Catching up with Javier Bardem

Javier on Javier

EW Is it fun playing a villainous character?
JB I don’t think so. It is kind of dark. You are always bringing something into yourself when you are playing a character. And if it’s a dark soul, you carry that weight. For instance, I didn’t kill anybody near Mexico. I was just being myself. But I felt detached from the people on the set. As nice as people were, it made me feel lonely. At one point, Josh Brolin came up to me and was like, ”Man, what is going on with you?”
EW Right after No Country, you made Love in the Time of Cholera, which is all about love.
JB It was a relief. On the plane going to Colombia to shoot Cholera, they were showing us this kind of silly video of how great Colombia is. You know, full of colorful beads and the sea and people dancing. And at that moment Chigurh just went away. I felt something in my chest physically open up and I just said, ”Wow, life.”

Javier on Daniel

EW How did the cover shoot go?
JB It was one of the highlights of my career to be so close to Daniel Day-Lewis.
EW So you liked his movie?
JB I’ve seen his performances — as every actor in the world has — hundreds of times. I was introduced by him at the New York Film Critics’ Awards, and I said what I truly feel: He creates sculptures of the soul. He is beyond performing. He is about being. He helps us understand a little bit better what we really are.