Biography

Javier Bardem

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Born
March 1, 1969 · Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Birth name
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem
Height
5′ 11¼″ (1.81 m)

Javier Bardem belongs to a family of actors that have been working on films since the early days of Spanish cinema.

He was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, to actress Pilar Bardem (María del Pilar Bardem Muñoz) and businessman José Carlos Encinas Doussinague. His maternal grandparents were actors Rafael Bardem and Matilde Muñoz Sampedro, and his uncle is screenwriter Juan Antonio Bardem. He got his start in the family business, at age six, when he appeared in his first feature, "El picaro" (1974) (A.K.A. The Scoundrel). During his teenage years, he acted in several TV series, played rugby for the Spanish National Team, and toured the country with an independent theatrical group. Javier's early film role as a sexy stud in the black comedy, Jamon Jamon (1992) (aka Ham Ham) propelled him to instant popularity and threatened to typecast him as nothing more than a brawny sex symbol. Determined to avert a beefcake image, he refused similar subsequent roles and has gone on to win acclaim for his ability to appear almost unrecognizable from film to film. With over 25 movies and numerous awards under his belt, it is Javier's stirring, passionate performance as the persecuted Cuban writer, Reynaldo Arenas, in Before Night Falls (2000) that will long be remembered as his breakthrough role. He received five Best Actor awards and a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal.
- IMDb mini biography by: Dana Spiardi/<fabdana@hotmail.com>

Dedicated the Oscar he won for No Country for Old Men (2007) to his mother, Pilar, whom he brought with him to the ceremony. At the end of his acceptance speech, Javier said to her (originally in Spanish), "Mom, this is for you, this is for your grandparents, for your parents, Rafael and Matilde, this is for the actors of Spain, who have brought, like you, the dignity and the pride to our job. This is for Spain and this is for all of you.".
Married long-term partner Penélope Cruz at a friend's house in the Bahamas in a small ceremony with just family members present.
Became a father for the first time at age 41 when his wife Penélope Cruz gave birth to their son Leonardo Encinas Cruz on January 22, 2011.
Several years ago, a stranger in a disco asked him his name. When Javier replied, the man punched him in the face for no apparent reason, breaking his nose.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 8, 2012.

One of my dreams came true when [Julian Schnabel] showed the movie [Before Night Falls (2000)] to Al Pacino and he called me at 3 a.m. Spanish time and told me he liked my performance. I told him, "There are two things I believe in, God and Al Pacino" [Bardem has, himself, corrected this statements saying "I always said that I don't believe in God, I believe in Al Pacino"]
[on his girlfriend Cristina, who is a translator and coaching him in English] I'm in love with my English teacher. We have many of our lessons in bed.
I live in Spain. Oscars are something that are on television Sunday night, basically, very late at night. You don't watch, you just read the news after to see who won or who lost... The award is important in order to bring people to the movie theater. That's the only principal meaning of any award.
We are so scared about talking about death that we are letting people die in silence. It is good to talk publicly.
It would be amazing to think your film or your performance had the power to make changes, but it's enough that it makes people talk and think. Maybe they shouldn't do anything anyway. The Church has strong feelings and we respect that.

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