Alfonso Arau facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alfonso Arau
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Arau in 2016
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Alfonso Arau Incháustegui
11 January 1932 Mexico City, Mexico
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| Occupation | Actor, producer, director, writer |
| Years active | 1954–present |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 8, including Fernando and Sergio Arau |
Alfonso Arau Incháustegui (born on January 11, 1932) is a talented Mexican filmmaker and actor. He has worked in movies and TV shows for over 40 years, both in Mexico and Hollywood. He became very well-known internationally with his 1992 film Like Water for Chocolate. This movie was based on a popular novel written by his former wife, Laura Esquivel.
Alfonso Arau has directed other famous films like A Walk in the Clouds (1995) and Picking Up the Pieces (2000). He also directed The Magnificent Ambersons (2002) and Zapata: El sueño del héroe (2004). He has won the Ariel Award five times, including for Best Director for Like Water for Chocolate. He was also nominated for a BAFTA Award.
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Alfonso Arau's Early Life and Career
Alfonso Arau was born in Mexico City, Mexico. His father was a doctor. Arau has directed many movies, including Zapata: The Dream of a Hero and A Walk in the Clouds, which starred Keanu Reeves and Anthony Quinn. He also directed A Painted House for Hallmark Hall of Fame, based on a John Grisham novel.
Acting Roles in Movies and TV
Arau has played many different characters throughout his career. In the 1969 western movie The Wild Bunch, he played "Captain Herrera." He was also "El Guapo," the chief bandit, in the comedy Three Amigos (1986), which starred Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Chevy Chase. He played a businessman named Manuel in the comedy Used Cars (1980). In Romancing the Stone (1984), he was Juan, a smuggler, alongside Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.
In 1972, Arau appeared in the Mexican film El rincón de las vírgenes. He played an assistant to a fake doctor who traveled from town to town. The movie was set in rural Mexico in the 1920s. He also appeared in American TV series. In a 1972 episode of Gunsmoke called "Hidalgo," Arau played a bandit named Mando.
Directing and Writing Films
In 1973, Arau both acted in and directed Calzónzin Inspector. This movie was based on a character from a Mexican comic book. The story is about two Mexicans who are mistaken for government inspectors. This leads to funny situations with a corrupt mayor. The movie was a humorous look at politics in Mexico at a time when it was hard to speak freely about such topics.
In December 2004, the Santa Fe Film Festival honored Alfonso Arau for his important work in cinema. In 2010, he directed an Italian film called The Trick in the Sheet. In January 2011, he appeared in an interactive adventure called The Treasure Hunt.
In February 2017, actress Debra Messing shared that Arau had made comments about her appearance during the filming of A Walk in the Clouds. Arau later denied these claims. Messing repeated her claims in a PBS documentary in February 2025.
Alfonso Arau's Filmography
This is a list of some of the movies and TV shows Alfonso Arau has been involved in:
- 1954 Looks that Kill as Dancer
- 1954 El casto Susano
- 1956 Caras nuevas
- 1957 La locura del rock 'n roll as Cristobal
- 1957 Cien muchachas
- 1958 Viaje a la luna as Carlos Vera
- 1958 Música en la noche
- 1960 Los pistolocos
- 1962 … und deine Liebe auch as Alfredo
- 1965 En este pueblo no hay ladrones as Traveling Agent
- 1967 Pedro Páramo as Saltaperico
- 1967 The Jungle Book (voice actor, Latin Spanish dub) as Kaa
- 1968 Operación carambola as Roman Ayala
- 1969 The Wild Bunch as Lieutenant Herrera
- 1969 El aviso inoportuno as Gentleman Client
- 1970 Tres amigos
- 1970 Jóvenes de la Zona Rosa
- 1970 La vida inútil de Pito Pérez
- 1970 Paraíso as "El Perro"
- 1970 El Topo as Bandit #1
- 1971 Scandalous John as Paco
- 1971 El águila descalza (director, writer) as Poncho / Jonathan Eaglepass
- 1971 The Garden of Aunt Isabel
- 1972 Gunsmoke (TV Series) as Mando
- 1972 Bonanza (TV Series) as Simon
- 1972 Run, Cougar, Run as Etio
- 1972 El rincón de las vírgenes as Lucas Lucatero
- 1974 Calzonzin Inspector (director, writer) as Calzonzín
- 1975 Posse as Pepe
- 1975 Tívoli (writer) as Tiliches
- 1976 La palomilla al rescate
- 1976 Caribe, estrella y aguila (director)
- 1980 Used Cars as Manuel
- 1981 Mojado Power (director, writer) as Nato Solís
- 1982 El día que murió Pedro Infante
- 1984 Romancing the Stone as Juan
- 1986 Redondo
- 1986 Three Amigos as "El Guapo"
- 1986 Chido Guan, el tacos de oro (director, writer)
- 1987 Miami Vice (TV Series) as Jorge Cruz
- 1987 Walker as Raousset
- 1988 227 (TV Series) as Alfonso Gonzales
- 1991 Camino largo a Tijuana
- 1992 Polvora en la piel
- 1992 Like Water for Chocolate (director)
- 1995 A Walk in the Clouds (director)
- 2000 Committed as Grampy
- 2000 Picking Up the Pieces (director) as Dr. Amado
- 2002 The Magnificent Ambersons (TV, director)
- 2003 A Painted House (TV, director)
- 2004 Zapata: El sueño de un héroe (director, writer)
- 2007 El Muerto as Tezcatlipoca (voice)
- 2010 The Trick in the Sheet (director, with Anne Parillaud)
- 2012 I Heart Shakey as Raoul
- 2017 Coco as Papá Julio (voice)
See also
In Spanish: Alfonso Arau para niños
