Since Almodovar’s Bad Education we know Gael García Bernal can credibly and enthusiastically curse like a Spaniard. Motorcycle Diaries had him doing a young Che Guevara’s subtle Argentine accent. In Rudo y Cursi, he’s the sexiest naco ever. In his latest, NO, out February 15, 2013, Gael García Bernal tried his hand at a not-so-easy accent, that of a native Chilean from Santiago.

Pablo Larraín’s film, nominated this year in the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars, was inspired by actual events. García Bernal plays Rene Saavedra, a brash young ad man spearheading a campaign aimed at ending the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet during the country’s 1988 referendum. Riding on the slogan “Chile: Happiness is coming!” this opposition campaign emerges victorious, setting Chile free from a rule defined by human rights abuses, and “desaparecidos.” As García Bernal notes: “The campaign appealed to optimism and to happiness in a country submerged in the painful shock of its recent politics.”

Putting his brilliant performance aside, how did he fare with the Chilean accent? On a scale of 1 to 10, we’d say he sits comfortably at an 8. But what happens when we challenge him to do other, tougher Latin American accents? Let’s just say he needs a little practice…

Watch the video interview on Fusion (ABC/Univision), where it was originally posted.