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Spanish native -

Javier Bardem was born on the Spanish island of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1969.

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A family of entertainers -

Bardem was born into a family full of creatives who worked in the film industry. His mother and both of her parents were actors, and his uncle was a screenwriter.

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First role -

He landed his first role at just five years of age. His mother (left) was acting in the Spanish TV series ‘El Picaro’ and a child actor required for one episode fell ill. She offered to bring her son to fill in, but it didn’t go too well!

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A dramatic actor through and through -

The TV show was set in the 17th century and Bardem’s scene involved a group of musketeers messing around with a young boy. He was supposed to laugh, but instead he burst into tears because he got scared. The director decided to go with it! In an interview with Vanity Fair, Bardem joked that this sent him down his path to becoming a dramatic actor rather than a comedic one.

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‘Jamón Jamón' (1992) -

Bardem briefly studied painting in Madrid, but decided to carry on his acting career instead. He landed his first major leading role at the age of 21 in the Spanish movie ‘Jamón Jamón.’ It was also the first time he worked with his future wife, Penélope Cruz, who was 16 at the time.

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Growing reputation in Spain -

Bardem gained notoriety as an actor in Spain throughout the 1990s, winning several of the country’s prestigious Goya acting awards. He played a struggling drug addict in the 1994 film ‘Días Contados,’ and a wheelchair-bound policeman in Pedro Almodóvar’s 1997 movie ‘Carne Trémula.’

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‘Before Night Falls' (2000) -

In 2000, he starred in his first English-speaking role in the American film ‘Before Night Falls.’ He played Reinaldo Arenas, a famous gay Cuban poet who was imprisoned by Fidel Castro's regime in the 1970s.

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A challenge -

Bardem was asked to play the role by director Julian Schnabel, and initially said there was no way he could do it because he couldn’t speak English well enough.

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First Oscar nomination -

It's a good thing he took the part! Bardem was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in ‘Before Night Falls,’ becoming the first Spanish actor to be nominated for Best Actor. It was a fitting reward for the extremes he went through for the role: losing 30 pounds (13.6 kg) and performing in a language he didn’t fully speak.

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A hot ticket -

‘Before Night Falls’ skyrocketed him to international popularity, but he still wasn’t totally confident in his English. Bardem reportedly said no to several movie offers for this reason. He even turned down an offer to appear in the 2002 movie ‘Minority Report’ directed by Steven Spielberg.

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‘The Dancer Upstairs’ (2002) -

As he developed his language skills, he started to take on more English-speaking roles, but was always very selective. He only chose challenging dramatic roles from the many offers he received. One of his next big movies was the thriller ‘The Dancer Upstairs’ (2002), which was directed by John Malkovich.

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‘No Country for Old Men' (2007) -

In 2007, Bardem appeared in the Coen brothers film ‘No Country for Old Men,’ based on the best-selling novel by Cormac McCarthy. Bardem played the role of Anton Chigurh, a sociopathic killer who hunts down a man (played by Woody Harrelson) who stole a suitcase full of drug money. It was this role that put him on the Hollywood map for good.

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The hair -

Bardem revealed the strange inspiration the stylists used for his character’s iconic hairstyle. On his first day in hair and makeup, someone came in with a photo taken in a Mexican brothel in the 1950s. The photo showed a man with his arms around two women. This unidentified man and his sweeping bowl cut became the model for Bardem’s look!

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An Oscar-winning villain -

Bardem played the ruthless hitman with the strange haircut to perfection. The character is quietly sinister in his apparent remorselessness. The role won him his first Academy Award the following year when he took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

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'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' (2008) -

Bardem started to take on more romantic roles after his Oscar win, which appropriately led to the great romance of his life! In 2008, he starred in the Woody Allen film ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona.’ He played a charismatic painter who seduces multiple women.

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Bardem and Cruz reunite -

Penélope Cruz played the role of his troubled ex-wife. It was the first time they worked together since their first movie ‘Jamón Jamón’ back in 1992. Rumors began flying that the two Spanish actors were dating.

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A private engagement -

In 2009, it was confirmed that Bardem and Cruz were engaged! The couple have always kept their relationship and family life very private. They didn’t make their first public appearance together until 2010.

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Stepping out as a couple -

They debuted as a couple at the 2010 Goya Awards ceremony in Spain, but still tried to keep things quiet. It wasn’t until the Cannes Film Festival that year that one of them publicly spoke about their relationship.

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A public declaration -

When Bardem accepted the Best Actor prize for the Spanish film ‘Biutiful,’ he dedicated his victory to Cruz: “I share this joy with my friend, my companion, my love: Penélope. I owe you a lot and I love you so much.”

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A quiet wedding -

The couple quietly married at a friend’s house in Barbados in July 2010. It was a small ceremony only attended by their families. The following year, they welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Leo.

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Family - While accepting another Goya award in 2011, Bardem credited his wife and new son with “awakening my heart and smile every day.”

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‘Skyfall’ (2012) -

In 2012, Bardem pulled another hair-raising villain out of the bag. The white-haired Raoul Silva in ‘Skyfall’ is perhaps the best modern Bond villain there is. Bardem recalls a moment where he got stage fright in the middle of a scene and forgot his lines. When asked if there was a problem, he responded, “Yes, the problem is that I just realized I’m in a f–ing James Bond movie!” Luckily he managed to overcome the surrealism and deliver a chilling performance.

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Baby number two -

In 2013, news broke that Bardem and Cruz were happily expecting their second child. Their daughter Luna was born in July of that year.

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‘Loving Pablo' (2017) -

Jumping forward to 2017, the couple co-starred in the biopic ‘Loving Pablo.’ Bardem was also a producer on the film, which told the story of Pablo Escobar and his love story with the journalist Virginia Vallejo.

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A personal performance -

Bardem told the rest of the team that the only actress who could possibly play Virginia was his wife. They were able to bring the whole family to Colombia while they filmed! Bardem says he thinks it’s the best performance Cruz has ever given.

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'Dune' (2021) -

In 2020, Bardem was approached by Denis Villeneuve to join ‘Dune.’ He was offered the small role of Stilgar with the potential to have a bigger part in the second movie. Bardem was honored to work with Villeneuve, saying it was incredible to watch him create the world of his dreams in such exquisite detail. He also said Part 2, expected in November 2023, "is gonna surprise people."

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‘Being the Ricardos' (2021) -

An even bigger project for Bardem in 2021 was the biopic film ‘Being the Ricardos,’ in which he co-starred opposite Nicole Kidman as the famous comedy couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. He had heard about the project five years prior and began researching Arnaz, watching all of the episodes of ‘I Love Lucy’ and Arnaz’s TV interviews.

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Desi Arnaz -

Bardem found it to be a very demanding role, not only because he knew he had to do justice to the character out of respect for the Cuban community, but also because of the incredible writing of Aaron Sorkin.

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Blood, sweat, and tears -

He even learned how to play the conga drum so he could deliver the high-energy musical performances for which Arnaz was known. Bardem recalled that when they finally started filming, he was hitting the drum so hard that his fingers started bleeding. In the final cut you can actually see his blood on the drum!

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An Oscar-nominated couple -

Bardem was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in ‘Being the Ricardos.’ Penélope Cruz was also nominated for Best Actress for her role in the movie ‘Parallel Mothers’ (2021). They are now the sixth married couple ever to be nominated for acting Oscars at the same time! They join Hollywood royalty like Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Sources: (Vanity Fair) (Britannica) (CNN)  (Us Weekly)

See also: Proof that Penélope Cruz is a timeless fashion icon

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