Actor Javier Bardem says his mother, who recently passed, is more present than ever before.
Bardem is an award-winning actor who credits his mother for sharing the craft with him.
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Bardem discussed how his mother Pilar Bardem‘s acting career influenced his own career. He also reveals entertainment was in his blood — as his uncle was also an actor, and his grandparents were filmmakers.
“I guess it was in my DNA,” Javier said. In his first major film role, he was seen alongside his mother in the Spanish film “The Ages of Lulu.”
Bardem shared that after his mother’s death from lung disease in July, being in front of the camera makes him feel closer to her.
“It’s amazing how present she is today, even more than it was before,” Bardem said. “And before, let me tell you, (she) was very present. But now it’s in every cell on my body and everything that I do to make her proud.”
Bardem went on to share how his mother taught him not only the highs in acting but also revealed the lows when it came to the industry.
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“My parents divorced when I was very little, and being an actress with three kids, a single mother back in the ’50s in Spain, it was very hard,” Bardem said. “The way she was treated, it was like, horrible, so I saw a lot of downs, more than ups, in mother’s career, until she had her moment when she was a very well-respected actress in theater and movies.”
“When I started to be an actor, she told me one thing: ‘If you want to really become an actor, prepare yourself and be respectful to the craft and everybody involved with this craft, because it’s sacred,'” Bardem recalled.
In an Instagram tribute, the actor wrote of his mother:
“With a heart full of love. With tenderness and a smile on the mouth. And with the soul overflowing with gratitude for the thousands and thousands of messages of affection, respect and admiration for Pilar Bardem. For our mother. Friends, colleagues, and strangers who have taken the time to write and wrap us with their love. Let’s remember her alive, happy and fighting. Thank you for this wave of love. Carlos, Mónica and Javier.”