VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

About the cast

JAVIER BARDEM as Juan Antonio

Javier Bardem is the first Spaniard to have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, an honor he received for his portrayal of the Cuban poet and dissident Reinaldo Arenas in Julian Schnabel’s BEFORE NIGHT FALLS.  He was also named Best actor at the Venice Film festival for this role, which also won him Best Actor honors from the National Society of Film Critics, the Independent Spirit Award and the National Board of Review, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.  Javier has received a total of seven nominations and four wins for the Goya Award, which is the Spanish equivalent of an Oscar.

Most recently, Javier starred in the critically acclaimed film NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.  For his role as the chilling Anton Chigurh, Bardem won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and NY Film Critics Award.  The film won an Oscar for Best Picture, as did the Coen brothers for Best Director.  The cast, which also includes Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson won a Screen Actors Guild for Best Ensemble as well as a National Board of Review Award.

In 2004 he went on to win another Best Actor Award from the Venice Film Festival (only one other actor has won the Best Actor Award twice in Venice) for his performance in Alejandro Amenabar’s film THE SEA INSIDE.  For this role, he also won a Goya Award and received a Golden Globe nomination.  Bardem’s other film credits include Luna’s GOLDEN BALLS, THE TIT AND THE MOON, BETWEEN YOUR LEGS, DIAS CONTADOS (Best Actor, San Sebastian), MOUTH TO MOUTH, ECSTACY, Almodovar’s LIVE FLESH, DANCE WITH THE DEVIL, WASHINGTON WOLVES and SECOND SKIN.

Javier Bardem was born March 1, 1969 in Las Palmas Gran Canarias (Canary Islands, Spain). His mother is Pilar Bardem, a respected actress who has worked continuously from the mid-60s to the present day, and his uncle was Juan Antonio Bardem, one of Spain’s most celebrated directors, jailed by the Franco regime when his DEATH OF A CYCLIST won the critics prize in Cannes. Many other members of the Bardem family are also well-known actors, including his grandfather Rafael Bardem and grandmother Matilde Muñoz Sampedro.

Javier was four when his mother secured him a minor role in the Spanish mini-series EL PICASSO. As a youth, Bardem studied painting in the Escuela de Arte Y Officios Art School while playing small roles on TV. It was in the early 1990s when the Spanish director Bigas Luna offered him a role in THE AGES OF LULU that his acting career got seriously underway.

After a small role in Pedro Almodovar’s HIGH HEELS, Bardem made his name in 1992 with a lead role in the film JAMON, JAMON.  Bardem was nominated for the Best Actor Award at the San Sebastian film festival and won several other awards for his performance.

Recent works include in John Malkovich’s directorial debut THE DANCER UPSTAIRS, Fernando Leon de Aranoa’s MONDAYS IN THE SUN, which was named best film at the San Sebastian film festival, Michael Mann’s COLLATERAL; GOYA’S GHOSTS opposite Natalie Portman and in LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA.

In 2008, Javier was honored with the Montecito Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

PATRICIA CLARKSON as Judy Nash

Academy Award nominated and Emmy winning actress, Patricia Clarkson has taken on roles as varied as the platform in which she plays them. Her comfort in taking on roles from motion pictures, television and the theatre has earned her great accolades and success, and has become one of today's most respected actresses in the entertainment industry.

Clarkson recently starred in Ira Sachs' MARRIED LIFE starring Clarkson, Chris Cooper and Pierce Brosnan. MARRIED LIFE is a romantic drama set in the 1940s about and adulterous man (Cooper) who plots his wife's (Clarkson) death instead of putting her through the humiliation of a divorce.

Prior to that, Clarkson was last seen in LARS AND THE REAL GIRL opposite Ryan Gosling and Emily Mortimer. LARS is the story of a timid man (Gosling) whose life changes dramatically when an Internet friend comes to visit. The beautiful, religious missionary is in fact an inanimate replica of a woman. Clarkson plays the doctor who is trying to help him.

This past January, Clarkson attended the Sundance Film Festival on behalf of Stanley Tucci's BLIND DATE and Daniel Banz's directorial debut PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND.

BLIND DATE centers around a couple (Tucci and Clarkson) who has suffers a tragedy and tries to rebuild their relationship by pretending to be other people by meeting on blind dates.

In PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND she stars opposite Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman and Elle Fanning. Clarkson plays the role of an unconventional drama teacher who tries to guide a rebellious little girl (Fanning).

Next, Clarkson will be seen in ELEGY opposite Sir Ben Kingsley and Dennis Hopper premiering at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival. Directed by Isabel Coixet, the film is based on the novel by Philip Roth about a cultural critic, played by Kingsley, who's life is thrown into disarray after an encounter with a student.

Additional credits include: ALL THE KING’S MEN, GOODNIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, THE DYING GAUL and THE WOODS, FAR FROM HEAVEN, PIECES OF APRIL, THE STATION AGENT, MIRACLE, HIGH ART, DOGVILLE, WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD, THE PLEDGE, THE GREEN MILE, EVERYBODY’S ALL-AMERICAN, THE DEAD POOL, ROCKET GIBRALTAR, TUNE IN TOMORROW, JOE GOULD’S SECRET, WENDIGO and Brian De Palma's THE UNTOUCHABLES, her film debut.

In 2003, Clarkson's work in two independent films earned her unparalleled recognition. She was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG Award, Broadcast Film Critics Award and an independent Spirit Award for her role in PIECES OF APRIL. In addition, the Sundance Film Festival awarded her the Jury Prize for Outstanding Performance in PIECES OF APRIL, THE STATION AGENT and ALL THE REAL GIRLS.  Her performance in THE STATION AGENT earned her a SAG Award nomination for Best Actress and Best Ensemble Cast. The National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics named her Best Supporting Actress of the Year for her work in PIECES OF APRIL and THE STATION AGENT.

She also won best-supporting-actress awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and National Society of Film Critics for her performance in Todd Haynes' FAR FROM HEAVEN. That role also earned her a nomination from the Chicago Film Critics Her performance as Greta in Lisa Cholodenko's HIGH ART earned her a nomination for an IFP Independent Spirit Award.

On television, Clarkson won an Emmy in 2002 and 2006 for her guest-starring role on HBO's acclaimed drama, SIX FEET UNDER.

Clarkson made her professional acting debut on the New York stage. Her theatre credits include “Eastern Standard” (on and off-Broadway), “Maidens Prayer” (for which she received Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award Nominations), “Raised in Captivity,” “Oliver Oliver,” “The House of Blue Leaves” and “Three Days of Rain.” Her regional credits include performances at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, South Coast Repertory, and Yale Repertory.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Clarkson began acting in school plays in her early teens. After studying speech at Louisiana State University for two years, she transferred to Fordham University in New York, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in theatre arts. She earned her MFA at the prestigious Yale School of Drama, where she appeared in “Electra,” “Pacific Overtures,” “Pericles,” “La Ronde,” “The Lower Depths” and “The Misanthrope.”

She currently lives in New York.

PENÉLOPE CRUZ as Maria Elena

Academy Award nominee Penélope Cruz has proven herself to be one of the most versatile, young actresses by playing a variety of compelling characters, and most recently becoming the first actress from Spain to be nominated for an Academy Award.

First introduced to American audiences in the Spanish films JAMON, JAMON and BELLE EPOQUE, in 1998 she starred in her first English language film, HI-LO COUNTRY for director Stephen Frears opposite Woody Harrelson, Patricia Arquette and Billy Crudup.  In 1999, Cruz won the Best Actress award at the 13th Annual Goya Awards given by the Spanish Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for her role in Fernando Trueba’s THE GIRL OF YOUR DREAMS

Confirming her status as Spain’s hottest international actress, Cruz landed the coveted role opposite Matt Damon in the film adaptation of ALL THE PRETTY HORSES, directed by Billy Bob Thornton.  Next, she portrayed Isabella, in WOMAN ON TOP for Fox Searchlight.  The film was a whimsical tale of a gifted gourmand who journeys across the world in search of success, but ultimately finds herself.

Other featured credits include her starring role in the thriller OPEN YOUR EYES, TWICE UPON A YESTERDAY, Pedro Almovodar’s LIVE FLESH and TALK OF ANGELS.   Additionally, Cruz co-starred in Pedro Almovodar’s critically acclaimed ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER which was awarded the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

Up next for Penélope was BLOW for director Ted Demme. The film portrayed the true story of how cocaine became the designer drug in the U.S. in the early 70’s seen through the eyes of an American, played by Johnny Depp, who became one of the biggest traffickers for reputed drug kingpin Carlos Escobar. Cruz portrayed Depp’s wife.  She next starred opposite Nicolas Cage and Christian Bale in CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN.  The film, directed by John Madden, was shot in Greece and is based on Louis de Bernieres’ bestselling novel set during WWII.

Penélope starred opposite Tom Cruise in the erotic thriller VANILLA SKY.  The film also starred Cameron Diaz and Jason Lee and was directed by Cameron Crowe.  She then tackled MASKED & ANONYMOUS, FAN FAN LA TUIPE, which opened the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, and DON’T TEMPT ME.  She received rave reviews for her eagerly awaited performance in DON’T MOVE (“Non ti Muovere”) in which she was honored with a David Di Donatello Award (Italian Oscar) and European Film Award for Best Actress.

Penélope’s next films only added to her already brilliant and diverse choice of film credits.  Recent films include GOTHIKA, in which she co-stared with Halle Berry and Robert Downy Jr; director John Duigan’s romantic drama HEAD IN THE CLOUDS opposite Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend; NOEL opposite Susan Sarandon; and CHROMOPHOBIA with Ralph Fiennes.  Penélope also co-stared with Matthew McConaughey and William H. Macy as Dr. Eva Rojas in the action packed film SAHARA.

In 2006, Penélope starred in VOLVER, which again teamed her with director and friend Pedro Almodovar.  Critically acclaimed for her role as Raimunda, she won the “Best Actress” awards at the European Film Awards, the Spanish Goya Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, and received both Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.  Penélope’s next film, THE GOOD NIGHT, written and directed by Jake Paltrow, opened in select theaters this past fall.  Cruz next appears in ELEGY opposite Sir Ben Kingsley.  

KEVIN DUNN as Mark Nash

Kevin is a very busy actor in both television and film.  He most recently starred in the highly successful 2007 summer blockbuster, TRANSFORMERS.  Kevin plays Shia Labeouf's quirky, house-tinkering, do it yourself dad, Ron Witwicky (opposite Julie White).  He will reprise his role in the sequel, which starts shooting this summer (2008).

Kevin is currently starring on the wildly lauded ABC sitcom, SAMANTHA WHO? where he plays Christina Applegate’s father.  The show has received incredibly high ratings and has really pushed Kevin’s presence into the spotlight.  The show is coming into its second season strong, as it has amassed quite an audience.  People have really fallen in love with Kevin’s character on the show.

Kevin had a very memorable cameo appearance as a news station director opposite Meryl Streep in LIONS FOR LAMBS.  Kevin also starred in THE GRIDIRON GANG directed by Phil Joanou and produced by Neil Moritz.  He played alongside The Rock as the director for a recreation center.

Kevin’s previous work includes such classics as DAVE, where he co-starred with Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline.  Kevin also starred in such films as NIXON, CHAPLIN, and BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES.

REBECCA HALL as Vicky

Rebecca Hall is one of the world’s most intriguing young talents.

Hall will soon be seen as Caroline Cushing in Ron Howard’s FROST/NIXON, based on Peter Morgan’s screenplay about the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.  She is currently working on Nicole Holofcener’s untitled new dramatic comedy, starring alongside Catherine Keener and Amanda Peet.

Last year, Hall starred opposite Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Hugh Jackman in Christopher Nolan's THE PRESTIGE, a tale of two turn-of-the-century London magicians whose rivalry jeopardizes the lives of everyone around them.  In Tom Vaughn’s STARTER FOR TEN, a coming-of-age comedy about university students struggling to find themselves while learning the differences between knowledge and wisdom, Hall starred opposite James McAvoy.

Hall received wide acclaim for her performance as Rosalind, Shakespeare's love conflicted heroine in Peter Hall's production of “As You Like It,” which began at The Theatre Royal Bath in 2003 and was followed by an international tour. It was revived in 2005 at the Rose Theatre in Kingston and subsequently ran at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theater and the Curran Theater in San Francisco. In summer 2004, she starred in three productions at the Theatre Royal, Bath: as the title role in Timberlake Wertenbaker's “Galileo's Daughter,” (d: Peter Hall), Elvira in Simon Nye's version of the Moliere comedy “Don Juan” (d: Thea Sharrock) and as Ann Whitfield in Shaw's epic “Man and Superman” (d: Peter Hall). In summer 2003, she starred as Barbara in D.H. Lawrence’s “Fight for Barbara” (d: Thea Sharrock) at the Theatre Royal, Bath.  For her West End debut as Vivie, the tough minded daughter in “Mrs. Warren's Profession” (Strand Theatre, premiered October 2002), Hall garnered the Ian Charleson Award. In 2003, she was again nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for “As You Like It.”

Hall's television credits include Brendan Maher's WIDE SARGASSO SEA (BBC 4), EINSTEIN AND EDDINGTON (HBO/BBC Films) with David Tennant and Andy Serkis, JOE’S PLACE (HBO/BBC Films) with Michael Gambon, Peter Hall's acclaimed adaptation of Mary Wesley's novel THE CAMOMILE LAWN for Channel 4 and DON’T LEAVE ME THIS WAY, directed by Stuart Orme.

SCARLETT JOHNASSON as Cristina

With more than a decade of work under her belt, four-time Golden Globe nominee and BAFTA winner, Scarlett Johansson has proven to be one of Hollywood’s most talented young actresses. Johansson received rave reviews and a Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival for her starring role opposite Bill Murray in LOST IN TRANSLATION, the critically-acclaimed second film by director Sofia Coppola.

In May 2008 she will debut her album, “Anywhere I Lay My Head,” a collection of Tom Waits covers featuring one original song.  She recently wrapped production on her directorial debut, a short film called, NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU.  She also wrapped production on two films; HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU and THE SPIRIT. HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU is slated for an October 2008 release, and THE SPIRIT is scheduled to be released in January 2009.  She was last seen playing Mary Boleyn opposite Natalie Portman in THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL.

At the age of 12, Johansson attained worldwide recognition for her performance as Grace Maclean, the teen traumatized by a riding accident in Robert Redford’s THE HORSE WHISPERER. She went on to star in Terry Zwigoff’s GHOST WORLD, garnering a Best Supporting Actress Award from the Toronto Film Critics Circle.  Johansson was also featured in the Coen Brothers’ dark drama THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE, opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Frances McDormand. 

Her other film credits include the critically acclaimed Weitz brothers’ film IN GOOD COMPANY, as well as opposite John Travolta in A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG, which garnered her a Golden Globe nomination (her third in two years.) and Woody Allen's MATCH POINT, which garnered her 4th consecutive Golden Globe nominee in three years.  Other film credits include GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING opposite Colin Firth, THE ISLAND opposite Ewan McGregor, Brian DePalma’s THE BLACK DAHLIA, Christopher Nolan’s THE PRESTIGE and THE NANNY DIARIES.

Her additional credits include Rob Reiner’s comedy NORTH; the thriller JUST CAUSE, with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne; and a breakthrough role at the age of 10 in the critically-praised MANNY & LO, which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead.

A New York native, Johansson made her professional acting debut at the age of eight in the off-Broadway production of “Sophistry,” with Ethan Hawke, at New York’s Playwright’s Horizons.

Johansson currently divides her time between New York and Los Angeles.