Once Upon a Time in Mexico - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Once Upon a Time in Mexico"
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Timing: 1:42 (102 min)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico - TMDB rating
6.297/10
2337
Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Kinopoisk rating
6.943/10
43305
Once Upon a Time in Mexico - IMDB rating
6.3/10
176000

Actors and characters

Photo Antonio Banderas #1503Photo Antonio Banderas #1504Photo Antonio Banderas #1505Photo Antonio Banderas #1506

Antonio Banderas

Antonio Banderas
Character El Mariachi
Photo Johnny Depp #17701Photo Johnny Depp #17702Photo Johnny Depp #17703Photo Johnny Depp #17704

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp
Character CIA Agent Jeffrey Sands
Photo Cheech Marin #13824

Cheech Marin

Cheech Marin
Character Belini
Photo Mickey Rourke #15578Photo Mickey Rourke #15579Photo Mickey Rourke #15580Photo Mickey Rourke #15581

Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke
Character Billy Chambers
Photo Willem Dafoe #1916Photo Willem Dafoe #1917Photo Willem Dafoe #1918Photo Willem Dafoe #1919

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe
Character Armando Barillo
Photo Eva Mendes #51667Photo Eva Mendes #51668Photo Eva Mendes #51669Photo Eva Mendes #51670

Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes
Character CIA Agent Ajedrez
Photo Danny Trejo #7064Photo Danny Trejo #7065Photo Danny Trejo #7066Photo Danny Trejo #7067

Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo
Character Cucuy
Photo Rubén Blades #56159

Rubén Blades

Rubén Blades
Character Jorge, Retired FBI Agent
Photo Enrique Iglesias #80830Photo Enrique Iglesias #80831
Enrique Iglesias
Character Lorenzo
Photo Troy Robinson #3668

Troy Robinson

Troy Robinson
Character Romero
Gerardo Vigil
Character General Marquez
Photo Pedro Armendáriz Jr. #58794Photo Pedro Armendáriz Jr. #58795

Pedro Armendáriz Jr.

Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
Character President of Mexico
Photo Julio Oscar Mechoso #62852

Julio Oscar Mechoso

Julio Oscar Mechoso
Character Nicholas, Presidential Advisor
Photo Tito Larriva #75914

Tito Larriva

Tito Larriva
Character Cab Driver
Miguel Couturier
Character Dr. Guevera
Tony Valdes
Character Chicle Boy
José Luis Avendaño
Character Alvaro
Rodolfo De Alexandre
Character Omar
Natália Torres
Character El Mariachi's Daughter
Steve Constancio
Character Right Hand
Ermahn Ospina
Character Qui-Que
Luz María Rojas
Character Pistolera
Mario Simon
Character Cook
Bernard Hacker
Character Blascoe
Photo Cecilia Tijerina #80832
Cecilia Tijerina
Character Waitress
Carola Vázquez
Character Hospital Administrator
René Gatica
Character Chief Federale
Silvia Santoyo
Character Bachelorette
Juan Pablo Llaguno
Character Bull Fighter
Photo Ignacio Torre #80833
Ignacio Torre
Character Teacher
Photo Rojo Grau #80834

Rojo Grau

Rojo Grau
Character Manny
Jorge Becerril
Character Taco
Víctor Carpinteiro
Character Left Nut
Photo Dagoberto Gama #80835

Dagoberto Gama

Dagoberto Gama
Character Que Pasa
Photo Thomas Rosales Jr. #17789Photo Thomas Rosales Jr. #17790

Thomas Rosales Jr.

Thomas Rosales Jr.
Character Bartender with Gun (uncredited)
Photo Khristian Lupo #51048

Khristian Lupo

Khristian Lupo
Character Soldier (uncredited)

What's left behind the scenes

  • According to Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino suggested he make a third film about The Musician. Knowing that Rodriguez is a fan of Sergio Leone's films, Tarantino suggested a title that resonated with one of the Italian director's works. Rodriguez stated that he would have eventually made a third film about The Musician anyway, as he had envisioned a trilogy even before filming the first movie. This fact is also confirmed in Rodriguez's book, "Rebel Without a Crew."
  • According to Robert Rodriguez, he specifically filmed this movie with HD cameras to test their capabilities.
  • Filming of the movie was completed in 2001, but the premiere did not take place until 2003.
  • The filming of scenes with Salma Hayek was scheduled in such a way as not to interfere with her work on "Frida" (2002).
  • The role of Kukuy, later taken by Danny Trejo, was specifically written for Quentin Tarantino. However, he was unable to participate in the film as he was busy filming "Kill Bill Volume 1" (2003).
  • The film's director, Robert Rodriguez, played one of the surgeons performing plastic surgery on William Dafoe's character.
  • The role of Sands was written specifically for George Clooney. However, after it became clear that George would be unable to participate in the film, Robert Rodriguez considered the following actors: Kurt Russell, Bruce Willis, Sean Penn, and Nicolas Cage. Ultimately, the role went to Johnny Depp.
  • Almost all of Sands's curses were improvised by Johnny Depp.
  • The film's script consisted of only 45 pages.
  • Initially, the armed forces were supposed to provide the film crew with military equipment. However, when they learned that the film's main villain was a military general, they refused to fulfill their obligations. The military equipment was provided by various collectors.
  • Number of corpses: 99.
  • In Spanish, "Ajedrez" means "chess".
  • "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is the last screenplay Robert Rodriguez wrote as a member of the Writers Guild of America. After the premiere of the third film about the Musician, he left the organization, stating: "There are too many rules there, and they just take your money." Later, in 2004, Robert also left the Directors Guild of America.
  • All scenes involving Johnny Depp were filmed in 9 days. After completing his filming, Johnny didn't want to leave the set, where he had a good time. Therefore, he asked Rodriguez to allow him to play another small role. Robert agreed: Johnny played the role of a priest with whom Antonio Banderas speaks in the church.
  • According to the booklet accompanying the film's soundtrack CD, Johnny Depp himself wrote the musical theme for his character (track 9 on the CD), and Antonio Banderas did a cover version of the main musical theme from "The Musician" (1992).
  • The weapons intended for use in the film were held up at the Mexican border for two weeks. Therefore, rubber replicas were used during the first two weeks of filming. Initially, to somehow adapt to this prop, Antonio Banderas voiced the gunshots himself each time he had to “shoot,” saying “boom,” “bang…”
  • Depp personally handled the selection of costumes and makeup for his character. The famous t-shirts of Agent Sands were purchased in Florida by the actor's sister.
  • In the scene where Ruben Blades and Johnny Depp’s characters converse, the latter mentions Jorge Archuletta, a deceased friend of Barillo. That was the name of Blades’ character in "Predator 2".
  • The character of Jorge Ramirez is based on the story of a real person, namely Robert Rodriguez’s uncle, a retired FBI agent who lives in Mexico. He was present on set and actively gave advice to his on-screen counterpart.
  • Rodriguez said he "assembled" Sands from two characters: the first – "a man with three arms" (one of Rodriguez's scripts), the second – "a man without eyes" (another Rodriguez script, where a man is deprived of his eyes and, with the help of his son, takes revenge on his offenders).
  • The film contains several references to Frank Miller's graphic novels from the "Sin City" series. Among them: – The shot where Sands shoots Ahedrez in the stomach after she kisses him is identical to a picture from the novella "A Dame To Kill For". – The shot where Sands' eyes are cut out is identical to a picture from "Hell And Back". – The conversation between the Musician and the priest in the church is identical to a similar scene in "The Hard Goodbye". – The plot with plastic surgery on the face is similar to one of the plots in "A Dame to Kill For".
  • The scene where the boy in the yellow t-shirt leads Sands and he bumps his head was done accidentally. During filming, Depp had to film with his eyes closed (so they wouldn't be visible, as they had been cut out), so he accidentally hit his head, but the scene wasn't reshot and was included in the film.
  • In the scene where Ruben Blades and Johnny Depp’s characters are talking, Depp mentions Jorge Archuletta, a friend of Barillo who was killed. This was the name of Blades’ character in the film “Predator 2.”
  • Rodriguez said he “assembled” Sands from two characters: the first – a “man with three hands” (one of Rodriguez’s scripts), the second – a “man without eyes” (another Rodriguez script, where a man is deprived of his eyes and, with the help of his son, takes revenge on his offenders).
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