World not an island but continent, want my children to be empathetic: Javier Bardem

Time of India

26-06-2025

What should your legacy be? Unlike many other stars,
Javier Bardem
says he doesn't really care about how people will remember him as an actor and would like instead to inspire his children to be empathetic.
After all, "the world is not an island but a continent", the Oscar winning star of films such as "No Country for Old Men" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" told PTI in an interview.
"I do what I can and some people will enjoy it and some won't. But I care about my kids... If I can give them something, (it would be) the inspiration to not forget about who they are and where they come from and feel empathy for others," the 56-year-old said.
Bardem, amongst the most sought after actors in Hollywood, is married to fellow star
Penelope Cruz
. They have two children, son Leo and daughter Luna.
"No matter where they are, what moment or place in their life, they should try to understand and not forget other people... ," he said in the phone interview from New York.
Now getting ready for his latest release, "F1" with
Brad Pitt
, Bardem said he has travelled to India just once. He was in New Delhi for all of 24 hours.
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"I couldn't really get much of the culture, of the land, of the people. But of course, I'm interested in such a huge, important part of the world that has so much effect on a lot of things, among them spirituality," he said.
T
he actor, known for being politically outspoken and for his activism, said he was troubled by the gap between what he describes as "some of the richest men in the world and some of the poorest citizens".
"It is always something that strikes me very hard. But I'm talking about things that I haven't witnessed myself with my own eyes, but, of course, I would love to one day do so," Bardem, who has been in the movies for 35 years, said.
The Spanish actor has successfully crisscrossed between big tent-pole movies and more independent projects, be it Spanish films such as "Jamon jamon" and "Biutiful" or big budget "Skyfall", "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" and "Dune".
Bardem may not care much about leaving behind a legacy as an actor but said whatever he has done in his career so far has been motivated by passion for the craft.
"You do what you have to do. We all get a job, we have to get paid and feed our families. But if you are lucky enough and what you do happens to be your passion, then you are a very blessed person. That's the case with me. And within that, some projects wake up more passion than others because of how you relate to the material.
"But everything that I've done so far, for more than 35 years, I wanted to do and that's a luxury knowing that 90 per cent of the people out there or even more are in jobs that they despise," he added.
In "F1", Joseph Kosinski's high-stakes action drama set in the world of Formula One, Bardem plays Ruben Cervantes, the owner of a Formula One team who ropes in his former friend, Pitt's Sonny Hayes, to revive the fortunes of his team.
Bardem said he has deep admiration for Pitt. Both are similar in age and he remembers watching Pitt, 61, evolve as an actor from a young age.
"I've always been mesmerised by the quality of him as an actor as he was growing up and being more mature and how deep and detailed his work started to become. I was very fascinated to be able to work in front of him and to play with him. He (Pitt) is one of the greatest actors and on top of that, he is a beautiful human being.
Very nice, caring, generous, super sweet and fun. So it was a pleasure. It was a beautiful joy."
Discussing his newest film, Bardem said it is always great to be part of a production with talented people in front and behind the camera.
"I saw it on a big IMAX screen here in New York. It's like a present for you as an actor to be part of what you're watching on that screen. It's so beautifully and well done by everybody involved. And the scale of it is huge.
I feel nothing but gratitude towards it," he said.
His character in "F1" is trying to make a comeback. Is he someone who believes in second chances?
"Of course," was his prompt response.
"We all deserve second and third and fourth and fifth and sixth chances as long as we can demonstrate that we are worthy of it, and we have a goodwill of improving and trying to make it better and care for others. We are humans and we all are f****d up very highly.
We are highly racist," he said.
Bardem won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2008 for "No Country for Old Men". He also received Oscar nominations for his performances in "Before Night Falls" (2000), "Biutiful" (2010) and "Being the Ricardos" (2021).
Also starring Damson Idris, Kerry Condon and Tobias Menzies, "F1" will race into cinemas on Friday in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. PTI