On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, in our Cover Story segment, Variety’s Daniel D’Addario details his sit-down in Madrid with Javier Bardem, the incredibly busy Spaniard who brings the family drama “The Beloved” to the Cannes Film Festival this year. Bardem opens up to D’Addario about the arc of his career, his advocacy for Palestinians and the depth of his love for his wife, Oscar-winner Penélope Cruz, and the family life they share far outside Hollywood.
D’Addario, who is Variety‘s chief correspondent, recently traveled to Madrid to interview the veteran thespian who is as in-demand as he’s ever been with a Spanish pic at Cannes this year and Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Three” and Apple TV’s “Cape Fear” coming up later this year. Bardem is in the prime of his life and career and he appears to be relishing the moment, D’Addario says.
“The word that comes to mind is contentment. I think he simultaneously works very hard at his career and is constantly in demand, both in Spanish productions and in American studio fare. But also, he lives a very real life,” D’Addario says. “He lives in Madrid, outside the Hollywood bubble with his wife, who is also a famous actress, Penélope Cruz. But as he told me, for instance, they never work simultaneously unless they’re working together, so they have a real toehold in their life as a family with a teenager and a pre-teen.”
Bardem went deep with D’Addario on thorny issues including his decision to speak out against the war in Gaza and his concerns about AI’s impact on his children, not to mention the future of his profession.
“He really has a lot of perspective on what’s important to him in his art and what’s important to him in his life. And those are not necessarily always the same thing,” D’Addario says. “I think he sees the circus for what it is, and that’s also what enables him to speak out and be such an effective voice or advocate for the causes in which he believes. Because to him, the career is not the be all and end all.”
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