Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) in a scene from the 1955 film Gran Hotel (Getty Images).
Reach the mexican comedian movie Mario Moreno, CantinflasIt was a big effort because it happened in the middle of a long family dispute over the actor’s inheritance (which his nephew Eduardo Moreno Laparade acquired) and because the rights to the biography (which belonged to his son Mario Moreno Ivanova) were sold to the Kenio production company movie
In 2013 everything was set to recreate as faithfully as possible the life of what was once considered Mexican Chaplin, from his beginnings in the tents, his chiaroscuro pride, his infidelities and the day he beat Marlon Brando at the Golden Globes Learning more about the comedian was undoubtedly appealing, but knowing who the actor would be to play such an important role was the detail.
When this was announced, it came as a surprise Sebastián del Amo had chosen an unknown Óscar Jaenada for the rolea Spanish actor who by this time had already won a Goya for his film Camarón but had little or nothing to do with the Mexican icon.
Spanish actor Óscar Jaenada during a presentation of the film Cantinflas 2016 in Madrid, Spain (Photo: Juan Naharro Giménez/WireImage).
If it was strange to many, a certain Mexican was devastated by such a decision (no, it wasn’t about Carlos Espejel, who was praised for his performance as a child by Mario Moreno himself), but about Celedonio Núñez is considered the best imitator of Cantinflas.
Celedonio Núñez (51 years old) is an actor at ease in comedy since childhood, he prepared himself academically in theater workshops and courses at the Artistic Training Center of Mexican Television and in a propaedeutic course at the University Theater Center that you have allowed him to interpret and voice more than 100 characters (Alberto Vázquez, Tintán, Luismi, Juanga, José José, etc.).
Celedonio Núñez at the presentation of the film ‘Cantinflas’ in Mexico. (Photo by Victor Chavez/WireImage)
But it was his imitation of Cantinflas that marked the turning point in his career: he won the Cantinfleando competition organized by the National Council for Culture and Arts (Conaculta) and in the Sabado Gigante Internacional program. The fidelity in voice, gestures and dress was demonstrated in his presentations in Siempre en Domingo, Hoy, Al derecho y al Derbez, Parodiando, works that attracted the attention of Mario Moreno Ivanova to consider him for the biographical film.
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“But just as I say one thing, I say the other,” and we haven’t seen Núñez on the big screen.
A shattered dream
“I wanted to do the movie”Celedonio recently told in an interview on the radio show La Caminera. “We had a meeting with Cantinflas’ son and he said to me, ‘Hey, the film is being made, we don’t have to cast it, you will direct it'”. With that promise, the comedian decided to make a physical change and lost 30 pounds to be more like his idol, who was always skinny.
But the project was changed, and Moreno Ivanova himself broke the terrible news that he was no longer considered for the role. “Yes, I cried, the net,” he confessed. Although the pain of missing the opportunity was already great, he hadn’t counted on his immediate request: “They ask me to find someone to coach Óscar Jaenada because he didn’t come to Mexico, it’s the first time that he’s going to come to Mexico, you don’t have any Mexican friends, so it’s going to be difficult for you to talk like Cantinflas, you who have everything…”.
Jaenada was always aware of the challenge. In an interview with the newspaper La Vanguardia, he spoke about it. “It was really difficult to find Mario Moreno and get people’s confidence that I wanted to talk to me about him without them thinking it was impossible to be Spanish.” That’s why it was important for Celedonio to get involved in the project, albeit indirectly.
At first he refused. Celedonio felt his 20 years of work, study and character analysis could not be delivered with the Spaniard for a few weeks.
My wife was the one who tracked me down. “If you don’t do what they ask, one day you’ll see the result of the film and you’ll say, ‘No, they could have done it that way.'”
And I accept. “They mirrored my ticket,” he admitted before laughing.
Between preparing the character and filming, Jaenada spent six months in Mexico. “I took care of the nuances, I literally recorded the entire script for him with the voice of Mario Moreno and with the voice of Cantinflas, he learned it. In fact, I had two or three mistakes in the script and he learned my mistakes! and now he learned it!”
The time also served them to form a friendship. “This little boy is grown; he’s very serious, very, very direct in interviews; but as a person he’s mature, very relaxed, well enlightened,” he told La caminera.
Cantinflas was a success. He won three Arieles (Best Art Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup), a Silver Goddess (Best Original Song for Film) and a Platinum Award for Best Male Performance for Óscar Jaenada.