Javier Cámara Rodríguez (born 19 January 1967) is a Spanish actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Goya Awards.
He became known for two television roles as a priest in ¡Ay, señor, señor! and Éste es mi barrio. He has since featured in films such as Torrente, the Dumb Arm of the Law (which earned him wide public recognition in Spain), Talk to Her, Torremolinos 73, Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed, Truman and Forgotten We'll Be.
Other television credits include performances in series such as 7 vidas, The Young Pope and The New Pope (portraying a cleric again) or Narcos, likewise starring as the title character in the Juan Carrasco politico-satirical saga (Vota Juan, Vamos Juan and Venga Juan).
Early life Javier Cámara Rodríguez was born on 19 January 1967 in Albelda de Iregua, province of La Rioja. He began his training in the theatre group at IES Laboral (his high school) and Logroño's Theatre School, later moving to Madrid to train at the RESAD. He worked as an usher at the , so he could pay for his education.
Career In 1991, Cámara made his debut in a stage play of the Spanish , , directed by , whereas his feature film debut came with a performance in Fernando Colomo's 1993 film Rosa Rosae.
Following his two first major television roles (as a priest) that made him known, in ¡Ay, Señor, Señor! (1994–1995), portraying Father Ángel Murillo and Éste es mi barrio (1996–1997), portraying Don Justo, he earned wide public visibility in Spain with his performance in 1998 dark comedy film and box-office hit Torrente, el brazo tonto de la ley, portraying Rafi, the sidekick of antihero José Luis Torrente, earning a nomination to the Goya Award for Best New Actor.
In the miniseries Jakarta (2025), Cámara portrayed a former badminton olympian and a "textbook loser" coaching a teenage prospect.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1993 Rosa Rosae Encargado Feature film debut 1997 Segura 1998 Torrente, el brazo tonto de la ley (Torrente, the Dumb Arm of the Law) Rafi 1999 Segis 2001 Lucía y el sexo (Sex and Lucia) Pepe 2002 Hable con ella (Talk to Her) Benigno 2003 Torremolinos 73 Alfredo López Los abajo firmantes (With George Bush on My Mind) Mario 2004 La mala educación (Bad Education) Paca / Paquito 2005 The Secret Life of Words Simon Malas temporadas (Hard Times) Mikel 2006 Alatriste Conde Duque de Olivares Paris, je t'aime 2007 La torre de Suso (Suso's Tower) Cundo 2008 Fuera de carta (Chef's Special) Maxi Los girasoles ciegos (The Blind Sunflowers) Ricardo 2010 Que se mueran los feos (To Hell with the Ugly) Eliseo 2011 ¿Para qué sirve un oso? Guillermo 2012 Una pistola en cada mano (A Gun in Each Hand) S. 2013 Los amantes pasajeros (I'm So Excited) Joserra Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados (Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed) Antonio San Román 2014 La vida inesperada (The Unexpected Life) Juanito 2015 Truman Tomás 2016 La reina de España (The Queen of Spain) Pepe Bonilla 2017 Es por tu bien (It's for Your Own Good) Chus Fe de etarras (Bomb Scared) Martín 2018 Ola de crímenes (Crime Wave) 2020 El olvido que seremos (Forgotten We'll Be) Héctor Abad Gómez Sentimental (The People Upstairs) Julio 2022 Historias para no contar (Stories Not to Be Told) David Torrente, presidente (Torrente for President) Rafi Cameo 53 domingos (53 Sundays) Julián 5 minutos más (5 More Minutes) Carlos
Television Year Title Role Notes 1994–1995 ¡Ay, señor, señor! Padre Ángel Murillo 1996–1997 Don Justo 1999–2006 7 vidas Paco Gimeno Huete Main (88 episodes); guest (season 15) 2016 The Young Pope Monsignor/Cardinal Bernardo Gutierrez 2017 Narcos Guillermo Pallomari Introduced in season 3 2019 Vota Juan Juan Carrasco 2020 The New Pope Cardinal Bernardo Gutiérrez Reprise of role in The Young Pope 2020 Vamos Juan Juan Carrasco Reprise or role in Vota Juan 2021 Venga Juan Juan Carrasco Reprise of role in Vamos Juan 2022 Rapa Tomás 2025 Yakarta (Jakarta) José Ramón Garrido
Accolades
Year Award Category Work Result 1999 Best New Actor Torrente, the Dumb Arm of the Law 2002 Best Actor Talk to Her People's Choice Award for Best Actor 2003 Best Actor 2004 Best Actor Torremolinos 73 2005 Best Film Actor in a Minor Role Bad Education 2006 Best Supporting Actor The Secret Life of Words Best Film Actor in a Leading Role Malas temporadas Best Film Actor in a Minor Role The Secret Life of Words 2009 Best Actor Chef's Special Best Supporting Actor A Gun in Each Hand 2014 Best Actor Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed Best Actor Best Actor Best Actor Yesterday Never Ends Best Actor Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed 2015 Best Actor The Unexpected Life Best Actor 2016 Best Actor in a Film Truman Best Actor Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actor Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role Best Actor 2020 Best Television Actor in a Leading Role Vota Juan Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV series Best Actor in a Film The People Upstairs Best Actor in a Series Vamos Juan 76th CEC Medals Best Actor The People Upstairs Best Actor Forgotten We'll Be Best Actor Best Actor in a Series Venga Juan 2022 Best Main Actor in a Series Best Television Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV series Best Actor in a Series Rapa Best Actor in a Series Best Actor in a Series Best Actor in a Series 30th Forqué Awards Best Actor in a Series 31st Forqué Awards Best Actor in a Series Jakarta 13th Feroz Awards Best Main Actor in a Series 34th Actors and Actresses Union Awards Best Television Actor in a Leading Role 13th Platino Awards Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Series 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance 5 More Minutes 54th International Emmy Awards Best Performance by an Actor Jakarta
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