Hollywood movie producers do not only have U.S. Hispanics in mind as potential moviegoers. Mexico and the majority of the Western Hemisphere speaks Spanish. Movie theaters in Buenos Aires, Caracas, San Jose, San Juan and Bogota are filled with customers waiting to see stories about characters like themselves who speak Spanish.
Knowing Spanish could result in you being cast as a friend or lover of Selma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, Rosie Perez or Jennifer Lopez. You might be able to play the role of a doctor, lawyer or psychiatrist treating a Spanish-speaking patient or client in the film. The possibilities are endless for the actor who knows Spanish.
Many actors find work by providing the voices for cartoon and animated characters. Movies such as "Ice Age" and "UP" by Pixar had to have Spanish speakers provide voices for the characters. Other movies have the original actors' voices blocked out and Spanish speaking voices reading the script.
Many people erroneously believe that you must have total fluency in order to use Spanish as an actor. Some of the greatest comedy situations can call for a person trying to speak Spanish or English with a foreign accent. "Saturday Night Live" got much mileage out of the accent of its sports announcer claiming, "Baseball has been berry berry good to me."
According to Spanish film makers, "the invasion of Hollywood was adversely affecting the prospects of their movies at home." International film makers feel the pressure to compete with Hollywood producers for the international Spanish speaking audience.