Michael Pena Finally Lands Lead Role, Will Play Cesar Chavez

Will play labor leader Cesar Chavez, alongside Rosario Dawson & America Ferrarra

Michael Pena has been toiling away for years as one of Hollywood's most talented and under utilized bit players. In 2011 alone he stole the show in films like "30 Minutes or Less," "Tower Heist," "The Good Doctor" and "Everything Must Go," often giving performances far better than the films deserve.

Now he's getting his chance to step to the fore, playing legendary labor rights leader Cesar Chavez, reported Variety, in "Chavez," a new film to be directed by Diego Luna, and co-starring Rosario Dawson and America Ferrera.

Chavez brought together some 50,000 workers under the banner of the United Farm Workers, using all manner of non-violent protest, from staging hunger strikes to organizing a boycott of grapes, rallying his colleagues with the slogan, "Si, se puede!," which Barack Obama would later translate and steal for his own presidential campaign.

Ferrera will play Helen Chavez, Hugo's wife, while Dawson will portray Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the UFW. Great story, great cast.

Luna can next be seen March 16 in Will Ferrell's Spanish-language comedy "Casa de mi Padre," while Pena has a role in the Oct. 12 Oscar-bait "Gangster Squad," which co-stars Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin.

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