Bichir is one of the most well-known and well-respected actors in his home of Mexico and the U.S. He received a 2012 Academy Award®, SAG Award® and Independent Spirit Award nomination for his portrayal of an undocumented gardener trying to connect with his estranged teenage son in Chris Weitz's feature A Better Life. He is the first Mexican born actor to be nominated for the Best Actor award by the Academy since Anthony Quinn as nominated for the film Wild Is The Wind in 1957.
In the United States, Bichir currently stars in the critically-acclaimed television series, The Bridge for FX opposite Diane Krueger. Bichir is beloved for his portrayal of "Esteban Reyes" opposite Mary-Louise Parker in the hit Showtime series Weeds.
He just wrapped shooting his directorial debut of the film he wrote entitled Refugio, a coming of age story of a young dreamer, born in the circus, who embarks on a search to find his long lost true love. The film is currently in post-production.
His outstanding U.S. film credits include: portraying "Fidel Castro" in Steven Soderbergh's Che, opposite Benicio Del Toro and Salma Hayek, Ian Power's The Runway, Paul Fieg's hit summer comedy The Heat opposite Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, Machete Kills opposite Danny Trejo, Mel Gibson, Carlos Estevez, and others and Dom Hemingway opposite Jude Law and Richard E. Grant.
In Mexico, Bichir is an Ariel Award winner for Best Actor, given by the Mexican Academy of Cinematography, and has received numerous other nominations and prestigious honors including a Medal of Honor and Merit in the Fine Arts, given by the Legislative Assembly of Mexico City.
Bichir comes from a well-known and highly respected theatrical family. He is the son of famed theater director Alejandro Bichir and acclaimed actress Maricruz Nájera. His brother Odiseo and Bruno are also two of the most talented actors of their generation. Bichir has amassed an impressive resume of theater credits in Mexico including the starring role in the theater adaptation of the film Swimming with Sharks in Mexico City, directed by his brother Bruno Bichir. Bichir's works in theater includes Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard the III, Strindberg's The Ghost Sonata, Peter Shaffer's Equus, Eugene O'Neill's Ah! Wilderness, Neil Simon's Broadway Bound and The Odd Couple, David Halliwell's Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs and Sabina Berman's Extras. Bichir also impressed U.S. audiences in 2008, starring in the play By the Waters of Babylon that opened at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.
Bichir is also starring in Guillermo Arriaga's upcoming collaboration of short films titled Words with Gods. His most memorable Latin American credits include Rojo Amanecer (winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the San Sebastian Film Festival), Alex de la Iglesia's Perdita Durango with Javier Bardem, Hasta Morir (Best Actor Ariel winner, the Mexican Academy of Cinematography), Sin Noticias de Dios with Victoria Abril and Penélope Cruz, the Showtime feature film In the Time of the Butterflies in which he starred opposite Salma Hayek, Sex, Shame and Tears (Ariel Best Actor nominee), American Visa (Best Foreign Film nominee at the Goyas in Spain), Fuera del Cielo, Enemigos Intimos and Hidalgo, The Untold Story (Ariel Award nominee and winner of the Best Actor award at the Huelva Film Festival in Spain). He recently starred in the film Death in Buenos Aires. The ACLU recently appointed him to the position of Ambassador for Immigrants' Rights. Bichir resides in Los Angeles and Mexico City.
