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,
Lust auf Fleisch (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
Bevor es Nacht wird (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.
