1 of 4 | Demian Bichir’s “Black Phone 2,” opened in theaters on Friday. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
NEW YORK, Oct. 17 (UPI) — A Better Life, The Hateful Eight and The Nun alum Demian Bichir says he wanted to co-star in Black Phone 2 because he loved the original and thought the script for the follow-up had a lot of emotional and narrative depth.
Written-directed by Scott Derrickson and in theaters Friday, the sequel to 2022’s Black Phone is set in 1982 and follows teen Finney (Mason Thames) and his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) as they are lured to the snowy Alpine Lake camp by the spirit of the Grabber, a mask-wearing child murderer played Ethan Hawke.
Bichir plays Armando, the supervisor at the camp, while Arianna Rivas plays his niece Mustang in the horror flick.
“When Scott called me to offer me this role, I thought it was a beautiful gift,” Bichir, 62, told UPI at New York Comic Con.
“I saw a beautiful, solid story, a perfect sequel for the first and a great character, a fantastic character with great scenes, especially the one I did with Mason, when we talk about the choices we make, when we talk about the different paths in life that you take and how important it is to take the right path,” he said.
“That is a message not only for Finn, it’s a message for all the kids who will see the film.”
Bichir described his character as exemplifying the best of his Mexican culture.
“He is pretty much how we are: generous and brave, assertive, with principles,” he said. “That’s exactly why he succeeds.”
Most of Bichir’s scenes are with the younger members of the cast.
“They are the heart of the film,” he said. “And, of course, the Grabber. That guy is crazy. So, even though he’s dead, he’s crazy, but I interact more with the kids.”
The actor said he was intrigued by how the Grabber’s creepy facial masks change throughout the course of the film, revealing different facets of the villain’s personality, depending on the moment and his mood.
“It goes through this metamorphosis from the first time you see the guy as he kidnaps kids all the way to this diabolical type of transformation,” he said. “I think it’s beautiful. I think it’s great.”
Although acting opposite somebody whose face is covered can be difficult, Hawke gave his scene partners plenty to react to through his vocal performance and body language.
“I think it’s also very challenging for the actor who is behind the mask. That’s both a lot of fun, but also challenging,” he said.
“When you have great actors, then everything is easy and that’s pretty much who Ethan Hawke is. He can go into any direction, into any genre,” Bichir added. “He can go into the theater. I’d seen him on stage in New York many years ago. He can direct. He can act. He loves music. He writes. So, he’s one of those Renaissance men.”
Bichir said he was also impressed by how serious and focused his younger co-stars were about their work.
“They have this humongous fame and all of this attention, but they still are all very grounded and very generous to our team and our crew,” he added. “I hope they keep it that way for the rest of their careers because they are already big stars. … They will have long beautiful careers.”