Javier Bardem Biography

March 1, 1969

Las Palmas Gran Canarias (Canary Islands, Spain)

Playing Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls.

Javier Bardem was the first Spaniard to have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Javier's mother is actress Pilar Bardem, his uncle is Spanish director Juan Antonio Bardem, and his grandparents are both actors.

Bardem began dating actress Penelope Cruz in 2007 and somehow managed to keep their private lives as private as possible as the romance progressed. The attractive twosome took the plunge in July 2010, exchanging marriage vows at a private ceremony at a friend's home in the Bahamas.

Javier Bardem's first professional acting gig came at the age of 4 in the Spanish miniseries El Picasso. Growing up in a family of actors, it was only natural Bardem decided to remain in front of the cameras after that early start.

Bardem attended Escuela de Arte Y Officios Art School where he studied painting while continuing to act as opportunities presented themselves. In 1990 director Bigas Luna cast him in The Ages of Lulu and from there his career took off. His first major leading role was in Jamon Jamon with Penelope Cruz. Other credits include The Dancer Upstairs, Mondays in the Sun, Collateral, The Sea Inside, Goya's Ghost, No Country for Old Men, Love in the Time of Cholera, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Eat Pray Love.

Bardem's performances have earned seven nominations and four wins for the Goya Award (the Spanish equivalent of an Oscar). He's also picked up two Oscar nominations for his performances in Before Night Falls and No Country for Old Men.