Jaime Camil gives extravagant vanity precise comic timing and enough warmth to keep the character likeable. We rate that balance, though his familiar telenovela persona leaves us curious about what a different sort of leading role might reveal.
Fi1m perspective
Jaime Camil allows Rogelio de la Vega to take his own importance seriously in Jane the Virgin (2014–2019), however extravagant the comedy gets. We laughed at his vanity and grew fond of him because Camil makes the warmth towards his daughter credible. The part brought him to US television after his breakthrough lead in La fea más bella (2006–2007), building on his telenovela experience rather than asking him to discard it. Working with showrunner and writer Jennie Snyder Urman, he gives the broad behaviour enough sincerity to keep it from becoming tiresome.
Coco (2017), in which he voices Papá, offers a smaller part of that appeal. Lee Unkrich's family musical takes the fear of being forgotten seriously, and its voices help it earn the feeling it asks for. We recommend it despite the busy, familiar plotting, which too often gets between us and the people we are meant to care about. Camil belongs to a voice cast whose contribution matters to that recommendation. It would be unfair to treat the film as a full demonstration of his comic abilities.
Kimi (2022) is a sharper change of setting, with Camil appearing as Antonio Rivas in Steven Soderbergh's thriller. Soderbergh and Koepp build the film around a smart speaker and a woman who cannot cross her doorstep; Zoë Kravitz carries it. We rate the lean construction and the first half's control, with reservations about the more familiar chase that follows. His supporting role extends his work in Hollywood, but the central performance here is someone else's. Choose it for the thriller, rather than as a Camil vehicle.
The reservation about Camil is that the vain, warm-hearted performer is also a familiar casting choice for him. He is good at it, but these films do not settle how much more he might do with a substantial part away from that persona. For the clearest reason to seek him out, start with Rogelio, whose self-regard is considerably easier to endure than it ought to be.
Biography
Jaime Camil is a Mexican actor, singer and television personality. Born Jaime Federico Said Camil de Saldanha da Gama on 22 July 1973 in Mexico City, he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Anahuac University and studied acting in New York, Los Angeles and London, as well as classical opera in Italy.
He began his career in the early 1990s as a radio commentator and singer before moving into telenovelas. Camil is best known for playing Fernando Mendiola in La fea más bella (2006) and Rogelio de la Vega in Jane the Virgin (2014–2019). His other credits include the voice of Papá in Coco (2017) and the role of Antonio Rivas in Kimi (2022).
