The talented Michael Peña portrays the iconic labor leader Cesar Chavez in the new film directed by Diego Luna. He's speaking about the pressures of playing the first actor to play the iconic figure and working with actor/director Diego Luna.
Many forget that the inspirational words "Si Se Puede" were said by Cesar Chavez during the civil rights movement to unite farmers in California. For Michael Peña those words took on a new meaning when he signed on to play the humble leader of the United Farm Workers. He also talks about the personal experience of having parents who were farm workers. He recalls the day he called his father to tell him the good news about his role in the Diego Luna movie. Peña describes his father as a man of a few words, but getting the thumbs up from him was a big deal for the CESAR CHAVEZ film.
Peña also explains how director Diego Luna kept his performance leveled and on par with who Cesar Chavez really was in real life and not glamorize him as a Hollywood hero-type.
For more with Michal Peña, watch our video interview with the CESAR CHAVEZ star. The film opens March 28th.
