With Disney/Pixar's Coco now available on home video, we had the opportunity to talk to lead actor Anthony Gonzalez about voicing Miguel in the award-winning picture. The animated musical adventure is up for two Oscars at this weekend's Academy Awards show--Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) and Best Animated Feature Film--so while Gonzalez and his friends and family will certainly be watching to see if Coco brings home some more hardware, the up-and-coming talent was earnestly thrilled and thankful to be involved in the picture at all.

I had a chance to chat with Gonzalez over the phone about his experience recording both a voice-acting performance and musical performances for Miguel, and just what the opportunity to star in Coco meant to him and his family. Gonzalez is an incredibly talented musician in his own right--he already plays the viola, violin, piano, and guitar, in addition to his singing--but he'll be looking to expand his talents with more acting in the future. Keep an eye out since you never know where you might spot him next! But for now, read along to find out about just what his experience on Coco was really like.

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Image via Disney-Pixar

Easy question to start with: What’s your favorite Pixar movie?

Anthony Gonzalez: I really love Toy Story a lot. It’s what I grew up with. I have the Woody toy where you pull it and he says something, and I have Buzz Lightyear blanket with my name on it. I grew up on Toy Story. I really grew up watching all of the Disney/Pixar movies. I love Incredibles as well. Cars. I just love all their movies. It’s an honor for me to be part of a Disney/Pixar movie because I grew up watching these movies and I never thought I’d be in one at this age.

Do you remember what the first movie you saw in theaters was?

Gonzalez: Actually, I didn’t really go to theaters that much because I have a big family, so we would just buy them on Blu-ray or watch them online. The first movie I went to watch in theaters was actually Inside Out. It just happens to be a Disney/Pixar movie, the first time I went to theaters, so that was so cool.

Did you and your family go see Coco in the theater?

Gonzalez: Oh yes! We went so many times to watch Coco together. A lot of times. I’ve watched it nine times and I cry every single time, I love it so much.

How did the opportunity to star in Coco come about?

Gonzalez: I auditioned for Coco when I was nine years old, and I had no idea I was auditioning for a Disney/Pixar movie. When I was 10, they told me that it was going to be a Disney/Pixar movie and I was just mind-blown, I was so shocked and thankful that I was going to Pixar. There, it’s just amazing, it’s paradise there, it’s so cool.

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Image via Disney/Pixar

I’m so happy to have been the role of Miguel because I was actually doing scratch voice—which is like the temporary voice for Miguel—and I was going twice to three times a month to record the scratch voice. Finally, when I was 11 years old around Christmas, after I finished my session, the director Lee Unkrich told me that they had a Christmas present for me. The producer, Darla Anderson, came over with a Christmas card. I opened it and there was this big, wonderful piece of artwork that said, “You got the part!” And I was just like, “What? I can’t believe this just happened!” I was so thankful. I just couldn’t believe I was going to be part of a Disney/Pixar movie. I knew that from there on out, my life would change.

What was your friends’ and family’s reaction when you learned you had gotten the part?

Gonzalez: They were so happy and supportive and they couldn’t believe I was in a Disney/Pixar movie. They were living the dream with me. They were always there for me.

Did you get a chance to spend time with your fellow cast members?

Gonzalez: I actually didn’t know the cast members until the premiere. The only ones I knew before the premiere were Benjamin Bratt because I had the honor to sit with him at D23, which was amazing. And I had met Renee Victor for an Oscar Mayer commercial we had done back before Coco. That was fun.

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Image via Disney•Pixar

What was it like working with Lee and Adrian during the voice recordings?

Gonzalez: When I was doing the voice of Miguel, I was just in a booth with director Lee Unkrich, the producer Darla Anderson, and the co-director Adrian Molina, who are all amazing, and a couple other people. They were an incredible help in doing the voice of Miguel. Lee would tell me what was happening in the scene and how Miguel’s feeling and what’s going on, and then I would just do it like I was in Miguel’s shoes, like, “What would I do if it was me?” It was fun!

It was mostly just me and Lee talking, like a conversation. I would do the lines for Miguel and then Lee would do the voices of Hector, Ernesto de la Cruz, and Abuelita, and he would just talk to me. We’d talk like a real conversation, which is so much fun. Other people were there to keep us on track on the scenes and on grammar, but it was so cool. It was an incredible experience to be doing this.

How was that different from recording your songs?

Gonzalez: That was just amazing. They were both so much fun. Every time they’d tell me I was going to go in and sing, I was just so happy because all of the songs they made were so amazing and I love them so much. I knew it was going to be a fun day every time they told me I was going to sing. I especially love the lyrics of the songs. When they told me I’d be singing “Remember Me”, I’d just cry when I’m singing. And “Un Poco Loco”, I would laugh. And then “The World Es Mi Familia” was amazing to sing; I love the rhythm. And then “Proud Corazón” was just so much fun; I love the lyrics, the rhythm, the melody. It was just an amazing time when I knew that I was going to sing because I’ve been singing since I was four years old.

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Image via Disney-Pixar

Which of the songs was your favorite to sing?

Gonzalez: I really love singing “Proud Corazón” a lot and I also love singing “Un Poco Loco” a lot … and “Remember Me” because it reminds me of my grandfather and it was just a way that I could connect with him and be with him again. It’s impossible to choose.

How did the story of Coco impact you and your family personally?

Gonzalez: It reminded me so much of my grandfather. My grandfather passed away when I was six years old, but he was always important to me because he was very supportive of me and was always there for me. He was my anchor. He was always there to help, like when my mom would take my brother to music competitions, he was like, “Take Anthony, too, because he’s a great singer and he’s amazing.” He was just always there to make me feel good and make me laugh.

Doing Coco just made me connect with him again and be with him again, and it reminded me so much of him.

Do you play any instruments or have any other musical interests?

Gonzalez: Yeah! I’ve been playing the viola since I was 6 years old, and then I decided to switch it up a bit, so I’ve been playing the violin since I was 11. I started playing the piano when I was 11 and I started playing the guitar when I was 10. But I decided to focus more on my voice, so that kind of stopped the guitar a bit. After a while, I started taking guitar lessons again, like Miguel is finally playing the guitar again!

What are you looking forward to doing most: acting, voice-acting, or singing?

Gonzalez: What I want to do for the rest of my life is sing and act. Really, any type of acting because this was my first time doing a movie by voice. It was a new experience and a great experience for me, and I feel like I can do more of that and live-action, because that’s what I started doing; I never thought I’d get into voice acting. I want to continue singing and continue doing any type of acting.

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Image via Disney-Pixar

Have you thought about theater?

Gonzalez: Yes! I actually have done theater. I’ve done like three plays. That’s been cool, too, because I enjoy it with other people live; it’s so fun. It’s so much fun for me to try new things because that’s how you get better. Coco was a different thing I’d never tried before and I’m so glad I was part of this. I learned so much on this amazing journey.

How do you and your team decide what opportunity to go after next?

Gonzalez: Thankfully my family really does help me make decisions. If I love the story and if I really connect with my character, I’m willing to do it. I’m willing to try new characters, to be someone that I’m not like. I like trying new emotions and being new characters. That’s the thing about acting: You can be so many things!

Do you have any actors, writers, or directors who you look up to now?

Gonzalez: Lee Unkrich. He was my inspiration, because he was the director of Toy Story [2 and 3], and I just grew up watching that. He was amazing. Darla worked on that as well. So to be on a movie with them, and Adrian Molina as well, was just great. It was amazing for me. And also the cast, like Benjamin Bratt, who has been doing this for a long time, Gael Garcia [Bernal], and Alanna Ubach and Jamie Camil, they’re all just an amazing cast and I’m happy to be a part of it.

Are you going to the Oscars ceremony?

Gonzalez: I don’t know yet, but I hope so! Just to be part of a film that is nominated for two Oscars is amazing. I just can’t believe it. I’m living a dream!

Look for Coco on Digital and Blu-ray/DVD now, and keep an eye out to see if the film brings home an Oscar or two this Sunday!

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Image via Disney/Pixar