Unax Ugalde

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Unax Ugalde
Unax Ugalde at the Goya Awards in 2018
Born
Unax Ugalde Gutiérrez

(1978-11-27) 27 November 1978 (age 45)
NationalitySpanish
OccupationActor
Years active1998-present
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Spouse
Neus Cerdá
(m. 2018)
PartnerIngrid Rubio (2005-2012)
Children2

Unax Ugalde Gutiérrez (born 27 November 1978) is a Spanish actor.

Early life[edit]

Unax Ugalde Gutiérrez was born on 27 November 1978, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain. He is the son of a worker at the Altos Hornos and a housewife. While a student, he had the ambition of becoming a marine scientist and started taking interpretation classes. In order to pay for his studies, he worked in a supermarket where he dressed up as a chocolate ball. He got his very first job in a TV series named Entre dos fuegos for ETB Basque television. In 1999, he left the Basque Country to start an acting career in Madrid.

Personal life[edit]

From 2005 to 2012, Ugalde was in a relationship with the actress Ingrid Rubio.

On 14 October 2018, he married the journalist Neus Cerdá, the actor Asier Etxeandía officiated the wedding. On 27 August 2018, the couple's first child, a boy, was born whom they called Ondei Ugalde Cerdá. On 3 January 2021, the couple's second child, a boy, was born whom they called Marc Ugalde Cerdá.[citation needed]

Career[edit]

Ugalde made his debut in the cinema in Fill Me with Life. He then featured in Volverás (2002), playing a good student who is about to leave home, when he met his criminal brother (Tristán Ulloa), thus leaving the "right way" and trying to help him to reach emotional maturity during a night. The same year, Ugalde had a supporting role in the film Bellas durmientes by Eloy Lozano. In 2003, Ugalde starred in the controversial[why?] film Diario de una becaria by Josecho San Mateo, director of Ugalde's first film.

That year, he was about to premiere Equus in the theatre, playing the same role for which Peter Firth was nominated for an Oscar: a young aggressive, on the brink of madness, with a great fear of the outside world (similar to the teenager who played in El grupo) who is overcome by shyness and emotional instability. Finally the work was suspended.[citation needed]

However, this failed attempt highlighted the fact that Ugalde was specializing in violent youth with a good heart, as he plays the role of Gorilo in Héctor (Gracia Querejeta, 2004). That year the director Paul Malo, with whom he had worked on a short film, offered him a starring role in Frío sol de invierno. Two months after the release of the latter, Ugalde received a nomination for the Goya Awards for his performance in Héctor, as well as a new nomination in the Unión de Actores Awards.

In 2005, he premiered Queens, in the role of a man about to marry his boyfriend (Daniel Hendler) in the first Spanish gay wedding who could not support his castrating mother. In his next film, Alatriste, he played the son of a fellow of Viggo Mortensen who died in Flanders. While recording he received the news that Daniel Brühl was to play Salvador Puig Antich in Salvador, to the detriment of his own candidacy.

When he completed his role in Alatriste, Ugalde recorded his third international film, this time in English. Miloš Forman asked him to play the brother of Natalie Portman in Goya's Ghosts along with Javier Bardem, Randy Quaid, Stellan Skarsgård, Eusebio Lázaro, Blanca Portillo, José Luis Gómez, Andrés Gértrudix and Fernando Tielve.

He combined the filming of his last two works with the promotion of Shooting Star which led him, among other places, to the Berlin Film Festival and in 2005 to the Festival of Seville.

In 2006, before premiering Alatriste, he filmed Savage Grace with Julianne Moore, playing one of Tony Bakeland's lovers. In 2007, he played a young Florentino Ariza in the film adaptation of the book Love in the Time of Cholera. Then he starred in La buena nueva, in which he plays a priest who spends the Spanish Civil War in the navarrese town of Alsasua and who will witness with horror the atrocities being committed in the name of religion. In this film, Ugalde stars with Guillermo Toledo and fellow Basque actress Barbara Goenaga, among others and is directed by Helena Taberna.

In 2008, Ugalde played the role of Roberto "El Vaquerito" Rodríguez in Che Part 1: The Argentine, the first part of the two-part biopic about Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The film is an American production inspired about Guevara's life during the Cuban Revolution and directed by Steven Soderbergh. In 2010, Ugalde filmed three films: Cefalópodo directed by Rubén Imaz, a Mexican film about overcoming a break-up in a couple; Bon Appétit an opera prima that was directed by David Pinillos and shot in Zurich, Switzerland, and filmed in English, in addition the film won the Goya Award for Best New Director; and finally No controles directed by Borja Cobeaga, Pagafantas's director.

In 2011, Ugalde premiered two films, the first being There Be Dragons, directed by Roland Joffé and based on Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer's life as a catholic priest and founder of Opus Dei. The film has been the best second of Spanish cinema on its first week-end, the record goes to Torrente 4; the second film is Tequila: Historia de una pasión by Sergio Sánchez Suárez, Ugalde's second role in Mexican cinema. Ugalde shot scenes for a play entitled Olaguílbe 1808 by Patxi Basabe. In addition, Ugalde starred in Baztan by Iñaki Elizalbe, a Spanish film that was shot in Basque. Baztan had its premiere during the 60th San Sebastián International Film Festival, the film garnered positive reviews and critical acclaim.[1] Finally, in december Ugalde premiered TV film El asesinato de Carrero Blanco in ETB and 2012 in TVE.

In 2012, Ugalde starred in Dracula 3D, a horror film directed by Dario Argento, shooting in English, Ugalde plays Jonathan Harker, one of the main protagonists. Dracula 3D was shown during the 65th Cannes Film Festival and the film was greeted with largely mixed reviews from critics.[2] Next year, Ugalde shot two films. The first is Bypass, Ugalde's second raid in Basque language; the other film is Somos gente honrada. In addition, Ugalde joined the cast of the third season of the drama series Gran Reserva.

Work[edit]

Filmography[edit]

Film roles
Year Title Role Notes and awards
2000 Báilame el agua (Fill Me with Life) David
2001 Mi dulce Óscar Turia Award for Best New Actor
2002 Volverás (You'll Be Back) Ignacio
Bellas durmientes Young Lawrence
2003 Cámara oscura (Deadly Cargo) Iván
Diario de una becaria Marcos
2004 Héctor Gorilo Nominated – Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated – Spanish Actors Union Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Frío sol de invierno (Cold Winter Sun) Adrián Ourense Independent Film Festival Award for Best Actor
2005 Queens Miguel
Rosario Tijeras Antonio
2006 Goya's Ghosts Ángel Bilbatúa
Alatriste Íñigo Balboa
Savage Grace Black Jake Martínez
2007 La buena nueva (The Good News) Father Miguel Toulouse Cinespaña Award for Best Actor
Turia Award for Best Actor
Valladolid International Film Festival, Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Cinema Writers Circle from Spain Award for Best Actor
Love in the Time of Cholera Young Florentino
2008 Che Part 1: The Argentine Roberto "El Vaquerito" Rodríguez
2010 Cefalópodo Sebastián
Bon Appétit Daniel Málaga Spanish Film Festival, Silver Biznaga for Best Actor
Nominated – Cinema Writers Circle from Spain Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Spanish Actors Union Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
No controles Sergio
2011 There Be Dragons Pedro Casciano
Tequila: Historia de una pasión Antonio
Baztan Joxe
El asesinato de Carrero Blanco Arriaga TV film
2012 Dracula Jonathan Harker
Bypass María's friend
Somos gente honrada Luis
2013 Cásate conmigo Antonio
2016 La estrategia del pequines
2017 Operacion Concha[3]
TBA The Seville Communion[4] With Amaia Salamanca, Paul Guylfole, Carlos Cuevas, Jorge Sanz and Paul Freemann

Short films[edit]

Year Film Director
2001 Jardines deshabitados Pablo Malo
2003 Tatuaje Guillermo Ríos
2005 La última página César Rodríguez-Moroy

Television[edit]

Play[edit]

  • Olaguílbe 1808

Prizes[edit]

Goya Awards

Year Award Film Result
2003 Best Supporting Actor Héctor Runner-up

Spanish Actor's Guild

Year Award Film Result
2010 Best film actor in a leading role Bon Appétit Runner-up
2004 Best film supporting actor Héctor Runner-up
2002 Best TV supporting actor Periodistas Runner-up
2000 Best new actor El grupo Runner-up

Fotogramas de Plata

Year Award Serie Result
2001 Best TV actor Periodistas Nominated

Malaga Film Festival

Year Award Serie Result
2010 Best actor Bon Appetit Winner
2004 Best supporting actor Héctor Nominated

Ourense Film Festival

Year Award 'Serie Result
2004 Best leading actor Frío sol de invierno

Viña del Mar Film Festival

Year Award Serie Result
2004 Best leading actor Frío sol de invierno

Turia Prize

Year Award Serie Result
2001 Best new actor Bailame el agua

Bogart Prize

  • Best Basque actor (2001)

Gaztea Sariak

  • Best actor (2000)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Calderón, Rafael (18 September 2012). "Baztan at 65th San Sebastián Film Festival - Cineralia". Cineralia. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  2. ^ Rooney, David (20 May 2012). "Dario Argento's Dracula 3D: Cannes Review - The Hollywood Reporter". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  3. ^ Yotele, Redacción (10 August 2019). "Jordi Mollà y Karra Elejalde inician la 'Operación Concha' en La 1". elperiodico (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  4. ^ EFE (20 October 2021). "La película de 'La piel del tambor' ya se rueda entre Sevilla, Madrid y Roma". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Natalia Verbeke y Unax Ugalde, en la clausura del Festival de Montecarlo junto a Alberto de Mónaco". HOLA (in Spanish). 23 June 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Tv Show". The Black Castle. Retrieved 26 October 2021.

External links[edit]