03/18/2001

By Chris Vognar / The Dallas Morning News

He's the surprise guest at this year's big Hollywood shindig, a Spanish actor who had never made an American film before the extraordinary Before Night Falls. But don't expect Javier Bardem to get starry-eyed about the Oscars, even if he pulls off an upset and wins the big trinket. After some 10 years working without the benefit of an international spotlight, Mr. Bardem knows his priorities.

AP Javier Bardem's performance as exiled Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls has garnered an Oscar nomination.

"The nomination means maybe the chance to be offered more work," he explains by phone. "That's good, because what I want to do is work. It's a way of showing people that I can also act in English. And I know it will help the movie to be watched, which is the real goal."

Already a star in his native Spain, Mr. Bardem might be recognized in the States for such films as Jamon, Jamon and Pedro Almodóvar's High Heels. Now, with the increased visibility that comes with an Oscar nomination, it's time to readjust to fame's double-edged sword.

"It's like a nightmare from Franz Kafka, some kind of metamorphosis," he says. "You walk down the street and everybody looks at you. But it's also great, because you feel like they are treating you with respect."

The Kafka comparison is apt, considering the role that has thrust Mr. Bardem onto the world stage. In Before Night Falls, Mr. Bardem plays the late Cuban novelist Reinaldo Arenas. A homosexual writer in a revolutionary Cuba that had no use for either homosexuals or writers, Mr. Arenas was persecuted and imprisoned before coming to the United States in the Mariel Boatlift of 1980. At one point in the film, when asked to identify himself to a revolutionary soldier, Mr. Arenas replies with the name of the existential Austrian-Czech novelist.

Night director Julian Schnabel originally approached Mr. Bardem about playing a smaller role, Mr. Arenas' dear friend (and the film's cowriter), Lazaro Gomez Carilles. But when the role of Mr. Arenas became available, Mr. Bardem took it on after some initial hesitation.

Wise choice. His performance is a marvel of immersion that makes us forget we're watching an actor, even in the film's most harrowing scenes. He became intimate with Mr. Arenas' life and work, and still holds both close to his heart.

"We worked very hard for three months, 18 hours a day," Mr. Bardem recalls. "I've never done a movie like this in my life. Then, when you come back to your home, you feel like you have lived something that no one else will ever live. It's exhausting, but it's beautiful. I took Reinaldo home with me every night, and I'll have him with me for the rest of my life. I think he's good company."