Celebrity Biographies
Juan Jose Ballesta
A young face of Spanish cinema, he has grown up in front of the camera and has managed to mature in his roles, where he plays, in many cases, the typical boy who must survive between good and evil.
Juan José Ballesta was born on November 12, 1987 in the Madrid municipality of Parla, where he grew up and proudly carries the flag. He has affirmed on several occasions that this is where he has his life, his family, his lifelong friends, and his girlfriend Verónica, who made him a father in 2008.
He made his first steps in the artistic world appearing in advertising and in television series such as Compañeros or Querido maestro . But it was in the movie El Bola , directed by a newcomer Achero Mañas , where Ballesta rose to fame, playing Pablo, a smart and nice boy who suffered constant mistreatment from his father. For this role he won a well-deserved revelation Goya in 2001, and a good professional career was already augured for him. So they called him to participate in other films such as The Shanghai Haunting or My House is Your House , but the truth is that they were not relevant roles. With Carol’s Journey he had better luck and Juan José Ballesta was able to work under the command of Imanol Uribe , and share the screen with Clara Lago , another shining young star, as well as Carmelo Gómez and Rosa Maria Sardà .
In 2003, Antonio Mercero , endearing director of series such as Verano azul or Farmacia de Guardia , signed him to be one of the protagonists of Planta 4ª , a drama based on a work by Albert Espinosa , about four boys suffering from cancer, who endure the disease planting face with optimism. The film was nominated for best film at the Goyas, and although Ballesta did not get any reward for his work, he had the opportunity to bring out his most dramatic and sensitive vein, and consolidate himself as a true Spanish talent.
Ironically, the young actor preferred to take a break from the cinema, since he had an unsustainable pace that did not match his age or his perspectives, and he spent several months away from fame and working as a bricklayer. In fact, he took the opportunity to win the Full Contact championship in Madrid, a sport he is fond of; and cycling, another of his passions.
But soon the acting bug began to bite him again and he could not say no to Alberto Rodríguez with his new film, 7 vírgenes , where he played Tano, a young man who lives in a reformatory and is let out for a while. weekend to attend his brother’s wedding. The occasion gives him the opportunity to reunite with his neighborhood friends. The role of Tano meant a before and after within his maturity in the cinema. He was no longer the little boy who liked to play in the park. He had become a teenager about to reach adulthood, and this entailed other responsibilities, other concerns and experiences commensurate with his age.
Later came the turn of the drama, Cabeza de perro , in 2006, of which he said: “It’s what I wanted, to be called to make other types of films. He was fed up with playing the delinquent, the troublesome uncle. I was afraid of being pigeonholed.” With Mateo Gil , he participated in the television thriller, Regreso a Moira . In 2007, in Ladrones (2007) , by Jaime Marqués , he fully immersed himself in the character of a professional pickpocket who tricked a wealthy María Valverde , whose heart he also stole by the way.
In the cinema, he has had the opportunity to surround himself with good directors and good colleagues who have helped illuminate his work and it seems that acting is his thing, because of course, he is not bad at all. Juan José Ballesta maintains a constant pace of work that makes him release a film a year, more or less. He is not in a hurry, the important thing is to find good projects or stories that involve him in some way. He prefers to live in a quiet place, away from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy day-to-day life, accepting that “if the subject of cinema fails me, I would have no problem becoming a bricklayer.” He is jealous of his private life and takes care of his family because he swears that he will never lack for anything.
In 2010 he has participated in the series Hispania, the legend and has starred in the adventure film Bruc , an excellent film that tells the story of the first defeat of Napoleonic troops on Spanish soil. She has also gotten into the skin of a wild young man in Entrelobos , a careful film based on the true story of a boy who lived for only twelve years in Sierra Morena. Ballesta is currently preparing Planta 5ª , a continuation of the Mercero film.