Emilio Echevarría, the Mexican actor best known for his roles in films like Y Tu Mamá También and Babel, has died. His death was announced by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, which hailed his “enormous career in film and theater” in a post on social media. Echevarría was 80.
La AMACC lamenta el sensible fallecimiento del actor Emilio Echevarría, quien forjó una enorme carrera en cine y teatro. Obtuvo tres nominaciones al Ariel por su participación como actor de cuadro en pic.twitter.com/6gJv9yRrhe
— AMACC (@AcademiaCineMx) January 5, 2025
Echevarría was born in Mexico City in 1944. His first major role came in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s 2000 directorial debut Amores Perros, in which he played a hitman named El Chivo. He went on to appear in Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También in 2001 and the James Bond film Die Another Day the following year. John Lee Hancock’s The Alamo and Iñárritu’s Academy Award-nominated Babel followed in 2004 and 2006 respectively.
Echevarría earned three nominations at the Ariel Awards (Mexico’s version of the Oscars) for his work in 1990’s Dying in the Gulf, 2015’s A Monster With A Thousand Heads, and 2018’s The Chosen. In 2015, he also reunited with his Y Tu Mamá También, Amores Perros, and Babel co-star Gael García Bernal for the Prime Video series Mozart In The Jungle.
Echevarría was “a tremendous actor and an even better human being,” wrote Amores Perros screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga in a tribute on X (Twitter). He was “a dear friend. I had the privilege of collaborating with him on several productions. A great man.”