Javier Bardem

The Spanish native started his career working on various Spanish films, including Jamón jamón, Boca a boca, Carne trémula, Los lunes al sol and Mar adentro.

It wasn’t until 2000 that Bardem gained international recognition for his role as Cuban poet, Reinaldo Arenas, in Before Night Falls where he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for No Country for Old Men —the first Spaniard to ever win an Oscar in that category.

Bardem starred alongside Liev Schreiber, John Leguizamo, and Benjamin Bratt in the film adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera, beating out Johnny Depp for the role of Florentino Ariza. In 2008 he co-starred with Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz in the Woody Allen drama, Vicky Cristina Barelcona. His additional film credits include the Dune movies, The Little Mermaid, Mother!, Eat Pray Love and Skyfall, among others.

After reuniting on the set of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Bardem began dating his co-star Cruz. The pair later married in 2010 and share two kids: Leo and Luna.

In 2024, he starred in the widely popular Netflix series Monsters as Jose Menendez, Erik and Lyle Menendez’s dad. The show is based on the real-life 1989 murder case, following the death of Erik and Lyle’s parents, the trials that ensued and the brothers’ allegations of physical and sexual abuse by their father.