CANNES, France – Most people probably think the biggest stars who showed up at the Cannes Film Festival were people such as Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Angelina Jolie and Cameron Diaz. Well, they’re right, in a way.

But this year’s Cannes festival really belonged to Gael Garcia Bernal of Mexico, who has already made a name for himself in such films as “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” “The Crime of Father Amaro” and “Amores Perros.”

He starred in the festival’s opening night film, Pedro Almodovar’s “Bad Education” and also played the main character in Walter Salles’ “The Motorcycle Diaries,” which looks at the early life of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, who would become the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.

In person, the 25-year-old Bernal is short and slight, almost fragile, with piercing green eyes, a sensual smile and a turquoise peace button pinned to his Army-green jacket.

But onscreen, he is larger than life. In “Bad Education,” he goes back and forth from hunk to drag queen without skipping a beat.

And in “The Motorcycle Diaries,” he captures the youthful idealism of a man who would try to unite Latin America.

For Bernal, fame is fleeting: “It’ll one day disappear, and it will be over. Each day you have to wake up with yourself.” But he adds that “it’s certainly nice to have more attention from girls. When I was 14, I couldn’t get their attention.”

He isn’t at all worried that his gay role in “Bad Education” might hurt his image with some moviegoers. “I guess I’ll lose all my support from the homophobic audience, and it’s very sad,” he says softly.

then breaks into his trademark big smile.

While saying he appreciates the warm reception that his movies have received in Cannes, he also displays a dry wit about the circus surrounding him.

“I’m struggling to have fun, so I guess that means I am having fun,” he says. “But if you reflect for a moment, this whole thing is very ridiculous.”

Asked for more specifics, he winks and says: “Well, the red carpet procession at the Palais is like a pagan ritual.”

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(c) 2004, The Dallas Morning News.

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Gael Garcia Bernal

AP-NY-05-27-04 1126EDT

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