The legend of Saúl Armendáriz, the so-called “Liberace of Lucha Libre,” will come to thrilling life thanks toGael García Bernal.
Cassandrostars Bernal as the real-life gay luchador who performed in amateur wrestling matches on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border. Better known for his ring name, Cassandro, the El Paso, Texas-born Armendáriz blazed trails in the 1990s when he became the colorful “exótico” character he’s known for.
PEOPLE has the exclusive first trailer for Prime Video’sCassandro, in which Bernal appears alongside costars Roberta Colindrez, Perla De La Rosa, Joaquín Cosío,Raúl CastilloandBad Bunny. The film also features El Hijo del Santo, another real-life masked luchador, as himself.
Prime Video
Making the leap from documentary to fictionalizing real-life subjects inCassandro, says Williams, was daunting at first.
“I mean, how many documentarians do you know that have transitioned to scripted work? It’s a different language. You have to learn to talk to actors.”
But that challenge — and the inspiration to be found in Armendáriz’s story — is what pushed Williams to develop the screenplay atRobert Redford’s Sundance Directors Lab. “This was something that was scary to me, that I was afraid of. I always dive headfirst into my fear."
“Cassandro”.Prime Video
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Saúl Armendáriz and Gael García Bernal at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.David Becker/Getty
David Becker/Getty
The director adds, “Because it was this immediate instinct and it was so strong, and it was almost like the, I don’t know, the Lucha libre spirits, the gay spirits, whatever, were speaking to me! I just was like, I have to tell this story.”
Cassandro, which premiered at this January’sSundance Film Festival, is in theaters Sept. 15 before streaming on Prime Video Sept. 22.
source: people.com
