Javier Bardem is Hollywood’s go-to bad guy. Do you have a movie that’s pretty good but it needs a bit of extra “oomph” to get it some real attention? Call Javier Bardem . The Spanish actor never disappoints, and his often-visceral turns as a film’s villain are always memorable.
Bardem sat down with the Guardian recently to talk about his villain appeal, and a bit about his philosophy as an actor. “You want to do your job well so that people in the future say, ‘OK, he’s not bad, let’s hire him,’ ” Bardem says. After having received international recognition and a handful of awards for his portrayal of Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men , Bardem has successfully landed a number of high-profile opportunities, the latest of which sees him as the primary antagonist in the latest James Bond adventure Skyfall .
With public perception regarding Bardem as the ultimate bad guy, he was asked if he considers himself as sinister as we do. “Every time I wake up,” Bardem jokes. “I look at myself in the mirror to brush my teeth and it’s very sinister. Ugh, look at that nose; look at those eyes. Ugh, my tone of voice.”
Married to Penelope Cruz, the 43-year-old lives in Madrid and makes it a point to stay out of Hollywood as much as possible: So much so that he simply refers to trips to LA as “going to the office.”
On his participation in Skyfall , despite a melodramatic physical appearance (of which Bardem is accustomed to, as evidenced by his variety of oddball roles), Bardem seemed to relish the chance to participate in such a long-running and well-known film franchise. “When she [Dame Judi Dench] opens her mouth and looks you in the eyes, you’re like, ‘Wow! This is a big deal.’ You feel a force of nature against your chest,” Bardem recalls.
He specifically pointed to an incident when he shared a scene with both Daniel Craig and Dench, in which a sudden realization necessitated a humble break in shooting. “I looked at them both and forgot the lines,” Bardem said. “There was a silence and Sam said, ‘Cut, what’s wrong?’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry, man, I just realised I’m in a James Bond movie and M and James Bond are looking at me.’ ”
Javier Bardem plays the villain Raoul Silva in Skyfall which opens October 26, 2012 in the UK.
