that made you obsessed with the idea of there's a dreamy place out there that represents the end of my dreams? Well, first of all, my mom was an actress, and she worked with Johnny Weiss Mueller, the first Tarzan. And she did a movie called Tarzan and the Mermaids.

And they wanted to hire her to work in Hollywood and my grandmother didn't let her. So she wanted to conquer Hollywood too. So for me it was like kind of a thing. And then I just loved Hollywood movies. So, and I remember that when I cried the first time in the movie theater, in a movie theater, I said, this is what I wanna do.

I wanna be a storyteller. What I felt in that moment, when I was crying and watching the screen, I was like, what is this? This is amazing. I'm laughing, I'm crying, I'm feeling something like a roller coaster. That's what I want to do for a living. So I was kind of obsessed with Hollywood. But then I forgot about my dream until I was 42 and I moved to this country at 52. So imagine to leave everything. I remember my accountant, my lawyer, everyone like, you're crazy.

You're not a kid anymore. You're going to leave Mexico where you're the king. They're paying you a lot of money here and you're going to risk everything to start from scratch in another country. Don't do it. paying you a lot of money here, and you're going to risk everything to start from scratch in another country? Don't do it." And I was like, I feel it inside of me. I need to do it. And I didn't hear anyone, and I left. And thank God, I feel that it's been a great, great, great trip. Who supported it? No one.

My wife, my wife was the only one who, who told me I'm with you no matter what. But everyone else was like, uh, you're, you're crazy and this is not a good decision, honestly. And how alone were you with that? How much doubt did that cause? Or was the talk so strong? I'm gonna tell you, this is a true story. I was of course doubting, but I was so, so into it. I was so excited about the idea of coming to Hollywood that I was extremely excited. But the day that I left Mexico, finally,

the day where I took my luggage, like 10 pieces of luggage, my wife and my dog, and I remember that we woke up at 4 AM. I said goodbye to my house. And I said, thank you house and I said, thank you for all these years. We are leaving finally. I cried a lot that morning and I told, and then we went to the airport and when we were in the airplane, I, I told my wife, you think we're doing the right thing?

And she was like too late for that. Don't ask me that because too late for that. Just think positive. We took off and this is a true story. While we were flying and I have no idea this was going to happen. When we landed in LA, of course, with all this luggage and my dog and my wife, I was like overwhelmed. I got into the car, finally, a rented car, of course. We turned off the cell phones and hundreds of messages in my cell phone, and my wife's cell phone, telling us, they give you a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And I thought they were joking.

I didn't want to post about it because why, are you kidding me? And my wife was, remember that you asked me if you were doing the right thing? Well, this is the universe telling you, you did the right thing. It's funny that you say that because I was just going to ask you what the moment was like for you at that star looking back at from where you were where everyone was telling

you not to do that and you're on what is established as the place where American Hollywood stardom is remembered forever. I was going to specifically ask you that moment for you, what it felt like looking back in retrospect, that everyone telling you, don't do that. And you didn't even have to earn anything in the United States before you'd gotten it, right? No.

You hadn't done the work in the United States that was success. That was just for, that was both the punctuation on your career in Mexico and welcome to Hollywood. Exactly. And it was, the only thing I did before was like nine months before that was instruction not included. And I think that because of instruction not included, that was a huge success in the US, they gave me the star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And of course, because of my career and all my career in Latin America and Mexico. But it was so funny that if you put that in a movie, they will

be like, Come on, the day you travel to Hollywood that day they give you the stars. It's like, it's unbelievable. And you're scared, right? Because your conviction, the thing that you're saying about nobody was supporting me and you're crazy, like you can begin to think you're crazy if all the people around you are wrong about valuing the wrong things. Because they're not living your life,

they don't know what it's like to be you in Mexico and what your expectations are. And they're like, you have all of the things anyone would want, what's the matter with you? And you're like, no, tengo algo aqui que me da hambre. Exactly, I was hungry of something different. I was in my comfort zone and I was okay. But just the fact that I was thinking about Hollywood

made me feel butterflies inside my heart heart and my stomach so I was like I don't know it's real I knew of course that I could fail but I was I don't care if I fail I need to try I have to try I have to try it was a must well I will fail if I don't try the example failure will hurt more if I never try Absolutely. I was 100% sure I was like I know that I might fail but I need to do it if I don't do it That's failure for me. That's real failure So I'm gonna go and try and I don't care if I don't make it and thank God It's been a great experience for her.

Was there anything in your childhood that you were escaping by wanting to go to two or three movies a day, or was it simply, I really love the movies? I don't need to be transported from anything that's in my life. I just know what my wife, my mother does for a living and I'm going to follow this because this is my calling. No, I had a happy childhood, very happy childhood. And I went with my mom to the movie theaters and I had my dad, he loved me a lot too,

but he didn't like going to the movies that often. But I loved just going to the movies and being transported to these other worlds. That's why I was really pissed off I love just going to the movies and being transported to these other worlds. That's why I was really pissed off because when I came to this country to have meetings with producers and I was pitching an idea, they were constantly telling me, you know what, this idea is too Mexican. And I was like, what are you talking about?

I grew up in Mexico, in entire Latin America, we've been watching Hollywood movies forever. And we've been watching Apollo 13. And we don't even have spaceships in Latin America. You know, we can't even touch a spaceship in our entire lives. Mexicans not great at making moon rockets. Exactly, exactly.

Our people have failed there, largely. Or Erin Brockovich. There's nothing more American than a story about Erin Brockovich. And we love that because it's good cinema. So it doesn't matter if it's to Mexican, it could be really successful. That's why I feel that Guillermo del Toro

or Alfonso Cuaron or Gonzales Iñárritu have been successful because they have a different flavor. They are successful because they have this different ingredient. And that's what makes movies better. That's what Parasite or Squid Game, they've been really successful because they're different. And I was really pissed off when they were just telling me, eh, the Mexicans. How many insults like that were there?

What kind of indignities did you have to suffer where you're already a giant star and you're just again and again sort of feel like you're begging for a chance? Well, many, many. I remember one, I was telling you, sorry that I've been like back and forth so it could be confusing for you,

but when I started, the first thing I did after my mom passed away and I started learning English, the first thing I did, I went to Los Angeles to learn English and my teacher sent me to see this play called Latino logs. I went, I watched the, the, the, there was a Latino there who recognized me, introduced me to the director and they invited me to, to, if you want to do a monologue anytime, you can come here and do it. And I was like, I don't, I don't even speak English. I'm, I'm not going to, I'm not going to be able to do this. Cut to three years later, I was doing four monologues in English on Broadway, in that play, with that play on Broadway.

So it's been, but at the beginning, the first two years that I was playing in LA, doing this play in LA, no one knew who I was. I mean, the rest of the cast. The director kind of knew who I was, but he didn't even mention it with the other cast members. So I remember the first day I was in that theater

and I came and I was like, hi, how are you? My name is Eugenio. They couldn't even pronounce my name. Americans have trouble with that. Do they just call you Eugene? No, they call me A-O-L-H-E-N-O. They don't even. Sounds like they're being tasered.

Yeah. I saw that happen to Jimmy Fallon. They are struggling with the EU. Honestly, I don't care. And I get it. They don't have to know my name. So I. Honestly, I don't care. And I get it. They don't have to know my name. So I'm always like, don't worry. Call me Eugene or Gene or whatever you want.

I don't really care. But I remember that I was like, where can I put my stuff? And they were like, in the floor. It was like that. The first time I knew all the other actors in that play, I was a big star in Mexico, and every weekend I was traveling to Los Angeles to do that play during the weekends.

And they were like that, they were kind of mean, and they were like, can I put my things, whatever you want on the floor. And I was humbled because I felt that I was learning and I was like trying to conquer Hollywood. So for me everything was like, okay, no matter what, I don't care. I just want an opportunity. Well, two years later, this is a great anecdote, we went to Chicago for first time.

We were playing that, we were doing the play in Los Angeles for like two years every weekend. And one day they said, we're gonna do a small tour. We're going to Chicago, House of Blues. I went there, they put my name on the publicity, on the posters, and I didn't know that I had an audience in the US. Well, that day, I was about to go out in the House of Blues in Chicago. That was a huge venue. I was panicked and I thought that nobody was going to recognize me because in LA it was a small theater and no one knew who I was. Well, caught two, the moment I put a foot on the stage,

people started like clapping and then I realized that it was my people, my audience. The world found you. And at the end of the show, they gave me a great, great standing ovation. Probably one of the best in my career. And it was so funny that the entire cast that had been working with me for two years, they were like, honest, they were like, who the hell are you?

Are you famous? And I was like, who the hell are you? Are you famous? And we're like, a little bit. So you kept it from everybody you were working with. You kept it. What an interesting choice for you to make to choose to humble yourself, to know that you are choosing a humbling.

I don't know that a lot of people do that just in the name of growth. You know why? Because I felt so insecure. I felt that I was learning that I was such a bad actor back then in English. I was like, I don't want them to know that I am famous or that I am a professional actor. So I never mentioned anything to anyone. And they barely talked to me.

So after two years, where we just talk a few words, like, Hi, how are you? Goodbye. They were like, Who are you? Are you famous? So it was really, really funny to leave this two worlds. Well, it's also funny though to hide with that secret

anonymously among your cast members for two years. So I can't even imagine what after that show was like where they're truly bewildered that an alien has been living among them for two years because they're just totally shocked by what the reaction to you is. I just remember once when we went to a restaurant all together and the waiter knew me and he recognized me and he asked me for an autograph.

It's like Eddie Murphy in Coming to America where he was the, he's the prince in his land but nobody knows him here. On this last note, how does how to be a Latin lover translate into Acapulco? Can you take me through the story of how that comes to be the whole transaction? Because one of the things that you must be proud of in Acapulco, it does it looks like something it looks different than just about anything I've seen on television and that just on looking at it, you can see from the colors how Latin it is, just how purposely colorful you guys have made it. That was the intention, to make something colorful

because I feel that everyone, internationally, they see Mexico like black and white, like a dark place, and it's exactly the opposite. I feel that Mexico is full of life. If you go to Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Tulum, well Acapulco right now is not in good shape. But back in the 80s, it was the place to go. The monarchy all around the world,

the Hollywood stars, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, she got married in Mexico and she had her party in Acapulco. There's a lot of stories around Acapulco, so I wanted to tell those stories, and everything started with Latin Lover, How to Be a Latin Lover, that it's a movie that I did. After Instruction Not Included, my first movie here in the US was How to Be a Latin Lover with Salma Hayek, a great cast by the way, Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, Michael Cera, Raquel Welch was her last movie.

It was a huge success, thank God. It made almost like $80 million worldwide. Then my business partner came up with an idea because we wanted to make a series, but it would take a lot of time that I didn't have. So he said, what if we make the prequel of how to be a Latin lover? And where you just narrate how you became a billionaire. That way we can shoot you like in a week and we just, it's you telling your nephew how you became a billionaire. I was like, oh, sounds a great idea.

But purposefully, joyful, colorful, fun, you want to make sure that people are identifying a flavor with Latin people. Absolutely. Actually, the pink, the pink color in the hotel, we wanted to make the hotel a character by itself. And we got it. And honestly, it's a great series. If you read the reviews, the critics say that it's a hidden gem. It's on the rated show. You're going to miss it? Are you going to fourth and final season, a project of

you've poured your heart into? What's it like to say goodbye to it? It's bittersweet, honestly, because it's been a great, great, great project. And the chemistry, I've never worked, and this is true, I've never worked in a production where you get along so well with the entire cast like in A Capulco. I would think Adam Sandler would have something I consider his friend, he's by far the best in the show business, the best human being I know in the show business. He is one of a kind. And working with him in his productions is like being in a party with your friends.

So friendly, and I learned from him that in order to have a great result and a great product, you need to have fun and be surrounded by friends, and that's also a Capulco. Fourth and final season, Apple TV Plus is where you check it out. I want to thank you for the time with us. I did notice something that I wanted to ask you about.

I don't know whether you noticed that you were doing it or not but in mentioning where it is that all of these things have become a sec a success for you you almost half the state the dollar amount it's important to say this is how much that movie made it everywhere in the world it's because that's the measurement right that has to be the measurement because success is that i get to keep doing it and I only get to keep doing it if my movies keep making money. So I actually have to pay attention to something that artists generally don't want to have to be paying attention to. Absolutely. Every time they ask me, how did you made it in Hollywood?

I was like, wait, it's not me. It's my audience. Because I can do the best movie in the world, but if no one shows up, Hollywood would reject me. I mean, I'm in Hollywood because of my audience, because they show up, because they pay a ticket. And so I'm always telling them, I'm here because of you. Hollywood works with money. That's the only, they care only about money. You can have a lot of talent, but if you don't make dollars.

That's it. That's it, that's the only thing. Senor, gracias. Thank you for making the time. I appreciate it. In a very busy schedule that a workaholic has made time for South Beach Sessions I appreciate it. In a very busy schedule that a workaholic has made time for South Beach sessions. Check it out. Acapulco. Apple TV Plus. Fourth and final season. It's colorful. It's fun. Thank you, Senor.

Thank you very much. Alright, listen, I got some bad news. We're running out of summer. Sad to say, but the good thing that it's summer doesn't last very long each year. We're going to have to make the most of what we have left before fall comes. So let's have a party. An anniversary party no less. A celebration of half a century of Miller Lite. Whether it's a long weekend or a full on vacation, it's the perfect time to get the crew back together. And since 1975, Miller Lite has been

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