Meet Anthony Gonzalez, the breakout star in Pixar's 'Coco'

LOS ANGELES -- The Pixar film [i]Coco[/i] has been a hit with audiences and at box offices nationwide and has made one native Angeleno a breakout star.[br /][br /]Anthony Gonzalez is the voice of Miguel, the guitar-playing hero in the film, which is nominated this year for two Academy Awards: one in the Best Animated Feature category and the other in the Best Original Song category.[br /][br /]Gonzalez, who was raised in downtown Los Angeles near the USC campus, was influenced to pick up singing from watching his brother and sisters perform.[br /][Ads /][br /]"They inspired me to sing and because of them I started singing when I was four years old," Gonzalez said. "And I just loved it so much when I started singing, and I knew I wanted to do it for the rest of my life."[br /][br /]Gonzalez auditioned for [i]Coco[/i] when he was nine and didn't get the offer to play Miguel until he was 11. In the movie, he provides the voice of Miguel, including the singing.[br /][br /]"The reason I was so drawn into [i]Coco[/i] was because it has music involved and I get to act as well," Gonzalez said.[br /][Ads /][br /][i]Coco[/i] has become a box office sensation and hit the $500 million earnings mark worldwide. Los Angeles has even [url HREF="http://abc7.com/community-events/coco-day-to-be-declared-in-la-in-honor-of-latin-movie/3138283/[br /]" TARGET="" REL="nofollowing"]declared Feb. 27 as "Coco Day"[/url] in honor of the movie.[br /][br /]"It was just amazing to see all the people loving the movie," Gonzalez said. "It brought so many families back together. It touched so many people's hearts and it inspired so many kids to want to sing and want to play the guitar."