Ricardo Darin

Born on January 16, 1957, Ricardo Alberto Darín Rojana, from Buenos Aires, has always been very close to the world of show business, because his parents, Ricardo Darín Sr. and Renée Roxana, were theater performers. He never took acting classes, nor did he need to, because at the age of 10 he was already perched on a stage with his parents.

From the age of 16, he became a regular actor in television programs, and starred in soap operas such as El tema es el amor and Vos y yo, toda la vida , by Alberto Migré, one of the most successful creators of Argentine television serials.

In the 1980s he triumphed in the theater as a member of the group “Los galancitos” that turned television hits into theatrical productions. She later triumphed with productions of works such as “Taxi” or “La canción de Buenos Aires”, and on television she reaped great success again with Luis Brandoni in the series My brother- in-law .

He received some recognition from Argentine critics after starring in Perdido por perdido , Alberto Lecchi ‘s first feature film . However, international prestige would not come to Darín until he was over 40 years old. His career began to take a turn when he played a lighthouse keeper in El faro del sur , by Eduardo Mignogna . Shortly after, he was signed by a compatriot who had shot two fiction features in English and series episodes, for his first fiction feature in Spanish. It was Juan José Campanella, who made him the protagonist of El mismo amor, la misma lluvia, where he does a dazzling job, as Jorge, a promising young writer in love with a dreamy waitress, played by another great Argentine filmmaker, Soledad Villamil .

But the most important film in Darín’s career, and possibly of all recent Argentine cinema, is Nueve reinas , by Fabián Bielinsky , in which Darín outdoes himself as a small-time swindler, deep down endearing, in a seriously touched Argentina. due to the economic crisis, which indoctrinates a young aspiring rascal. The tape closes the mouths of those who insulted Darín in a certain way for his stage in soap operas, and consecrates him throughout the world.

In addition, the actor chains the filming with that of The Son of the Bride , once again under Campanella’s orders, where he plays a very different character, the overwhelmed owner of a restaurant who tries to get his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, to see the fulfillment before her death her dream of getting married in the Church. The film was also a success and earned an Oscar nomination for best foreign film.

Since then, Darín has been the official face of the new Argentine cinema. He played a small role in La fuga , again with Eduardo Mignogna, he was a taxidermist in trouble in El aura , a fugitive with his family during the Argentine dictatorship in Kamchatka , the self-conscious father of a hermaphrodite in XXY , an opportunistic lawyer in Carancho , curmudgeon ironmonger in A tall tale …

In addition, he had time to make his debut as a director with La señal , taking charge of a project that he left halfway through when Mignogna died. He also asked for a Spanish director, like Fernando Trueba , in El baile de la victoria and José Luis Cuerda , in La educación de las hadas .

Divorced from the star and presenter Susana Giménez, since 1987 he has shared his life with Florencia Bas, with whom he has a son and a daughter. After an unpleasant episode, Darín demonstrated his great humanity. Four young men assaulted his residence, taking Florencia Bas and her daughter hostage, until they managed to escape with a large sum of money. When he appeared before the journalists, who expected him to show his indignation, Darín expressed that he felt lucky because at least his loved ones had not been mistreated, and he asked for more opportunities for young people like those who had just been robbed . “Nobody cares about these people. I try to see beyond my little life and be consistent with what I think,” said the actor.

In 2006 he obtained Spanish nationality by naturalization letter, an exceptional concession for those who accumulate special merits, which was also granted to Juan José Campanella . This director recruited him again, as a guy who tries to keep his parents’ social club open, in Luna de Avellaneda , and above all as federal justice agent Benjamín Esposito, who is investigating a crime, in the film The Secret of his eyes . The film, which reunites the actor with Soledad Villamil, won the Oscar for best foreign film.