I’ve always been sort of depressed that Gael Garcia Bernal hasn’t had a bigger career in English-language films. I think he’s hot and interesting and he’s got a great on-screen “presence.” Jon Stewart casted him against type as a Iranian-Canadian journalist in Rosewater, a true story about the detention and torture of Maziar Bahari. Gael sat down with Elle for a profile, and he’s just… interesting. He’s an interesting man. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:
Being raised by his young actress mother: “My parents separated when I was very small. I grew up with my mother, and I was a single child then. She was very independent, doing her things, and having fun alone and working. Knowing that she was going to enjoy her curiosities—some of them with me and some without—it’s drawing a line and saying, ‘I am a person as well. And you are independent. But I will, as a mother, always be there to support you.’”
Doing drag for Pedro Almodóvar’s Bad Education: “Can I show off a little bit? Because it didn’t take that long in the makeup room to look like a woman. I’m very proud of that. I had to shave two times a day. But the rest was really fun. Everyone has a transgender character. Inside and out. And I really enjoyed the woman that came out, actually. I enjoyed my woman character. She was fun and very joyful.”
Massage parlors: “You may not believe me, but I have little knowledge of those types of places. I would get too scared. I don’t know. It’s not morally wrong. I dislike morals a lot, to be honest.”
His partner/baby-mama: “We actually didn’t even get married. We had kids. I mean, you’re more than married, right? In a way, having kids? What’s important is the arrangement. The responsibility. The deal. To do it with the person you’re embarking on [it with]. That’s more important than anything any religion or government would say. But that’s a case-by-case situation. I’m not saying it should be like this. But for us it was. The institution of family is important, definitely. And I enjoy it a lot. More than I thought I would.
Whether he believes in monogamy: “So many things have changed in the last century. The concept of monogamy is an inheritance of a medieval time, when family would carry the tradition of the name and certain privileges. It’s a way of organizing society, perhaps. So all the moral issues that carry with monogamy and the real meaning of where it comes from? It’s questionable nowadays. I can’t say I don’t believe in it, I just think that everyone has their own interpretation.
I feel like Gael is a genuine feminist and he’s not beating us over the head with his enlightment. He’s a man in touch with his feminine side, he prioritizes his children, he tries not to judge other people’s choices and he respects the way his single mother raised him. Elle also asked him what his favorite “chick flick” is and he mentions that he doesn’t really like films that “overtly either very masculine or very feminine” and that he doesn’t even like war movies. He’s artsy and he likes John Cassavetes movies. He’s like James Franco, only Gael is genuine.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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