Demián Bichir Nájera (born August 1, 1963) is a Mexican actor. Both of his parents, Alejandro Bichir and Maricruz Nájera, and brothers, Odiseo and Bruno Bichir, are actors. On January 24th, 2012, Bichir was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in A Better Life. His American debut occurred in the movie In the Time of the Butterflies (2001) starring Salma Hayek, based on the real life of a group of sisters that fought against the government of a Dominican dictator. Later he got some recognition when he depicted Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh's biopic Che (2008) on the life of revolutionary Che Guevara. Recently he has been exposed to a wider American audience with his recurring role as Esteban Reyes, the corrupt mayor of Tijuana and love interest of Nancy Botwin in the fourth, fifth and sixth seasons of the Showtime comedy series Weeds. On 24 January 2012, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, alongside actors George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Jean Dujardin and Gary Oldman for his performance in A Better Life, where Bichir plays Carlos Galindo, an illegal Mexican gardener who goes with his son to find his stolen vehicle while he trying to convince his son to avoid becoming a delinquent. His nomination came as a shock to both Mexican and American audiences alike since he had only been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role beforehand. He is the first male Mexican actor to receive this nomination since Anthony Quinn.
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