López, Sergi

(1965- )

   Working in Spanish, French, and English, as well as in his native Catalan, Sergi López has achieved a very high international reputation. He was born in Vilanova i la Geltrú, near Barcelona, to a family whose older members supported the Spanish Republic. He studied acting in France, and it was there that he debuted in film with a career-making performance as the protagonist in Manuel Poirier's Western (1997). This was followed by four more films with the same director through the years, the most recent being La maison (2007). In 2000, he played the ambiguous, threatening protagonist in Dominik Moll's Harry, He's Here to Help, a role that showcases his potential as a "bad guy."

   In Spain, López had a substantial part in Ventura Pons's Caricies (Caresses, 1998), in which he excelled in one of the episodes as a father. Later, he starred in Morir (o no) (To Die [ Or Not ], 2000) also directed by Pons. These were followed by other acclaimed parts in Entre las piernas (Between Your Legs, Manuel Gómez Pereira, 1999) and Lisboa (Antonio Hernández, 1999). One of his most unusual roles was also among his best: he was touching as the wounded doctor in Miguel Albaladejo's witty romantic comedy El cielo abierto (Open Sky, 1999).

   In later years, he specialized in intensely evil characters in a series of films including Solo mia (Only Mine, Javier Balaguer, 2001) and Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things (2002). His performance as fascist captain Vidal in Guillermo del Toro's El laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth, 2006) received well-deserved critical praise.