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othermuscles—comedymuscles.Being inBaliwithRyanMurphy [thefilm’sdirector]
andJuliaRobertswithaverywell-knownandgoodbook, on suchabeautiful island
—what’swrongwith that? It’s theperfect place tobe.”
Thebook is abighit, particularlyamong female readers fromallwalks of life, be-
cause it dealswith love, divorce, self-discovery, and—ultimately—happiness.
Whenaskedabout his perspective fromamalepoint of view, Bardemnotes, “It’s
about love, heartbreak, impulsiveneeds, rational needs, physical needs, flavors,
taste, loneliness, joy, andpain.Whoever doesn’t knowanyof this, raisehishand! It
doesn’t reallybelong tomale or female, it’s just human. That’swhy Iwas drawn to
thebookand thematerial.Wehave all been there inonewayor another. It’swhy the
movie and thebook ‘read’ to everyone.”
Toprepare forhis role, thededicatedactorspentaneveningwith the realFelipe. “He
isavery interestingman.He’sveryeasy to talk to—and,more important, to listen to—
becausehe talksabouthisexperiencesof life inaway that isvery funny tohearbutalso
veryprofoundandwise. Andafter that I thought: ‘I’mwrong for thispart!’”Bardem
humorouslydetails.Gilbert felt theactorcompletelynailed the role. “Javierhassuchan
openness, sensitivity, andwarmth toplay the roleofherhusband.Afterwatching the
movie, itmademe fall in lovewithmyhusbandall overagain!”shesays.
Thefilmmarkednot onlyBardem’sfirst time toworkwithRoberts, but apparently
itwas thefirst time these twoA-list actors crossedpaths. “I
didn’t have the chance tomeet heruntil I landed inBali. I
have to say Iwasverynervous tohave the chance towork
with somebody I respect thatmuch. She reallymade it very
easy,”Bardem says.HisadmirationofRobertsasanactress
isapparent. “Julia isverygenerousandverybrave,meaning
shegoesvery farwithherown skills. Shegoes farwithher
imagination. She takesa journeywitha sceneand she’snot
surewhere she’sgoing to land,which isbeautiful andvery
powerful of anactressof that level.Andeven though there
weredramaticmoments in the story,we still had fun, explor-
ingdifferent optionsof the same scene,”Bardemnotes.
Whennotworkingonafilm, precious downtimeusuallyfindshimwith family
and friends. “Agoodvacation forme isnot about theplace, it’s about being surround-
edby thepeoplewhomyou love andwho loveyou,” he explains. “Sittingdown
aroundabottle of good redwine—Spanish, of course, nothingagainst the rest of the
world, but if I have to choose— sittingdown listening to laughter and jokes. I vaca-
tionbydoing themost important thingof it all—making funof yourself. I heardEin-
steinonce said that themost intelligent peoplemake funof themselves. Now, I am
not in that league, but I am certainlybusy trying.”
Whilehison-screen rolesarecertainlydaring, there isone thingyouwon’tfind the
actordoingoffscreen—drivingacar. “InSpain, Iusuallywalkor takea taxi,”heex-
plains. “Thebiggestwitnessesofmynondrivingexperiencewere theCoenbrothers.
Whenweweredoing
NoCountry forOldMen
, Ihadascenewhere Ihad todriveacar. I
told them, ‘I can’t drive’…and theydidn’t believeme, and I did the scene andhit the
accelerator.
Vroom
,
vroom
, I racedpassed thecameraandcouldn’t stop!”
Withsome25-plusfilmsonhisrésumé,Bardemhopessomeday toworkwithactorAl
Pacino. “Itwouldbeadreamoneday toworkwithsomeonewhom Iconsider tobeamaster.
He taughtmea lotwithoutevenrealizing it. Iamhopingsomeproducer isflyingAmerican
Airlinesrightnowandcanfigureoutaway togetus towork together!”he jokes.
Here’shopingsomefilmmakerout there is reading…and listening.
➤
From top: Bardem accepting
his Oscar for Best Supporting
Actor for his role inNoCountry
for OldMen (seen second from
top); VickyCristinaBarcelona,
co-starringPenélopeCruz;
Biutiful, which won Bardem
a Best Actor award at the
Cannes Film Festival; Eat
Pray Lovewith JuliaRoberts
LEFT:©HENRY LEUTWYLER/AUGUST; FROM TOP:© ABC/COURTESYEVERETTCOLLECTION;©MIRAMAX/COURTESYEVERETTCOLLECTION;
©WEINSTEINCOMPANY/COURTESYEVERETTCOLLECTION;© FOCUS FEATURES/COURTESY EVERETTCOLLECTION;© FRANÇOISDUHAMEL
37
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