The son of a physician, Arau was born in
Mexico City. and Alfonso Arau in
Viaje a la Luna (1958) Among a plethora of roles in his career, Arau played "Captain Herrera", a lieutenant of Federal general "Mapache", in
Sam Peckinpah's 1969 western
The Wild Bunch; chief bandit "El Guapo" in
Three Amigos (USA, 1986), a comedy with
Martin Short,
Steve Martin, and
Chevy Chase; shady businessman Manuel in the comedy
Used Cars (USA, 1980); and the smuggler "Juan" in
Romancing the Stone (USA, 1984) starring
Michael Douglas and
Kathleen Turner. Arau appeared in the 1972 Mexican film
El rincón de las vírgenes (''The Virgins' Corner''), where he played the assistant of a fake mystical doctor traveling from town to town, who reminisce about their travels, when a group of women decide to propose the doctor for sainthood. The movie was set in 1920s rural Mexico. Arau has made many appearances as a character actor in American TV series and plays. In the 1972 episode of
Gunsmoke titled "Hidalgo", Arau portrayed the bandit "Mando" who shoots and wounds
marshal Matt Dillon. In
1973, Arau acted in and directed
Calzónzin Inspector ("
Cazonci" or "Caltzontzin" was the term used in the
Purépecha culture, to name their emperors), a movie based on a character from the Mexican comic
Los Supermachos of
Rius, a cartoonist, who co-wrote the screenplay. The movie, which is influenced by
Nikolai Gogol's
The Government Inspector, centers around two Mexicans who are mistaken for government inspectors from
Mexico City by the corrupt mayor of a small town. It is a humorous political critique, aimed squarely at the then ruling party
Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and its
paramilitary caciques, at a time when freedom of speech in politics was highly restricted. There are at least two versions of the movie, with one having some scenes deleted by State censors, the most notable of which depicts the killing of a renegade farmer by a police officer, who shoots the farmer in the back. In December 2004, the
Santa Fe Film Festival honored Alfonso Arau for his work in cinema. In 2010 he directed the Italian-language film,
The Trick in the Sheet. In January 2011, he starred in
Chad, Matt & Rob's
The Treasure Hunt: An Interactive Adventure. In February 2017, it was alleged by
Debra Messing that Arau belittled her for her appearance and body in her first film
A Walk in the Clouds. Arau later denied the allegation. Messing reinforced these claims during an episode of the PBS documentary
Finding Your Roots which aired in February 2025. ==Filmography==