Demian Bichir Talks ‘Land’ and ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’
Demián Bichir says he didn’t mince words when he told Robin Wright that he had to play Miguel in her feature film directorial debut “Land.”
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“When I read the script, it was so powerful and it talked to me right away. And I felt the need to do it because of the times we live in. Not only us as a society in the United States, but as humans in the planet. [We’re in] the same boat,” Bichir says on Tuesday’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “I felt that that’s exactly what we’re lacking of — generosity, and empathy, and caring for each other and this is a film about resilience and that’s who we are.
Wright stars as Edee, a woman who moves to a remote cabin after suffering a tragic loss. Miguel is a stranger who befriends Edee and teaches her skills to survive life in the wilderness. “I just felt I needed to do this film and that’s what I told Robin,” says the Mexico-born Bichir, who earned an Oscar nomination for his starring role in 2011’s “A Better Life.”
Bichir also points out that making the film, especially shooting in remote Alberta, Canada, helped him heal from a “very heavy personal journey.” His wife, Stefanie Sherk, who suffered from depression, took her own life in 2019. “Just being up there in those beautiful mountains, oh, my god. Nature has that power,” Bichir says. “Whether you stand in front of a beautiful ocean or an empty beach or go up in the mountains and stare up, just look at the sky, at the stars, you heal right away.”
Next up for Bichir is “Godzilla vs. Kong.” “One of the beauties of our work is that we get to go into all kinds of different directions, you know what I mean? I love experimenting, or exploring new genres and new types of films and, of course, different budgets,” Bichir says, laughing. “But it’s just fascinating, the things they can do nowadays. I grew up watching those films and I remember when Godzilla and Kong moved in that very weird way. But what you see now is just, oh my goodness, technically superb. I saw the film. It’s just colossal, it’s wonderful. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.”
You can listen to the full interview with Bichir above. You can also find “Just for Variety” on Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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