Omar Chaparro talks 'Pokémon Detective Pikachu' and playing his idol, Pedro Infante

Omar Chaparro is the kind of charismatic, funny person who yells "Where were you? I missed you!" when he is reconnected with a dropped call.

As an actor, comedian, TV host, media personality and singer, he brings energy and charm across a variety of platforms. But the Mexican superstar is adding one more title to his repertoire: Pokémon trainer.

The star of such films as "Show Dogs," "Stuck" and the "No Manches Frida" movies plays Sebastian, a singer in an underground fighting arena, in "Pokémon Detective Pikachu," which opens Friday, May 10.

"He's a very loud, kind of crazy guy," he says. "Like Chris Tucker in 'The Fifth Element.'"

Before filming Chaparro didn't know much about Pokémon, but Emiliano, his 14-year-old son, did. 

"He's a big fan of the Pokémon world," he says. "He taught me things like before Charizard is a complete Pokemon, he's a Charmander and a Charmeleon. He read the script, and he said 'Father, you have to do this movie.' He was a bit more excited than I was."

Sebastian's partner is Charizard, a large dragon-like creature in the film. Chaparro's character loves his partner so much that he even has a giant tattoo of the Flame Pokémon on his chest. Chaparro has several tattoos in real life, but none devoted to Pokémon, so he had to spend about an hour to an hour and a half in makeup.

"I was doing my eyelashes, (painting) my fingernails and doing my hair," he says. "But it wasn't that fun for me (to put on the tattoo). I didn't like the glue because it was a big sticker on my chest."

But the sticker was only a small part of the role, and it didn't damper his experience.

"The director Rob Letterman was open-minded with me," Chaparro says. "I am very happy to be in this film. ... I yelled a lot of things not in the script, and he made me feel so secure in what I did. I suggested to have sunglasses and (painted) nails. These things weren't in the script, but he was OK with everything I did."

Playing Pedro Infante

Chaparro's diverse talents can lead him down a variety of entertainment career paths. But he has a soft spot for one over the rest.

"I'm at a point in my life where the movie industry is in my blood now," he says. "I can't picture my life without it."

With more than 10 million followers on social media, he'll find a solid amount of fan support wherever he goes. But for now, they're watching his adventures as he portrays legendary Mexican actor and singer Pedro Infante in the upcoming Netflix film  "Como Caído del Cielo."

"He was my idol since I was a kid," Chaparro says. "The first time I saw him was in a movie when I was 7 years old. After almost 35 years later, here I am acting as him. He's like the Elvis of Mexico."

For the 44-year-old actor, becoming the classic Mexican entertainment icon isn't what he thought it would be.

"I thought it would be easy," he says. "I do impressions of him. But when I step on set and try to be Pedro, it was more complicated than I thought it would be. ... But when people were crying on set with me, I knew we did the right thing."

Omar's English

The Chihuahua, Mexico, native wants to expand his reach into the American movie industry, so he's learning more English. As a teenager, he attended high school in Boise, Idaho, for a year, which gave him an early grasp of the language. 

"My English is a little rusty," he says. "But because I want to be an actor in America, too, I'm learning — even though my wife speaks to me in Spanish all the time."

His English is pretty good, though. And no matter what happens, it's clear that Chaparro is passionate about his work.

"I try to be at every casting interview," he says. "I don't care if it's a comedy or not, (acting) is a passion for me. I'm always hungry to do more."

Want to pitch a story idea? Reach reporter Samantha Incorvaia at sincorvaia@gannett.com or 602-444-4968. Follow her on Twitter at @_SamI520.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.