Academy Award-winning Spanish actor Javier Bardem was born on March 1, 1969 and comes from a long line of filmmakers and actors in Spanish cinema. His acting debut was his role as Niño in the 1974 mini-series El Picaro (The Scoundrel), when he was age six, but was not credited in the show. He also had minor roles in other Spanish television series before landing in the cast of The Ages of Lulu in 1990, when he was 20.
Javier Bardem got a taste of international fame when he starred alongside Penélope Cruz in 1992’s Jamón, Jamón. He was then cast in numerous films in his native country, including 1994’s Días contados (Numbered Days) as Lisardo, 1995’s Boca a Boca as Victor Ventura, and 1997’s romantic comedy El Amor perjudica seriamente la salud (Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health). He was also cast that year as Romeo Dolorosa in Perdita Durango (Dance with the Devil). Being typecast as a sex symbol led him to aim for roles that made him unrecognizable in film. In 2000, he made his international breakthrough performance with his portrayal of Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls. His role as a Cuban poet earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, the first time a Spaniard was nominated for the title. This also became his first English speaking role.
In 2002, Javier Bardem was cast in John Malkovich’s directorial debut The Dancer Upstairs. He also appeared in Los Lunes al sol in 2002 and Variaciones 1/113 in the next year. For his role as Ramón Sampedro in Mar adentro (The Sea Inside), Bardem won the Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. He also had a minor role in the crime drama Collateral in 2004. Two years later, he played Lorenzo in Goya’s Ghosts. In 2007, he played Anton Chigurh in the Coen brothers’ film adaptation No Country for Old Men as well as being cast as Florentino Ariza in Love in the Time of Cholera, based on Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s novel of the same name. Playing Anton Chigurh made him the first Spanish actor to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Javier Bardem also received a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Critic’s Choice Award. He also won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.