Captivating Close Up: Javier Bardem

Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (born March 1, 1969) is a Spanish actor who has starred in over two dozen films in Spain. He had garnered critical acclaim as an actor.

Bardem was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, the son of Carlos Encinas and the actress Pilar Bardem. Bardem comes from a long line of filmmakers and actors who have been working since the earliest days of Spanish cinema; he is the grandson of actors Rafael Bardem and Matilde Muñoz Sampedro, and the nephew of screenwriter and director Juan Antonio Bardem. Both his older brother and his older sister, Carlos and Mónica Bardem, are actors. His film debut was at the age of six and a half in the film El Pícaro (The Scoundrel) and he appeared in several television series before turning to painting and, eventually, sports.

Bardem has been nominated for best actor for his role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona for the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards. Bardem has previously been awarded a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA, four Goyas, two European Film Awards and two Coppa Volpis for his work. He is the first Spanish actor to be nominated (for Before Night Falls) and to win an Oscar (the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the 2007 film No Country for Old Men).

Source: Wikipedia