If you didn't grow up in California, chances are you didn't spend much time in school studying Cesar Chavez. Here's a crash course: Cesar Chavez was an American farm worker and civil rights activist who founded the National Farm Workers Association and led a strike against grape growers protesting the years of poor pay and dangerous working conditions. His successful movement became an internationally documented achievement.
Fortunately, actor-director Diego Luna has decided to bring his story to the big screen. In the self-titled biopic, Michael Peña takes on the lead role, with America Ferrera as his wife Helen, John Malkovich and Gabriel Mann as Chavez's key adversaries, Bogdanovich Sr. and Jr., and Rosario Dawson as his right-hand woman Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the NFWA. The film is in theaters now.
Complex got a chance to sit down with Peña, Ferrera, and Mann to discuss (and joke around about) their involvement in the film.
As told to Tara Aquino (@t_akino)
On landing a role in the film:
Michael Peña: I got an e-mail from my manager saying that Diego Luna wanted to meet me for Cesar Chavez and I was like, “The civil-rights activist or the boxer?” And it was the civil-rights activist, thank God. And so I met with Diego, and I was like, “Yes, I am going to do this movie!” And he was like, “But I want you to audition.” And I was like, “Aww man, c’mon buddy.” I auditioned three times and I was like, “C’mon dude," which every actor does, but thank God I landed the role. Didn’t you get a straight offer, America?
Gabriel Mann: America did get a straight offer.
America Ferrera: Let’s not talk about things. [Laughs.]
Peña to Ferrera: It’s pretty cool being established, you know? It’s pretty cool.
Ferrera: We all made it, we are all here.
Mann: How did I get this part? I don’t know.
Peña: Was it an offer too, dude?
Mann: No, in fact I think I originally came in and read for Wes Bentley’s part. Then because of the other job that I do (ABC's Revenge), my schedule changed, so it wasn’t clear that I would be able to do it at all. When the opportunity came up again, some personal reasons, plus my mom being a huge supporter of Cesar Chavez, made me like, “OK I have to do it!”
But I was also a huge fan of Diego’s and curious of how he would bring the sensitivity and the skills that he has as an actor to his role as a director. And my god this guy is so talented. He really is going to be one of the most amazing directors over the next few decades, and I would recommend that any actor work with him, always.
On the importance of telling Cesar Chavez's story:
Peña: It was pretty important for me. My parents were farmers and I had heard about Cesar Chavez, but I didn’t really know his story. I cant believe the first time I read the script was when I realized his story. Of course I looked him up on Wikipedia and did the googley-moogley on him and I saw videos on him. But there aren't that many videos and not that many stories on him. Everything is pretty capsulized when it comes to him, so I think it's pretty important to know more.
On cast bonding before production:
Ferrera: Michael and I actually just did a film together called, End of Watch, where we were cops and bros.
Pena: She was like so different in that. I kind of didn’t like her in that movie. I have to be honest with you. She was in character for three months that I was like, “I don’t know if I like this America Ferrera person.”
Ferrera: It’s OK. I kind of didn’t like you either.
Peña: And then all of a sudden they were like, “She’s going to play your wife.” And I’m like, “Really dude?” But she fooled me. She is a damn good actress, man.
Ferrera: So we had to do a 180, and it was great, but we spent time together. Michael and I drove to Delano and we visited the sites of where they lived and the bar that they spent a lot of time organizing in. We just roamed the streets together and we spent a lot of time talking to the Chavez children and Helen who is still alive. She's 86. And Mike and I spent a lot of time developing our accents together. So yeah, it took a lot of partnership to develop the feeling of the marriage and the relationship.
Peña: Yeah, we were definitely not husband and wife in End of Watch.
Ferrera: Although maybe there was some sexual tension between us in that film?
Peña: You never know, you know what I mean? Maybe a little somethin' somethin'.
On Gabriel Mann playing the villain:
Peña: He's just himself, you know.
Mann: [Laughs.] Yeah, I am just a jerk. But the Bogdonaviches were an immigrant family, too, from Croatia. Their struggles were similar but different. So I think you have to approach it from the inside out. You have to understand what the thinking is and what the relationship is between these two people. You have to understand what he's thinking as a business man. This was status quo, the way that these workers were treated back then. So these guys didn’t think they were villains; they just thought they were making money and expanding the world around them.
On the pressure of portraying Cesar Chavez:
Peña: I didn’t think of it any differently. In a weird way, he's like the reluctant hero. There are a lot of scenes where I'm just sitting back and the ego did kick in a little bit. I would say, “Why am I not like really proactive in this scene? And why am I not making my presence known?” That's not who he was. If there's anybody who's like a film school person asking, “Why isn’t he doing this?” That's just who Cesar Chavez was. He was the person who spoke just because he had to.
It's awesome that he was the opposite of a politician and he was the person who did, did, did, did, did, in support of his friends and his family—Helen, for sure. He would step aside because he didn’t want the credit. Politician’s nowadays promise this and that and then they vote for that person and there is no change. He was all change. I didn’t think of it as a leading part; I thought of it like an ensemble, which I really do think it is and because of the kind of person Cesar Chavez was. But I did feel pressure the first two weeks in.
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