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He is also an actor. Among others, he had the antagonic role in ¡Three Amigos! (USA, 1986), a comedy with Martin Short and others.
In 1973 he acted and directed Calzónzin Inspector, a movie based on a mexican comic called Los Supermachos, of great mexican cartoonist Rius, although Rius disapproved the movie. The movie is about two indigenous mexicans who are confused for government inspectors from the capital by the corrupt mayor of a small town, and is an humorous political critique, aimed squarely at then ruling party PRI and its caciques, in a time when freedom of speech in regard to political matters was highly restricted. There are at least two versions of the movie, the shorter one having some scenes deleted, the most notable one shows the killing of a renegade farmer by a policeman shooting at his back.
A notable movie was El rincón de las vírgenes (Mexico, 1972), "The Virgins' Corner" where he plays the helper to a fake mystical doctor travelling town to town, remembering their travels when a group of women intend to propose the doctor for sainthood. The movie is set in the 1920's in rural Mexico.
In December 2004 the Santa Fe Film Festival bestowed its Luminaria Award for lifetime achievement in cinema to Alfonso Arau as a cornerstone to its five-day festival. Jon Bowman, executive director of the Santa Fe Film Festival said, "Arau is truly a renaissance artist, with a deep and innate understanding of all phases of the cinematic medium."