Demián Bichir has acted alongside Oscar winner Sandra Bullock in "The Heat." And, he has received his own Academy award accolades, a 2012 Oscar nomination in a Best Actor leading role. Bichir, the Mexican-born actor, brings authenticity to his roles, as well as explores his Mexican heritage on TV and in film.

Bichir, who was on the now-cancelled TV series "The Bridge," is in the running to play another leading role in a film produced by Brian Grazer.

Bichir talked about working with funny lady and fellow Academy Award alumni Bullock. In "The Heat," Bichir said, they did a lot of improv scenes together.

"I remember laughing in tears between takes," Bichir said.

Bichir was enamored by Bullock's sense of humor and great acting.

Bichir and Bullock spent so much time together that he had taught her Spanish, and he called himself her Spanish coach. A part in the film required Bullock to speak the language.  

"Her Spanish is not only great once she learned it, but her accent is great, too. I mean, she could be Mexican!" Bichir said.

In playing Marco Ruiz on FX's "The Bridge," Bichir got to show and explore his Mexican heritage on TV. In the second season, Bichir, as Ruiz, played almost all of the scenes in Spanish. That particular season saw the examination of Bichir's character, who was a reluctant hero and Mexican police detective out for revenge. Bichir's Ruiz was chasing a drug cartel boss named Fausto Galvan.

In the first season, Bichir got to work with the talented Diane Kruger as they tracked down a serial killer moving across the Texas-Chihuahua borders. Kruger and Bichir's detective characters were paired and tasked with tracking down the killer. Bichir's Ruiz was the last honest cop in the corrupt city of Juarez; he did not take bribes. Ruiz was in fact an idealist. The show also starred Matthew Lillard.

It was reported that speaking in Spanish helped to maintain the authenticity of the role and the show.

"We went through a lot of details about Mexico and how Mexico works and how we could really get away from some stereotypes and cliches," Bichir said about working with the show's producers.

For one particular scene, the entire dialogue was in Spanish, with English subtitles to be added later. The script supervisor Liliana Molina had to make sure that everything filmed matched the script.

Molina explained the Mexican accents for the show.

"The third letter, you drop in words," Molina said. "Mexicans, they drop one word, the third word of the sentence. It's a trick - how to speak with a Mexican accent."

Mauricio Katz, "The Bridge's" consulting producer who oversaw the Spanish dialogue, added that by using authentic language it maintained the show's realism.

"TV shows are about creating worlds, right? You can't have a series that's completely subtitled, I understand," Katz said. "But when you have people speaking in accented English pretending to speak another language, I think it throws you off."

Alas, "The Bridge's" authenticity and great acting did not help it in getting a third season. There is still no word on if the show will be picked up by another network.

Bichir might be getting back to film in another leading role. Bichir's name has been linked to an untitled film project for Universal, Blumhouse Productions, and Imagine Entertainment, Entertainment Weekly reported. The film is set in East Los Angeles in a world involving lowrider cars and street tagging.

The story follows a teenager who becomes enticed by this world. The teenager is expected to be in conflict with his traditional father, whom Bichir is expected to play, and the teenager's gang involved brother, Entertainment Weekly reported.

Brian Grazer, writer and producer of "A Beautiful Mind," will be producing this project, alongside Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions. This film project is one of passion for Grazer, who has been reportedly trying to get it off the ground for some time, Variety reported.  

Besides the success of Grazer and Bichir, Blum and Universal are now riding off the No. 1 win of "Ouija" at the most recent box office.

If Bichir does accept the role, this will be his second time working with Summit Entertainment. Bichir worked with them on "A Better Life" that garnered him the Academy award Best Actor nomination, Variety reported.