Bardem draws praise during award ceremony

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

With his trademark wide grin, crooked nose and an often humble, self-effacing nature, Javier Bardem accepted the Montecito Award in front of an enthusiastic and vocal crowd at the Arlington Theater yesterday evening.
The 38-year-old Madrid resident seemed almost bashful at times, marveling at the size of the theater and cringing when he spotted himself on the large projection screen.

“There’s a lot of people here, and I don’t get it,” Bardem said. “It must have been a rainy day and you had nothing better to do.”
In contrast, festival director Roger Durling, who moderated the event, heaped praise on the actor, calling his Oscar-nominated role in “No Country for Old Men” the defining performance of the year.
“No other performance stays with you and haunts you and gives you nightmares like this character does,” Durling said.
Bardem portrays Anton Chigurh, a chillingly violent professional hitman — a role that earned him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. In describing his approach to the part, Bardem said he didn’t understand the motivation of the character after reading the script. When he read the book, he understood less.
“Then they brought this haircut idea,” he said with a theatrical sigh.
But the haircut and the sole physical description from the book, of blue lapis eyes, helped him inhabit the character, he said, and helped him create the blank, lifeless eyes of a killer.
“It’s very difficult to get into someone’s soul if not for the eyes,” Bardem said.
Assuming such a violent role had a personal effect on him, he admitted, describing how at one point during filming he had essentially isolated himself from others, rarely leaving home other than to shoot or buy food.
“There is something that stays with you for a while with any character you play,” he said. “I felt a little bit emotionally detached from people.”
In reference to his Oscar nomination, Bardem again assumed an unassuming air, explaining how he is overwhelmed by the consideration, despite being nominated in 2001 for his role in “Before Night Falls.”
“It feels weird, it feels good,” he said. “I guess it’s a way to celebrate or honor my roots.”
From a long line of actors, including his grandfather and mother, Bardem said he doesn’t view the nomination as a selfish triumph.
“Its not about me, but what I’m carrying on my back,” he said.
With a career that varied between portraying Reinaldo Arenas, the persecuted and openly homosexual Cuban poet, and Ramon Sampedro, a paralyzed man who fought for the right to end his life, Bardem said he is extremely choosy in picking roles.
“I have to really believe in what I’m doing,” he said. “And then when I believe, I go far with it.”
Quick to joke and laugh at himself, Bardem switched effortlessly between serious explanations of his perspective on filmmaking and humorous interludes, even slipping into moments of shocking honesty.
In discussing how body language speaks volumes in film, he explained how his position in the chair, slightly hunched to the side and away from the audience, depicted his anxiety at being the focus of attention coupled with an urgent need to pee.
During a brief clip highlighting a few performances from earlier in his career, Bardem hopped out of his chair and took off across the stage with Durling to find a bathroom, joking upon his return that he hoped someone had turned off his lapel microphone.
When Woody Harrelson, who stars alongside Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” as a rival hitman, took the stage to present the Montecito Award, the jokes continued.
“When I first met Javier, I must say, he was doing something funny with his voice,” Harrelson said. “Then the other night at the SAG Awards, I realized he’s Spanish.”
Glancing over at Bardem, who had his face in his hands, laughing, Harrelson started to take a serious tone.
“You’re sitting in the presence of one of the greatest actors alive,” he said. “But this award is not for me.”
After the laughter died down, Harrelson finally established a thoughtful and sincere expression.
“In any language, you are one of the great communicators,” he said.
After crossing the stage, Bardem embraced his colleague and accepted the award statue, describing it as the greatest honor of his life to receive such attention and acclaim, even if he still doesn’t get it.