Los Angeles - Javier Bardem won the Oscaar for best supporting actor Sunday for his role as a ruthless and disturbed killer in No Country For Old Men. Born to a family of actors in 1969 in Spain's Canary Islands, Javier Angel Encinas Bardem made his feature film debut at age 6 when he appeared in his first feature, El Picaro (The Scoundrel).
During his teenage years, he acted in several TV series and played rugby for the Spanish national team. But it was his role as a sexy stud in the 1992 black comedy Jamon, jamon that propelled him to popularity.
He made his English-language debut as the persecuted Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls in 2000, winning a best actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a strong-willed homosexual who survived censorship, imprisonment and intolerance for the privilege to write freely, only to commit suicide at age 47 in New York, ending a battle with AIDS.
Bardem has four Goya Awards, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscar.
His other notable roles include Collateral and The Sea Inside. He lives in Madrid with his long-time girlfriend, Cristina, who is a Spanish-English translator.
"I'm in love with my English teacher," he once said. "We have many of our lessons in bed."
