100 Grandes actores del cine Español

This Spanish actor began his career in theatre in 1939, when he was only 17, with the support of the director Modesto Higueras and the painter José Caballero. His first jobs were as actor, set decorator and costume designer in non-commercial amateur theatre plays, mainly at the Teatro de las Organizaciones Juveniles (TOI) and at the TEU. In cinema, he started as a costume designer in films mostly directed by José López Rubio and Rafael Gil and as an assistant director to Pío Ballesteros and Enrique Herreros.

His debut as a professional actor was in 1946 at the 'Teatro María Guerrero' theatre in Madrid, playing roles in plays like 'El Anticuario', 'El vergonzoso en palacio' or 'La dama boba'. Later he formed part of the companies owned by Conchita Montes and Alberto Closas. His debut as a cinema actor was also in 1946 with a little role in _María Fernanda la Jerezana (1946)_. In 1951, in the film _Esa pareja feliz (1951)_, he appeared in the credits together with two debutant key directors in Spanish cinema: Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga.

His first roles were comic roles in general; later ones increased in importance. In 1958 he started to have his first successes ('Una muchachita de Valladolid' in theatre together with 'Elisa Montes' and Alberto Closas, and The Little Apartment (1958) in cinema together with Mary Carrillo and Concha López Silva).

From that moment on, he acted in the best theatre companies and also became an almost indispensable figure in Spanish cinema in the following two decades. Some of his best films from this stage are El cochecito (1960), Placido (1961), Robbery at 3 O'clock (1962) and The Executioner (1963). He met film-makers like Marco Ferreri, Juan Antonio Bardem, José María Forqué and Luis García Berlanga, who were able to extract from his funniness amazing nuances like tenderness, dirtiness, meanness, absurdity and even nonsense. His popularity raised dramatically after he worked together with Gracita Morales in several films of less importance under the direction of Mariano Ozores and also performed the main role in the TV series "Tercero izquierda".

In the early 1970s he began to deliver dramatic performances in films including _Peppermint frappé (1967)_, The Garden of Delights (1970), _Bosque del lobo, El (1970)_ (Best Actor Award in the 1971 Chicago Film Festival), _Mi querida señorita (1971)_ (Best Actor Award in the 1972 Chicago Film Festival), La cabina (1972) (TV; winner of an Emmy Award), or Habla, mudita (1973). He made a great success with these films, which became even stronger after the international effects caused by his TV film 'La cabina' and his contribution to George Cukor's Travels with My Aunt (1972). This success defined the rest of his career, full of successful films both dramatic and comic (_Escopeta nacional, La (1978)_, _Verdad sobre el caso Savolta, La (1979)_, La colmena (1982), _Corte del faraón, La (1985)_, Mi general (1987), _Largo invierno, El (1991)_...

In 1985 he received the 'Medalla de Oro de las Bellas Artes' (Arts Gold Medal).

Agustín González was born on 24 March 1930 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain. He was an actor, known for Belle Epoque (1992), Estudio 1 (1965) and The Grandfather (1998). He died on 16 January 2005 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

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, Jamón, Jamón (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.

Luis Tosar was born on 13 October 1971 in Lugo, Galicia, Spain. He is an actor and producer, known for Cell 211 (2009), Sleep Tight (2011) and Take My Eyes (2003). He has been married to María Luisa Mayol since 10 August 2015. They have two children.

He began the studies of law. But after his participation in the universitary theater he left the university and entered the school of dramatic arts in Madrid. In 1945 he debuted in the proffesional theater, and in the cinema in 1947.

Fernando Rey, the great Spanish movie actor primarily known in the United States for his role as "Frog One" in The French Connection (1971) and its sequel, was born Fernando Casado D'Arambillet on September 20 1917, in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, the son of Colonel Casado Veiga. Originally, the young Fernando intended to become an architect. However, when the Spanish Civil War erupted in 1936, his architectural studies were interrupted, and he gained employment as a movie extra. He took the stage name "Fernando Rey" at the beginning of his career, equivalent, in English, to "Fernando King". Eight years after his movie debut, he was cast in his first major speaking role, as the Duke de Alba in José López Rubio's 1944 movie "Eugenia de Montijo".

Rey enjoyed a long and prosperous career as an actor in movies, the theater, radio, and television. He also was a major voice-over artist in Spain, narrating films and dubbing the voices of actors in foreign films. Rey's most fruitful collaboration was with the great director Luis Buñuel, which began during the 1960s and continued thought the 1970s. The films that Rey appeared in for Buñuel' made him an international star, the first produced by the Spanish cinema. By the early 1970s, Rey's career reached its high point, with his co-starring role in "The French Connection" (Best Picture Oscar Winner for 1971) and his starring role in Buñuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) ("The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie", Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner for 1972). Rey followed up these successes by appearing in The French Connection (1971) in 1974, and Buñuel's tandem That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) ("That Obscure Object of Desire"), an art-house hit that was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Ironically, in the film, Rey's voice was dubbed into French by Michel Piccoli. That same year, he won the Best Actor prize at Cannes for Carlos Saura' Elisa, My Life (1977).

Many honors came to Rey in the twilight of his career, during the 1980s and 1990s. He was awarded at San Sebastián and Cannes, and was presented with the gold medal of the Spanish Art and Movie Sciences Academy. He became the president of that Academy from 1992 till his death from cancer two years later.

Francisco Rabal -- Paco to everyone -- was born in the mining camp where his father worked. His mother owned a small mill. At the age of six, with the Civil War breaking out, the family emigrated to Madrid and he started working as a street salesman and later in a chocolate factory, which later led to him working as an electrician in the Chamartín Film Studios. It was here he started in his first films in crowd scenes and so on. However, following advice from people like Dámaso Alonso, he found his way into the theatre and in 1950 started working with José Tamayo where he met Asunción Balaguer, who was to become his wife and inseparable companion for the rest of his life. One of the plays he starred in was a Spanish version of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman." The big breakthrough came when he met Luis Buñuel, one of the greatest of Spanish film directors. They became great friends, in part due to their similar philosophies on life. Nazarín and Viridiana remain as hallmarks of that early period. However, with maturity and the passing of the Franco Régime, Rabal's best work was yet to come, and indeed culminated with his exceptional rôle in _Santos Inocentes, Los (1984)_, one of the best three or four Spanish films of all time. In 1987 he made a wonderful TV series called Juncal (1989) which was probably the character which mostly resembled the real-life Paco Rabal: a veritable "truhan" -- a roguish rascal. However, he has played the character of the Aragonese painter Francisco Goya in three different films, a personage who he became heavily identified with. It is in this period that he received his highest awards in Spain, Cannes, Montreal, etc. He is the only Spanish actor to have been given a Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of his native Murcia. Returning from the XXV Montreal Festival where he was homaged for a lifetime's work, he died over the English Channel aboard the aeroplane bringing him from London to Madrid and, despite the emergency landing in Bordeaux, nothing could be done for him. The pressure inside the plane aggravated his chronic bronchitis and started a fit of coughing which he was not able to overcome. He has published a few books which he called "some little things of mine," but most notably his collection of verses and "coplas" in 1994 and a little later collaborated with Agustín Cerezales on his biography "Si yo te contara" (If I told you all about it). His daughter, Teresa Rabal, is a successful actress, singer and TV presenter, while his son, Benito, also works as film director.

Juan Luis Galiardo was born on 2 March 1940 in San Roque, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain. He was an actor and producer, known for El caballero Don Quijote (2002), Familia (1996) and El vuelo de la paloma (1989). He was married to María Elías and Juana Prieto. He died on 22 June 2012 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

He debuted in theater when he was 19 years old and later he worked in the company of the Lara theater where he played as a first actor during 16 years. He participated in a short in 1912 but his cinematographic career mostly began on the 30s, working more in cinema than in theater in the 40s and later on. Of short height and simple character, he usually played secondary roles of the typical spaniard with all its virtues and prejudices.

Rafael Alonso was born on 5 July 1920 in Madrid, Spain. He was an actor and director, known for The Grandfather (1998), La colmena (1982) and El baile (1959). He died on 24 October 1998 in Madrid, Spain.

Antonio Ferrandis was born on 28 February 1921 in Paterna, València, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain. He was an actor, known for Verano azul (1981), Tiempo y hora (1965) and ¿... Y el prójimo? (1974). He died on 16 October 2000 in València, València, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain.

José Bódalo was born on 24 March 1916 in Córdoba, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Django (1966), Estudio 1 (1965) and El crack (1981). He died on 24 July 1985 in Madrid, Spain.

Antonio studied journalism, but he always knew he wanted to be an actor. He worked as a sports journalist in Canal Sur Radio and Television. During this period, he often traveled to Madrid so he could assist to the Cristina Rota acting school. His first role in cinema was in Los peores años de nuestra vida (1994) as Emilio Martínez-Lázaro. He succeeded on TV with Padre Coraje and Lleno, por favor. He is known for acting in a lot of Spanish short films. He has worked many times with Daniel Sánchez Arévalo in these short films. Antonio acted on this director's first film called AzulOscuroCasiNegro (2006), which lead him to win The Goya Award as Best Secondary Actor. Antonio has worked also many times with Álex de la Iglesia as a supporting actor, but it was in 2010 when he had the leading role in Balada triste de trompeta, being nominated to The Goyas Awards. In 2009, he took again the leading role in a Sánchez Arévalo film called Gordos, a comedy. He gained 33 kilos to play his role as Enrique. Because of that character, he was rewarded with his second nomination to The Goyas Awards. During next years he kept acting in Daniel Sánchez Arévalo films, as La isla interior (2009), Lope (2010) and Primos (2011). In December 2008, Antonio starred in a stage play named La taberna fantástica, written by Alfonso Sastre and directed by Gerardo Malla. Later, in 2012, he was nominated to The Goyas Awards as Best Leading Role and as Best Supporting actor for his performances in Grupo 7 and Invasor, winning neither of them. He played the leading role in Raúl Arévalo's debut as a film director in Tarde para la ira in 2016. In 2018, Antonio de la Torre starred in El reino with Mónica López and directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen. Antonio received his second The Goya Award as Best Leading Role because of this film.

Born in La Rioja (Spain) in 1967. Soon he moved to Madrid to graduate in Dramatic Arts. He use to work as an usher at the Fígaro Theatre in Madrid. His stage debut was in "El caballero de Olmedo" by Félix Lope de Vega back in 1991. After his great success in the TV-sitcom 7 vidas (1999), he worked with Pedro Almodóvar in the acclaimed Talk to Her (2002).

José María Prada was born on 31 March 1925 in Ocaña, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. He was an actor, known for The Hunt (1966), Aunt Tula (1964) and Gran teatro (1960). He died on 13 August 1978 in Bilbao, Vizcaya, País Vasco, Spain.

Juan Diego was born on 14 December 1942 in Bormujos, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. He was an actor and producer, known for Los hombres de Paco (2005), El triunfo (2006) and Cabeza de Vaca (1991). He was married to Maria Ruiz. He died on 28 April 2022 in Madrid, Spain.

His professional debut took place in 1934 with the Enrique Rambal company, in a spectacular production of "Around the World in 80 Days." After the Spanish Civil War ended, he became part of the Isabel Garcés company Between 1940 and 1943, while he also played important roles in various films. However, he soon returned to the theater, forming his own company and specializing in comedy. He headed it and stayed away from film business until the '60s, when his face returned to the silver screen and was usual in television programs.

Guillermo Marín began alternating the lyrical genre with the dramatic in the twenties, because his mother was an actress. One of his first interventions as a baritone was in the company of Salvador Videgain and Pepe Moncayo meeting at the opening of the Chueca theater in Madrid in 1926. Trained in the theater during the 20s in Ricardo Calvo theatre company, his stage career spanned 40 years. During these 40 years he formed his own company several times, got several hits and received twice the National Theatre Award in 1970 and 1982. Considered an institution in the Spanish theater, he remained onstage until his death, at 83 years and a few months after playing "Cassandra." He had many and memorable film appearances in the '40s, specially under director Edgar Neville's orders, specializing in distinguished roles. Guillermo Marín was very appreciated in the profession and managed to shoot in some international productions that got popularity at the time.

Cassen was born on 28 October 1928 in Tarragona, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. He was an actor and writer, known for 07 con el 2 delante (Agente: Jaime Bonet) (1966), Placido (1961) and De professió: A.P.I. (1988). He was married to Mary Carmen Crespo. He died on 4 August 1991 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Juanjo Menéndez was born on 15 May 1929 in Madrid, Spain. He was an actor and director, known for Ninette y un señor de Murcia (1984), Verde doncella (1968) and Historias de Juan Español (1972). He was married to Noelle. He died on 7 November 2003 in Madrid, Spain.

Juan Diego Botto was born on 29 August 1975 in Buenos Aires City, Distrito Federal, Argentina. He is an actor and director, known for La Celestina (1996), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) and On the Fringe (2022). He has been married to Olga Rodriguez since 2015. They have one child.

During the spanish civil war he goes with his family to Buenos Aires. There he studies in the Escuela de Arte Dramatico of Margarita Xirgu. He debuts in cinema in 1946 in Argentina and in 1955 he comes back to Spain and still working in cinema and theater. He is the owner of the Marquina theater in Madrid.

Imanol Arias began his career with a traveling theatre group in Spain performing in Euskadi (Basque Country). After minor roles on stage, he travels to Cuba to shoot Cecilia (1982) directed by Humberto Solás. In 1987 he won the Concha de Plata of the San Sebastian Film Festival for the biography of Eleuterio Sánchez, El Lute: Run for Your Life (1987) directed by Vicente Aranda.

Lluís Homar was born on 20 April 1957 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He is an actor and director, known for Broken Embraces (2009), Eva (2011) and Bad Education (2004).

Antonio Banderas, one of Spain's most famous faces, was a soccer player until breaking his foot at the age of fourteen; he is now an international movie star known for playing Zorro in the eponymous movie series.

He was born José Antonio Domínguez Banderas on August 10, 1960, in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. His father, Jose Dominguez, was a policeman in the Spanish civil guards. His mother, Doña Ana Banderas Gallego, was a school teacher. Young Banderas was brought up a Roman Catholic. He wanted to play soccer professionally and made much success playing for his school team until the age of 14, albeit his dream ended when he broke his foot. At that time, he developed a passion for theatre after seeing the stage production of "Hair". Banderas began his acting studies at the School of Dramatic Arts in Málaga, and made his acting debut at a small theatre in Málaga. He was arrested by the Spanish police for performance in a play by Bertolt Brecht, because of political censorship under the rule of General Francisco Franco. Banderas spent a whole night at the police station, he had three or four such arrests while he was working with a small theatre troupe that toured all over Spain and was giving performances in small town theatres and on the street.

In 1979, at age 19, he moved to Madrid in pursuit of an acting career. Being a struggling young actor, he also worked as a waiter and took small modeling jobs. At that time, he joined the troupe at the National Theatre of Spain, becoming the youngest member of the company. Banderas' stage performances caught the attention of movie director Pedro Almodóvar, who cast the young actor in his movie debut Labyrinth of Passion (1982). Banderas and Almodovar joined forces in making innovative and sexually provocative movies during the 1980s. In 1984, Banderas made headlines in Spain with his performance as a gay man, making his first male-to-male on-screen kiss in Almodovar's Law of Desire (1987). Banderas' long and fruitful collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar eventually prepared him for international recognition that came with his work in the Academy Award-nominated film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988). In 1991, he appeared as an object of Madonna's affection in Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991).

In 1992, Banderas made his Hollywood debut with The Mambo Kings (1992). Because he did not speak English at that time, his dialogue for the movie was taught to him phonetically. Banderas shot to international fame with his sensitive performance as a lover of Tom Hanks' AIDS-infected lawyer in Philadelphia (1993), then played opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire (1994). Banderas further established himself as one of Hollywood's leading men after co-starring in Evita (1996) opposite Madonna in the title role. In 1998, he won acclaim for his portrayal of Zorro, opposite Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones, in The Mask of Zorro (1998). For the role as Zorro, Banderas took training with the Olympic national fencing team in Spain, and practiced his moves with real steel swords, then he used the lighter aluminum swords in the movie. He also took a month-long course of horse-riding before the filming. He later returned to the role in The Legend of Zorro (2005). In 1999, Banderas made his directorial debut in Crazy in Alabama (1999), starring his wife, Melanie Griffith. He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros opposite Salma Hayek in Frida (2002). He voiced Puss in Boots in the Shrek franchise.

Banderas established himself as internationally known Latin heartthrob with charismatic looks, and was chosen as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People magazine in 1996. He won numerous awards and nominations for his works in film, including three ALMA awards and three Golden Globe nominations, among many other. From 1996 to 2014, Banderas was married to American actress Melanie Griffith and the couple have one daughter, Stella (born 1996). Outside of his acting profession, Banderas has been a passionate soccer fan and a staunch supporter of the Real Madrid Football Club. He shares time between his two residencies, one in the United States, and one in the South of Spain.