In the last 15 or so years, Javier Bardem has proven himself to be one of modern cinema's finest and most respected actors. His ability to morph into his characters and the way he can get to the soul of each role he plays is truly something special.
Already a respected actor in Spain and Mexico, Bardem came to notice in the United States with his Oscar-nominated role in Julian Schnabel's Before Night Falls from 2000. This was the springboard for the actor to rise to fame and become one of today's most sought after international talents. Here is a ranking of Javier Bardem's most respected performances.
Mondays In The Sun - Directed By Fernando Leon de Aranoa (2002)
Javier Bardem plays a member of a small group of out-of-work friends who decide to waste away their days by drinking, eating, bonding, and sitting in the sun.
The actor was praised for his hangdog performance of a man who is secretly beaten down by losing his job but forces himself to live what he and his mates think of as "the good life," all the while internally questioning his place in society.
Collateral - Directed By Michael Mann (2004)
In Micahel Mann's hit crime thriller Collateral, Javier Bardem plays "Felix," a Columbian drug dealer who is in Los Angeles to settle business.
To his credit, the actor has only one scene but he almost steals the film and is considered a standout in an already praised film. With a quiet tone and menacing eyes, Bardem "lays down the law" on Jamie Foxx, who plays a man who is trying to survive the night. Critics were unanimous in their view of how Bardem's moment is one of the film's highlights of Michael Mann's film.
Loving Pablo - Directed By Fernando Leon De Aranoa (2017)
Reuniting with his Mondays in the Sun director, Bardem starred as Pablo Escobar, the real-life feared drug kingpin who terrorized Mexico.
While the film itself wasn't well-received, critics took note of Bardem's performance as being the most realistic portrayal yet of the infamous Escobar. The film didn't receive a wide release and quickly disappeared from cinemas, but Javier Bardem's performance is considered to be one of his best.
Everybody Knows - Directed By Asghar Farhadi (2018)
Bardem co-starred with his wife, Penelope Cruz, in this dramatic mystery set outside of Madrid in which a possible kidnapping unleashes family secrets that have dire consequences.
The actor used his skills of pent-up regret to play a man who seems to be bad luck to the woman he has loved most of his adult life. Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz were praised for their on-screen chemistry and were nominated for Best Actor/Actress at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Sea Inside - Directed By Alejandro Amenabar (2004)
Amenabar's 2004 Spanish film The Sea Inside won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Bardem didn't receive an Oscar nom but was recognized with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
His sad portrayal of Ramon Sampedro, a man who fought a 30-plus year right-to-die battle, was praised as one without cliche. Bardem got to the very heart of this dying man without resorting to "sainthood." The actor skillfully inhabited Sampedro's flaws as well as his triumphs.
Skyfall - Directed By Sam Mendes (2012)
In the history of James Bond villains, Javier Bardem's "Silva" has gone down as one of the greats, and the best of the post 80s Bond era.
In Skyfall, Bardem played his villain with macabre humor and a not-so-ambiguous sexuality that pleased both fans and critics and helped Daniel Craig's third 007 adventure to become one of the highest-grossing of all the Bond films.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Directed By Woody Allen (2008)
Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, and Scarlett Johansson starred in one of Woody Allen's finest late-career works. Two friends on holiday in Spain (Johansson and Rebecca Hall) become involved with a self-obsessed artist (Bardem) while his emotionally unstable ex-wife (Cruz) re-enters his life.
Critics were unanimous in their praise of Allen's Spanish-set screenplay, the acting, and the film itself. While it would be Penelope Cruz who would win an Oscar for her work, Javier Bardem's performance is considered one of his best, as the actor showed a new side to his style. While slyly unleashing his sexuality, he also played an unlikeable man who would use a woman emotionally and sexually until he lost interest.
Biutiful - Directed By Alejandro G. Inarritu (2010)
Bardem received his second Best Actor Nomination at the 2011 Academy Awards for his role as a man who can see his own death and is guided by his visions.
The role required the actor to dig deeper than he ever had before and Bardem was praised for not turning him into a mentally unstable character but, rather, a man who cannot afford to let life guide him so he chooses to respect destiny at the peril of his and his family's well-being.
No Country For Old Men - Directed By The Coen Brothers (2007)
The Coen Brothers did what they said couldn't be done - to successfully adapt Cormac Macarthy's novel No Country For Old Men for the big screen. Their film became one of their most respected works and went on to receive multiple Oscars, including Best Picture.
Javier Bardem won his first Oscar for Supporting Actor as "Anton Chigurh." a soul-dead murderer who does his killing with a bolt stunner and leaves his choice of whether to kill or not up to the fate of a flipped coin. With his chilling demeanor, white skin tone, and wacky hairdo, Bardem made Chigurh into one of the great screen villains in cinema history.
Before Night Falls - Directed By Julian Schnabel (2000)
Javier Bardem's first Oscar nomination came for his heartbreaking (and heartwarming) role as Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas. Arenas is a man who was imprisoned in his home country of Cuba for being outspoken about his distaste for both Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution and for being a homosexual.
Bardem found the right physical tones to portray Arenas and bring to life his poetry. His later-film portrayal, once Arenas contracted the AIDS virus, doesn't play on the audience's sympathies but shows a man who still lives through his beautiful words.