Trivia

Dedicated the Oscar he won for Sin lugar para los débiles (2007) to his mother, Pilar, whom he brought with him to the ceremony. At the end of his acceptance speech, Javier said to her (originally in Spanish), "Mom, this is for you, this is for your grandparents, for your parents, Rafael and Matilde, this is for the actors of Spain, who have brought, like you, the dignity and the pride to our job. This is for Spain and this is for all of you.".

Married long-term partner Penélope Cruz at a friend's house in the Bahamas in a small ceremony with just family members present.

Has been in a relationship with Penélope Cruz since they began working together on Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008).

Several years ago, a stranger in a disco asked him his name. When Javier replied, the man punched him in the face for no apparent reason, breaking his nose.

Says in interviews that he does not know how to drive.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 8, 2012.

Good friends with Josh Brolin and Tom Cruise.

Javier's original interest was in painting, and he studied at Madrid's Escuela de Artes y Oficios. Eventually, deciding he'd never be a talented painter, he drifted into a number of odd jobs, working as a bouncer, a writer, a construction worker, and even a stripper.

To portray Reynaldo Arenas, Javier not only learned Cuban-Spanish, but Cuban-accented English, and lost 30 pounds to better resemble the smaller-framed Arenas.

Played rugby union as a teen and was on the Spanish National Team.

Became a father for the first time at age 41 when his wife Penélope Cruz gave birth to their son Leonardo Encinas Cruz on January 22, 2011.

Became a father for the second time at age 44 when his wife Penélope Cruz gave birth to their daughter Luna Encinas Cruz on July 22, 2013.

Is one of 14 actors to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance. The others in chronological order are Geoffrey Rush for Claroscuro (1996), Jamie Foxx for Ray (2004), Philip Seymour Hoffman for Truman Capote (2005), Forest Whitaker for El último rey de Escocia (2006), Daniel Day-Lewis for Petróleo sangriento (2007) and Lincoln (2012), Heath Ledger for Batman: El caballero de la noche (2008), and Christoph Waltz for Bastardos sin gloria (2009), Colin Firth for El Discurso del Rey (2010), Christopher Plummer for Beginners, así se siente el amor (2010), J.K. Simmons for Whiplash. Música y obsesión (2014), Leonardo DiCaprio for Revenant. El renacido (2015), Sam Rockwell for Tres anuncios por un crimen (2017), and Gary Oldman for Las horas más oscuras (2017).

The Bardem family owns a restaurant in Madrid, Spain called "La Bardemcilla". The restaurant is managed by Javier's sister, Mónica Bardem.

His Best Actor nomination for Antes que anochezca (2000) made him the first Spanish actor to receive an Academy Award nomination and his Best Supporting Actor victory for Sin lugar para los débiles (2007) made him the first Spanish actor to win an Academy Award.

Javier, his mother, Pilar Bardem, and his siblings, Mónica Bardem and Carlos Bardem, often appear in each other's films.

Met Penélope Cruz for the first time on the set of Jamón Jamón (1992), but they would not become a couple until working together in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). They also worked together on Carne trémula (1997), but did not share any on-screen time.

Actors Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna list him as their favorite actor.

Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005.

Beat out Johnny Depp for the role of Florentino Ariza in El amor en los tiempos del cólera (2007).

Is one of only four Academy-Award winning actors to play a primary James Bond villain. The others are Christopher Walken in 007: En la mira de los asesinos (1985), Christoph Waltz in 007: Spectre (2015), and Rami Malek in No Time to Die (2021).

Had a long relationship with Cristina Payés. They were together for ten years.

He has worked with seven directors who have won a Best Director Oscar: Milos Forman, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Woody Allen, Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Sam Mendes.

Was originally cast in Wall Street: El dinero nunca duerme (2010), but dropped out of the project and was replaced by Josh Brolin.

Bears such a strong resemblance to fellow actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, they are sometimes confused for one another.

To become Ramón Sampedro, a 55-year-old Spanish man who made headlines with a crusade to end his own life, Javier, who was in his thirties at the time, was on the set of Mar adentro (2004) at the crack of dawn for a five-hour makeup session that produced the necessary aging.

Teamed up with the Enough Project's co-founder, John Prendergast, to raise awareness about conflict minerals in the Congo (2011).

He has said that he doesn't watch his own films.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#73) (2007).

His Oscar nomination for Being the Ricardos (2021) coincided with wife Penélope Cruz's nomination for Madres paralelas (2021), a first for the couple. Neither took home the statuette.

Was originally cast as Guido Contini in Nine (2009), which he turned down and Daniel Day-Lewis was eventually given the role.

The longest he has gone without an Oscar nomination is seven years, between Antes que anochezca (2000) and Sin lugar para los débiles (2007).

He has appeared in three films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Sin lugar para los débiles (2007), Duna (2021) and Duna: Parte Dos (2024). No Country for Old Men won in the category.

Is one of six performers with multiple Oscar nominations for foreign language films; the others are Marcello Mastroianni for Divorcio a la italiana (1961), Un día especial (1977) and Ojos negros (1987) (Italian), Sophia Loren for Dos mujeres (1960) and Matrimonio a la italiana (1964) (Italian), Liv Ullmann for Los emigrantes (1971) and Cara a cara (1976) (Swedish), Isabelle Adjani for El diario íntimo de Adèle H. (1975) and Camille Claudel (1988) (French), and Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose (2007) and Dos Dias, Una Noche (2014) (French). Bardem was nominated for his performances in Antes que anochezca (2000) and Biutiful (2010) (Spanish).

Son of Pilar Bardem. Nephew of Juan Antonio Bardem.

Brother-in-law of Mónica Cruz and Eduardo Cruz.

Younger brother of Carlos Bardem and Mónica Bardem.

He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Sin lugar para los débiles (2007).

Grandson of Rafael Bardem and Matilde Muñoz Sampedro. Grand nephew of Guadalupe Muñoz Sampedro and Mercedes Muñoz Sampedro. Second nephew of Luchy Soto and Carmen Lozano. Cousin of Miguel Bardem. Political grand nephew of Manuel Soto. Political second nephew of Luis Peña.

Vacationed with Penélope Cruz and his family (mother, Pilar Bardem and brother, Carlos Bardem) in Fernando de Noronha, a cluster of islands located directly off the Brazilian coast. (enero de 2010)

Born at 9:30 PM (GMT).