Javier Bardem is the youngest member of a family of actors that has been making films since the early days of Spanish cinema. He was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, to actress 'Pilar Bardem' that will long be remembered as his breakthrough role. He received five Best Actor awards and a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal.
Younger brother of Carlos Bardem and Mnica Bardem.
Son of Pilar Bardem. Nephew of Juan Antonio Bardem.
Grandson of Rafael Bardem.
His Best Actor nomination for Before Night Falls made him the first Spanish actor to receive an Academy Award nomination and his Best Supporting Actor victory for No Country for Old Men made him the first Spanish actor to win an Academy Award.
Says in interviews that he does not know how to drive.
Played rugby union as a teen and was on the Spanish National Team.
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.
Javiers original interest was in painting, and he studied at Madrids Escuela de Artes y Oficios. Eventually, deciding hed never be a talented painter, he drifted into a number of odd jobs, working as a bouncer, a writer, a construction worker, and even a stripper.
To portray Reinaldo Arenas, Javier not only learned Cuban-Spanish, but Cuban-accented English, and lost 30 pounds to better resemble the smaller-framed Arenas.
Javier, his mother, Pilar Bardem , and his siblings, Mnica Bardem and Carlos Bardem , often appear in each others films.
To become Ramn Sampedro, a 55-year-old Spanish man who made headlines with a crusade to end his own life, Javier, who was in his thirties at the time, was on the set of Mar adentro at the crack of dawn for a five-hour makeup session that produced the necessary aging.
Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005.
Actors Gael Garca Bernal and Diego Luna list him as their favorite actor.
Beat out Johnny Depp for the role of Florentino Ariza in Love in the Time of Cholera .
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#73).
Dedicated the Oscar he won for No Country for Old Men 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.".
The Bardem family owns a restaurant in Spain called "La Bardemcilla". The restaurant is managed by Javiers sister, Mnica Bardem.
Good friends with Josh Brolin and Tom Cruise.
Had a long relationship with Cristina Pays. They were together for ten years.
Is one of 11 actors to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance. The others in chronological order are Geoffrey Rush for Shine , Jamie Foxx for Ray , Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote , Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland , Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood and Lincoln , Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight , and Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds , Colin Firth for The Kings Speech , Christopher Plummer for Beginners , and J.K. Simmons for Whiplash .
Has been in a relationship with Penlope Cruz since they began working together on Vicky Cristina Barcelona .
Was originally cast as Guido Contini in Nine , which he turned down and Daniel Day-Lewis was eventually given the role.
Was originally cast in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps , but dropped out of the project and was replaced by Josh Brolin.
(January 2010) Vacationed with Penlope Cruz and his family (mother, Pilar Bardem and brother, Carlos Bardem ) in Fernando de Noronha, a cluster of islands located directly off the Brazilian coast.
Married long-term partner Penlope Cruz at a friends house in the Bahamas in a small ceremony with just family members present.
Met Penlope Cruz for the first time on the set of Jamn Jamn , but they would not become a couple until working together in Vicky Cristina Barcelona . They also worked together on Carne trmula , but did not share any on-screen time.
Brother-in-law of Mnica Cruz and Eduardo Cruz.
Became a father for the first time at age 41 when his wife Penlope Cruz gave birth to their son Leonardo Encinas Cruz on January 22, 2011.
Teamed up with the Enough Projects co-founder, John Prendergast , to raise awareness about conflict minerals in the Congo.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 8, 2012.
Is one of only three Academy-Award winning actors to play a primary James Bond villain. The others are Christopher Walken in A View to a Kill , and Christoph Waltz in Spectre .
The longest he has gone without an Oscar nomination is seven years, between Before Night Falls and No Country for Old Men .
Became a father for the second time at age 44 when his wife Penlope Cruz gave birth to their daughter Luna Encinas Cruz on July 22, 2013.
Is one of six performers with multiple Oscar nominations for foreign language films; the others are Marcello Mastroianni for Divorzio allitaliana , Una giornata particolare and Oci ciornie (Italian), Sophia Loren for La ciociara and Matrimonio allitaliana (Italian), Liv Ullmann for Utvandrarna and Ansikte mot ansikte (Swedish), Isabelle Adjani for Lhistoire dAdle H. and Camille Claudel (French), and Marion Cotillard for La mme and Deux jours, une nuit (French). Bardem was nominated for his performances in Before Night Falls and Biutiful (Spanish).
He has worked with seven directors who have won a Best Director Oscar: Milos Forman , Joel Coen and Ethan Coen , Woody Allen , Alejandro G. Irritu and Sam Mendes.
We are so scared about talking about death that we are letting people,die in silence. It is good to talk publicly.
[on No Country for Old Men (2007) ] I think the movie speaks of a,lack of meaning in violence. I embody violence, I am violence itself in,the movie, and there is a man. . . who is trying to understand the,meaning of it and at the end there is no meaning.
We actors always say how difficult and physically demanding a role was.
[on being a temporary stripper] I danced one night in a place, there was,a club. And they asked for a guy to kind of make a striptease and I did,it. . . It was for ten minutes. I needed money. My mother was there in,the audience. She was so proud.
I was raised not to be afraid to show emotion or imagination.
