Leonardo Sbaraglia

Leonardo Sbaraglia is unable to remember what he wanted to be as a child. He thinks it’s typical for someone his age: astronaut, pilot, actor. Little did he know then that at the age of 13 he would begin studying acting with Agustín Aleso. Since then he has chained several teachers who have helped him in his interpretive training. Because Leonardo believes that talent is a matter of work, which is why 24 years after that adolescent beginning, he continues with his classes.

His first steps were in his Buenos Aires. There he was born on June 30, 1970 and that was where this idea of ​​interpretation began to take shape: “With each character one has the possibility of going on a trip and getting in touch with other realities. It is a job almost like that of a private detective who has to uncover different mysteries. That makes it very entertaining and full of surprises, both interpretively and intellectually.” His studies soon bore fruit, and at the age of 16 he made his secondary debut in La noche de lápizos (1986), a drama based on a true event about the kidnapping of several students during the Videla dictatorship. This film gave him the chance to spin roles in film and television. Then came the director Marcelo Piñeyro, who called him to participate as supporting actor in his debut behind the scenes, Tango feroz: la leyenda de Tanguito (1993), a drama about the true story of an Argentine rock musician. This was the first collaboration between the two, which they repeated inWild Horses (1995),Ashes from Paradise (1997) andBurnt silver (2000). The two became popular faces in Argentine cinema, which recognized their work with several awards. These works had in common the dramatic content, a key element in Sbaraglia’s filmography. He has only come close to comedy on stage and on television, and the actor himself affirms: “I love the genre. I haven’t had a chance to get a good script yet, but I can’t wait to do one.”

Piñeyro was the one who gave him the first opportunity to be a protagonist, in Wild Horses , a privilege from which he has rarely separated during his career. In this tape he shared the limelight with Héctor Alterio , with whom he would coincide again in titles such as the thrillerUtopia (2003). And it is that during her years in Argentina she worked with some of his most recognized actors such as Darío Grandinetti in Do not die without telling me where you are going (1995) or Cecilia Roth in Ashes from paradise .

He had a place in his country, but then came the change. Sbaraglia opted for the uncertainty of working in a new place instead of staying with the relative security that Argentina offered. It didn’t take long for him to get a role, which ended up bringing him the Goya for best newcomer, something curious coming from someone with that film background. But the point is that Sbaraglia was a rookie in Spanish cinema when he starred inIntact (2001), debut in the direction of Juan Carlos Fresnadillo . This recognition made him enter the national cinema through the front door. The original thriller, with luck as its central theme, serves as an example to understand Sbaraglia’s words when choosing a film: “As far as possible I like to agree with what is told in it.” And this affects both the how and the what. Many of his story choices have to do with his political and ideological affinities, as well as showing interest in all projects with original notes, whether in their theme or composition, as is the case with Intacto .

A year after the Goya, he was already working under the orders of Antonio Hernández in the dramaIn the city without limits , where he shared the bill with Fernando Fernán Gómez . However, the role that brought him closer to the general public was that of José inCarmen (2003), by Vicente Aranda . Together with Paz Vega , the couple gave life to the protagonists of the homonymous novel by Prosper Mérimée . Sbaraglia had made a good start in Spanish cinema, which made it possible to combine exclusively Spanish productions, such as Gerardo Vera ‘s Desire (2002) ,with Spanish-American co-productions that brought him closer to his roots, such asNowhere (2002) about a fictitious Latin American dictatorship, orCleopatra (2003), by Eduardo Mignogna .

Established in the cinema, Sbaraglia wanted to try Spanish television, a medium from which he never disassociated himself in Argentina. The opportunity came withAl filo de la ley (2004), a lawyer series in which he starred alongside Natalia Verbeke . It was not very successful, so Sbaraglia soon returned to the cinema. He did not hesitate when it came to responding to Manuel Huerga ‘s call to be a supporting role –a role that earned him a Goya nomination– inSalvador Puig Antich , a biographical drama about the last man sentenced to death by the Franco regime. Now it reaches Spanish screens withContestant , a risky bet by the newcomer in the feature Rodrigo Cortés . This title brings together his cinematographic interests, on the one hand the original plot treated in an unconventional way, together with the denunciation of the capitalist system and the power that money exercises over humanity. A “provocative” tape, as he himself says.

It won’t take long to see him on screen again, as the Argentine awaits the premiere of the Spanish-ChileanSantos , with Elsa Pataky . Until then, Leonardo spends his days with his wife Guadalupe, with whom he claims to be completely in love, and his one-year-old daughter Julia. A love he shares with the one he feels for his homeland.