Demián Bichir on fulfilling his luchador dreams and the immigrant connection in Chupa

El coco. El cucuy. La llorona. El chupacabra. Ask almost any Latino and they can tell you how their parents used to scare them into being obedient as children by using one of these so-called "monster" stories or leyendas to keep kids in line. Parenting or trauma? The jury is still out [shudders to el cucuy].

Writer-director Jonas Cuarón takes the legend of the chupacabra — a bloodsucking creature said to attack and feed on the blood of farm animals (particularly goats) — and revamps the myth into a somewhat personal, fish-out-of-water story set in the '90s with a so-ugly-it's-cute CGI creature in the family adventure film Chupa (April 7 on Netflix).

An homage to films from the era like E.T. and The Goonies, the movie stars Oscar nominee Demián Bichir as Chava, an ex-luchador and grandfather living on a ranch in Mexico seeking to connect with his grandson Alex (Evan Whitten) who is visiting from Kansas City shortly after the death of his father, Chava's son. While on the ranch, Alex soon discovers Chupa, a young chupacabra that got separated from its family when running away from a scientist (Christian Slater) who's hunting the mystical creature to try to harness its powers.

Tony Rivetti Jr/Netflix Evan Whitten and Demián Bichir in 'Chupa'

The Hateful Eight and Weeds alum has known his Chupa director since he was five years old (through Jonas' father, director Alfonso Cuarón) — that familiarity is initially why he was so excited to join the project. "I wanted to work with him after seeing him grow as an artist," Bichir tells EW on a Zoom call a day after the film's world premiere in late March. "You can only imagine what that represents to me, that after some years he's become such a great director." But there was one thing that topped working with Cuarón — the chance to fulfill a childhood dream of his own: "The icing on the cake was that I got to play a luchador. I always wanted to be a luchador, ever since I was a kid!"

In Mexico, luchadores (Mexican wrestlers) are treated like icons. They wear bedazzled masks, boldly colored outfits, and tights (see Bichir get suited up in the exclusive clip above). Lucha libre fight nights — for the most part, family-friendly events — are full of music, fun, drinks, and food. (Think WWE but with more dazzle, more aerial technique, more character play, and a whole lotta camp set in Spanish.) To be a luchador is to be a cultural icon and to be beloved by most fans of the sport. For Bichir's Chava, it was also a deep connection to his son, and a way to pass on a piece of his heritage to his American grandson. In the process, Chava dons a luchador mask, something Bichir says he's wanted the chance to wear for a while now.

"I put on different types of masks all the time," he explains, "but this is one mask that I have wanted to put on for some time, professionally, I mean. And this is the closest I've been to actually becoming one." The critically acclaimed actor smiles, almost giddy at the thought of himself back in the luchador mask. "It was one of those things that you want to do when you're a kid, that you dream of becoming when you grow up. And we got to do it in such a realistic way that this is very believable."

Tony Rivetti Jr/Netflix Demián Bichir in 'Chupa'

"In this case, we play with Lucha Libre, which is a crucial part of our culture, popular culture. Lucha Libre, in Mexico, we call it the theater of the people," Bichir says proudly. He recalls a moment when Cuarón asked him to remove his cape, which he refused to do.

"At some point, Jonas said, 'I think that toward this part of the film, you should just get rid of the cape.' And I said, no, because you know what? I remember watching every film about luchadores growing up.… Santo and Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras and all those great ones. And the main characteristic was that they never lost their mask or their cape. There could be other bizarre situations or circumstances, and they would always have their full gear on."

And the cape stayed. The actor adds, "Lucky me, I'm so happy that I kept my cape, because at some point, it was so cold, it was freezing, and then we had crazy winds. And so I'm glad I kept my cape because that saved me a little bit."

The A Better Life star believes that while Chupa is very much a film with universal themes of family, grief, and love, it also is a message about immigrants and immigration. "Many [immigrants] lost the language, for example," he explains. "It seems to be a natural type of thing that we do when we move into a different culture, especially this culture that is very, very tough on immigrants. [People] remind you every day that if you talk funny, if you sound different, then you might not be accepted. That's something that kids keep in mind, and that's why they will stop being who they are. They stop being proud of their own roots. We suggest exactly the opposite on Chupa."

He continues: "It's very important for [immigrants] to keep in touch with their roots and their own culture so they never forget who they are. It's proven that immigrants make any culture better. They enrich any country and culture that they stepped in and so we're trying to talk about all that in a fun, beautiful, family way."

Bichir says Chupa's biggest virtue is in its celebration of each other's differences. "We usually tend to be afraid of things that don't look like us. We tend to be reluctant to find out about who people are," he notes. "But when you look deep inside of each of us, then you find the beauty in everything."

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