Mauricio Ochmann is one of the most celebrated Mexican actors of his time.

He has worked on a number of soap operas including “Los Victorinos,” “Azul Tequila,” “El Senor de Los Cielos,” “El Clon” and “Victoria.” He has also done a number of plays and has also worked on various movies including “Tres” and “7 Mujeres, 1 Homosexual y Carlos.”

This weekend, his latest film comes out, “A La Mala,” in which he co-stars with Aislinn Derbez and reunites with director Pedro Pablo Ibarra. Ochmann had a chance to speak with Latin Post about the role of Santiago in the upcoming film and his upcoming projects:

Latin Post: How did you get the role for the film?
Mauricio Ochmann: When the director Pedro Pablo Ibarra read the script to the film, he visualized me as the protagonist. So they spoke to me to sign a letter of intention almost a year and a half before we filmed the movie. I know the director very well and I was happy to work with him again. When they started the pre-production process, they did a callback. There were a lot of other actors who were competing for the role but they chose me and I was very happy to do it.

LP: When did you first work with director Ibarra?
MO: I know him from Mexico, and we had been together on different projects. He does a lot of publicity, film and soap opera.

LP: You have good chemistry with Aislinn Derbez. Can you tell me a little about working with her and the process of creating that chemistry?
 It was very funny because when we did the callbacks, we worked together. After that, I realized we had a lot of chemistry. But then, when we started doing rehearsals, I thought she had very low energy and I didn’t understand why. Her character has to be energetic and angelical. But when we started filming, she was completely different person. She became the character and I realized she was just keeping her energy.

LP: What was the most fun scene to film?
MO: Almost all of the scenes were fun to film because the director is always fun on set. He likes to kid around a lot. Actually one of the scenes that was funny to film was the sex scene. Ibarra was telling us how to move and kiss, and he would put music on for us. After a few moments of that, Aislinn and I started laughing uncontrollably. So that was a lot of fun.

LP: Were there any difficult scenes to do?
MO: Honestly there wasn’t anything difficult. What was complicated for me was the scene when I play the piano because I never played the piano. I had to take lessons for a month a half to learn how to play the Rachmaninoff piece, which is in the movie. That was the biggest challenge.

LP: What did you do to prepare the role?
MO: I obviously studied a little a bit about Rachmaninoff, and I studied piano. The rest of the preparation we worked with the director and found the psychology and the personality of the character in rehearsals and table reads.

LP: When the movie comes out, what do you want audiences to take away from it?
MO: It is a romantic comedy and a chick flick and I want the audiences to have a good time and to laugh and to fall in love with the characters.

LP: You’ve done a lot of soap operas and film. What medium do you prefer to work in?
MO: I have had the fortune of working in theater, film and television and I love all three. I have always said that an actor has to be able to work in all three mediums since they have different languages. I am passionate about all three. However, if I had to work in only one of these three, I would definitely choose theater because there are no takes and it is direct contact with the public and there is an immediacy you don’t get from television or film. The energy is between the actor and the audience. For example if you make a mistake you can immediately fix it and there is an adrenaline that you don’t have as present when you’re doing film and television.

LP: What are some of your upcoming projects?
MO: I am currently working on “El Senor de Los Cielos 3” and by the end of the year there are a few projects that will hopefully be announced soon.