Rising Star: Javier Bardem
Word is spreading fast about the formidable talents of Spanish actor Javier Bardem. Bursting onto the Hollywood mainstream in 2000 with a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his passionate turn in “Before Night Falls,” Bardem struck an immediate chord with audiences around the globe as an actor we could trust. His honest and vivid characterizations have garnered the attention of some of the world's premier filmmakers and writers who want this versatile performer to inhabit the roles destined for the classics. Most recently it is his tour de force in the Coen Brothers instant classic “No Country For Old Men” that has firmly stamped his moniker on every critic's 2007 Ten Best list as this astonishing actor continues to re-invent himself from one unforgettable role to the next.
The youngest of a large family of actors, Javier has been performing since his childhood in Spain. Several TV series and stage appearances fueled his drive and sharpened his versatility. The hulking, statuesque Bardem even extended his talents out onto the playing field as a member of the Spanish National Rugby Team before pursuing a dream of becoming a painter led him to study art at Madrid's Escuela de Artes y Officios. But it wasn't until 1992 when his sexy turn in Spain's “Jamon Jamon” propelled him to fame. Bardem was instantly famous in his native land; an iconic yet reluctant sex symbol. However, he was determined to avert the imposing image and refused subsequent roles to allow himself as many chances to diversify as possible... and it wasn't long before he was winning acclaim for his uncanny ability to become virtually unrecognizable from film to film.
With director Julian Schnabel's beautiful interpretation of “Before Night Falls,” Bardem found his first international chance to explore the many facets of his talent. In this remarkable film biography Bardem became Reinaldo Arenas, the persecuted Cuban scribe whose homosexuality and anti-Castro writings led him along a woeful journey that ended with his suicide after a losing battle with AIDS. For the role, the actor learned to speak Cuban-Spanish and lost 30 pounds to more closely resemble Arenas. So powerful was this film and so convincing was Bardem's performance that he was rewarded with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 2000, becoming to first Spanish actor to ever receive a nod in the category. This was just one of five international Best Actor nominations he received for his work that year. Soon after he was critically lauded again for another biographical role in “The Sea Inside,” playing Ramon Sampedro, a paraplegic who waged a 30-year campaign in favor of his own suicide. Always a stickler for authenticity, Bardem showed up on the set every morning at 6am for a five-hour make-up session required to produce the necessary aging of his character. The role earned him Golden Globe and SAG nominations, as well as a place among Hollywood's most elite.
Now in the hands of the venerable Coen Brothers does Javier Bardem's star shine ever brighter. Before “No Country For Old Men” was even released to the masses, critics were heralding his characterization of serial killer Anton Chigurh as a front-runner for the Best Actor prize of 2007. “I embody violence... I am violence in this movie,” Bardem said of his character. It is a brutal depiction of a killing machine; a well crafted piece of nuance and delivery that will surely rank him right alongside the indelible Hannibal Lecter on the list of ferocious cinematic icons.
So it is no wonder than Bardem's next move is to completely shift gears, playing a spurned romantic in the highly anticipated screen adaptation of Marquez's novel, “Love in the Time of Cholera.” After that he will further transform, tackling infamous Columbian terrorist Pablo Escobar in “Killing Pablo,” then going to work for Woody Allen in 2009 in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” It is certainly a slate of conversant roles for an actor who we have come to expect nothing less. So adroit are Bardem's talents and so impeccable are his charades that we'll follow him into any multiplex, anywhere. It's anticipating what this gifted character actor will do next that keeps us guessing. Bravo.