Karra Elejalde

Although everyone knows him artistically as Karra Elejalde, the truth is that his full name is Carlos Elejalde Garay. Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz on October 10, 1960, he was very clear from adolescence that his life would be linked to the audiovisual world. He already began his dramatic studies during Vocational Training, and although he was linked to the atmosphere of the Basque theater during all those years, it took him a while to accelerate his film career, which did not come until he was 27 years old.

That would happen in 1987, thanks to A los cuatro vientos , a film by José Antonio Zorrilla. More than being a great leap in quality with respect to the theatrical work that he had been carrying out up to that moment in different companies, what this film meant was an expansion and publicity tool to make a name for himself in the industry. Small roles in different Spanish projects followed one another during her early days, such as Alas de mariposa (1991), by Juanma Bajo Ulloa , or Acción mutante (1992), by an incipient Álex de la Iglesia .

The good feelings that Bajo Ulloa and he had in 1991 would be worth it for the Basque director to count on Elejalde again for his second feature film. The dead mother (1993), a different thriller in which he dresses as a murderer, garnered great criticism. He even received the best actor award at the Fantasporto International Fantastic Film Festival (Portugal) and at the Aubagne International Film Festival (France).

After passing almost glancingly through Kika (1993), by Pedro Almodóvar , and by the award-winning until exhaustion Días contados (1994), he would participate in the rural drama Tierra (1996), by another Basque countryman, Julio Medem . Presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, this film would continue to perpetuate the good work of Elejalde, even with secondary roles. The professional idyll with Bajo Ulloa continued in Airbag (1997), a hooligan comedy where he also participated in script work, and played a bourgeois guy who loses his engagement ring hours before getting married. It was another film present at the Goya Awards, showing that Elejalde was in full swing.

“The first thing I always have to do is define who I am and what I am like, since I am generally at the opposite of the characters I play, and try to make them my own”, Elejalde himself has pointed out on different occasions. It seems clear that the objective of making these characters is something that, for the moment, cannot be attributed at all.

The horror genre has not been something alien to him either, after co-starring in Los sin nombre (1999) with Emma Vilarasau . The most creative tasks knocked on her door insistently, and over time, she decided to open them. That happened in the year 2000, after directing, co-writing and starring in Año Mariano . Despite the fact that she had an extremely limited budget, she rose to the challenge with quite a bit of dignity. He liked the experience. And he decided to try that dish again in 2004, when he directed and wrote Torapia .

It is worth making a stop along the way in a couple of jobs. In Lázaro de Tormes (2001) he manages to give a more humorous vision of the classic of Spanish literature, and, although he won two Goyas for costumes and adapted screenplay, it is one more example that Elejalde has known how to put his foot in works that have had their public recognition. In Los Cronocrímenes (2007), by Nacho Vigalondo , Elejalde had his “leap” to the international scene. This cheap sci-fi intrigue thriller was released worldwide, winning several awards at major festivals. And that came in handy for not stagnating.

His latest works have been the social dramas Biutiful (2010) and También la lluvia (2010). Both films also had their place outside our borders, mentioning in the same way their good acceptance among the public and the critical sector. What’s more, in También la lluvia he won a Goya for best secondary for giving life to an actor who plays Christopher Columbus.

In 2012, apart from Orange Honey , he released the war drama Invasor , set around the Iraq war, although his character does not move in that country. “This is an atypical film in Spain, and few action movies are shot here. It’s time to get rid of those complexes,” the actor pointed out in one of the many interviews he did for the premiere of Daniel Calparsoro ‘s film . In it, he plays a sinister official from the Spanish military agency who is dedicated to silencing those involved in a bloody event that occurred in Iraq, which is another good example of the acting versatility of an actor who has known how to self-direct his career to perfection. .