Demián Bichir Shocked By Oscar Nomination

By Michael Lopez

Clearly Demián Bichir woke up to some very good Tuesday news. The 48-year-old actor scored his first Academy Award nomination this morning for his performance as hard-working gardener Carlos Galindo in A Better Life.

Speaking with Us Weekly, Demián seemed genuinely shocked and excited about his chances of winning Best Actor.

"I'm overwhelmed for having my name among those incredible actors," Bichir said. "This could have never happened if Chris Weitz had not been the head of this film. He is my brother and I thank him deeply."

Though Chris was not nominated in the director category, we're sure he's thrilled with the news too. Particularly because the Oscar nod will open up A Better Life to a whole new audience. And Demián went on to accentuate that point to Us.

"Hopefully more and more people will jump into iTunes and Netflix to see our film," he said. "That will be the biggest reward we could get. I dedicate this nomination to those 11 million human beings who make our lives easier and better in the U.S."

We'll definitely be keeping our fingers crossed when he walks down that red carpet on February 26!

Do you think Demián has a shot at winning Best Actor? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags A better life, Academy Awards, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Chris Weitz, Demian Bichir, Hot Stuff, Movies & CineMás, Oscars