Sancho Gracia (September 27, 1936 in Madrid) is a Spanish motion picture and television actor.
He made his acting debut in France in the 1963 film L'Autre femme opposite Annie Girardot. Since then he has appeared in more than eighty motion pictures including several Hollywood productions during the 1970s and in 1999's Outlaw Justice with Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. As well, Gracia has worked in Australia, performing as a regular cast member in the 1982 television series, Runaway Island and in the 1991 made-for-TV film, Pirates Island. He also participated in the Oscar-nominated Mexican film El Crimen del Padre Amaro in 2002.
In 2003, he was nominated for the Goya Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2002 film, 800 balas.
In addition to motion pictures, Sancho Gracia has made more than sixty guest appearances on Spanish television shows.
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβjer βarˈðen]; born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los Lunes al sol and Mar adentro.
As well as the Academy Award, Bardem has been awarded a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA, five Goya awards, two European Film Awards, a Prize for Best Actor at Cannes and two Coppa Volpis at Venice for his work. He is the first Spaniard to be nominated for an Oscar (Best Actor, 2000, for Before Night Falls, lost to Russell Crowe for Gladiator), as well as the first Spanish actor to win an Academy Award. He received his third Academy Award nomination, and second Best Actor nomination, for the film Biutiful.
Bardem was born in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands (Spain). His mother, Pilar Bardem, is an actress, and his father, José Carlos Encinas Doussinague, was a businessman who was involved in environmental work; the two separated shortly after his birth. His mother raised him alone. Bardem comes from a long line of filmmakers and actors who have been working since the earliest days of Spanish cinema; he is the grandson of actors Rafael Bardem and Matilde Muñoz Sampedro, and the nephew of screenwriter and director Juan Antonio Bardem. Both his older brother and sister, Carlos and Mónica, are actors. Bardem was raised Roman Catholic by his grandmother. He also comes from a very political background, his uncle Juan Antonio was imprisoned by Franco for his anti-fascist films.
Adalberto Luis Brandoni (born April 18, 1940) is an Argentine theater, film, and television actor.
Brandoni was born in Dock Sud, a port community east of Avellaneda. He debuted on the stage in 1962, television in 1963, and on film in 1966. He joined the National Comedy Theater in 1964 under the direction of Luisa Vehil. Politically active in the centrist Radical Civic Union (UCR), he served as cultural policy adviser for President Raúl Alfonsín (1983-89), and was elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in 1993, where he served until 2001. He was an unsuccessful Argentine Senate candidate for the UCR in 2005, and for Vice Governor of Buenos Aires Province, with nominee Ricardo Alfonsín, in 2007. He was married to actress Nora Cárpena, and in 2007 married Mónica López.
An actor with extensive film, television and theatre credits, he portrayed leading roles in acclaimed pictures such as La tregua (1974), Juan que reía (1976), Darse cuenta (1984), Esperando la carroza (1985), Made in Argentina (1986), Cien veces no debo (1990), Convivencia (1993), Una sombra ya pronto serás (1994), De mi barrio con amór (1995), and Los pasos perdidos (2001). His career remained strong during 2011: among his notable theatre credits was his portrayal of former President Arturo Illia; and his notable television credits included a starring role in the Telefé sitcom, El hombre de tu vida.
Ana Torroja (born 28 December 1959 in Madrid) is a Grammy Award-nominated Spanish singer. She is the lead singer of the pop trio Mecano, considered one of the most popular pop bands from Spain during the 1980s and 1990s. Mecano split in 1998 and she embarked on a solo career.
Ana Torroja met José María Cano while studying economics at university. The two became good friends, and José María soon introduced her to his younger brother, Nacho. After hearing Ana sing José María's guitar compositions, Nacho suggested that the three form a band. In 1981, Mecano was formed.
After seven Mecano albums and huge success in Europe and Latin America, the continuous touring began taking its toll on the band. Ana was especially affected and started developing vocal problems. In 1993, the band announced a temporary split. While José and Nacho released solo albums, Ana chose to travel around the world and visited Hawaii, Bombay, and New York—places she had sung about while with Mecano. She eventually settled in New York and took dance classes.