Fernando Fernan Gomez Spanish actor and director Date of Birth: 28.08.1921 Country: Spain

Biography of Fernando Fernán-Gómez

Fernando Fernán-Gómez, a Spanish actor and director, had a wide range of creative interests including film, theater, literature, and journalism. He was born in Lima. He began his film career in the 1940s, already being a professional theater actor, and over the course of half a century, he appeared in more than 150 films, gaining the most popularity in comedic roles. His first directorial experiences in film, "Crazy House" (1952) and "Message" (1953), were influenced by neorealism. His comedy "Life Ahead" (1958), which chronicled everyday life in the 1950s, was a great success with audiences. One of Fernán-Gómez's best directorial works, "Strange Journey" (1964), filled with bitterness and irony, did not make it into the commercial distribution of Francoist Spain.

As an actor, Fernán-Gómez performed in films by leading directors, such as Carlos Saura ("Ana and the Wolves," 1972, "Mother Turns 100," 1979), Víctor Erice ("The Spirit of the Beehive," 1973), and Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón ("Half of Heaven," 1986), among others. His roles in the films "The Hermit" (1976) and "Stico" (1985) were recognized with prizes at the Berlin International Film Festival. The actor's performance style was characterized by a gentle humor and intricate character development. Recognition in both acting and directing came to Fernán-Gómez in the 1980s when his films "Journey to Nowhere" (1986) and "Sea and Time" (1989), based on his own popular novels in Spain, were released, with him also playing the lead roles. In 1989, he was awarded the National Film Award.

In the 1990s, Fernán-Gómez worked in his beloved genre of comedy, directing and acting in films such as "Out of Game" and "7,000 Days in a Row" (1994).