Eugenio Derbez Reacts to CODA Awards Buzz: 'I've Been Dreaming of the Oscars' Since I Was a Child

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Eugenio Derbez, the Latin American star who has made generations laugh in comedic roles, is now tugging at the heartstrings of audiences worldwide.

Derbez stars in the Apple TV+ film CODA (the title stands for child of deaf adults), which follows the only hearing child in a deaf family, Ruby, as she aspires to attend a music school instead of inheriting her family's fishing business.

Derbez, 60, plays a music teacher who encourages and trains Ruby for the music school's entrance audition. The film's cast, which includes Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant, recently earned a Screen Actors Guild nomination for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. With the nomination, Derbez is now aspiring to even higher accolades for the acclaimed film.

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"Look, I've been dreaming of the Oscars, and at least being part of the Oscars in a certain way, for so many, many years that I want to have high expectations," he tells PEOPLE of the awards buzz surrounding the film. "Of course, I think this movie has a lot of potential because it's inclusive, it's interesting. It's a new story. You haven't heard about these kinds of stories."

"It has everything. It has comedy, it has heart, it has drama. It has everything," he continues. "So I think it's perfect for the award season. But I don't want to think about it too much."

While Derbez is a superstar in Mexico with shows like La Familia P. Luche and XHDRbZ, the actor says he's "never been in a nominated film" prior to his SAG Awards recognition.

Apple TV+

"You can't imagine how excited I am just by the idea of thinking that I could be [at the Oscars]," Derbez, who presented at the 2018 Academy Awards, says. "So, hopefully, hopefully. I'm crossing my fingers because I think the movie deserves to be there. Definitely."

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For Derbez, the dream of one day having a film at the Academy Awards has been a lifelong one.

"When I was little, I was always, every year, sitting with my mom watching the Oscars," he recalls. "Every weekend we went to the movies to see two or three movies a day. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So I was in love with movies and I always told my mom, 'I want to go to Hollywood. I want to conquer Hollywood.' My mom was like, 'Be careful. Don't dream that much. I don't want you to be disappointed. Be prepared for anything.'"

"So basically I dreamed with Hollywood, but then I forgot about my dreams for many, many years, until I was 45, something like that, when I remembered that I had a dream," he continues. " I would say to myself, 'Don't forget about your dreams. You have to work, you have to do stuff.' Life takes you on other paths and you forget about your dreams. But it's never too late to go back and remember what you wanted and quit everything and fight for your dreams. That's what I did. I was 52 years old when I started all over again in this country. 52 when I decided to finish with everything and to start all over again. So it's never too late."

Derbez's next project, a film named Lotería, honors his Mexican roots with his Dora and the Lost City of Gold director James Bobin writing the script.

"It's going to be like a Latin Jumanji," he said. "We had the opportunity to buy the rights of Lotería. I was like, 'Wait. Dora, adventure, action. What if we hired James Bobin to direct Lotería, and Roberto Orci, then it's also Mexican in a certain way? It would be an amazing Mexican-American action movie.' We got together, we planned everything, and they're writing a script right now."

CODA is available to stream on Apple TV+.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards will air live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, February 27 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.