Oh my God! You’re playing Jesuit. Saint Ignatius raised his head.
TRUE? I would say: What about this? It will surprise you, but I studied electricity with the Jesuits at the Jesús Obrero school in Vitoria. Civil service and master’s degree currently FP 1 and FP 2.
And has it stayed that way ever since?
No, what’s up? The Jesuits will have what they have, but they gave us a good education. In ideological rolls they were not meapillas.
Isn’t it absurd for a self-confessed atheist to declare liberation theology?
And it’s ridiculous that I have to play the post-Franco war lieutenant colonel, the national police, the civil guard and the murderer. We are actors.
The truth is, so have Unamuno and Christopher Columbus. And in Salamanca, okay. But you’ll discover America with two herniated discs and the ninth lumbar smashed you’ve been walking around…
Yes, but it didn’t happen to Colon as it did to me. Even I did not spend my days without seeing the land and the horizon.
Did Emilio Martínez Lázaro with ‘eight Basque surnames’ give you the grace of God even though you are in txapela in your Koldo?
I wonder what happened, because I was one of four, five, eight, eleven actors, not me. It’s true that this is a before and after movie, but it’s like before and after ‘Dead Mom’ and ‘Airbag’.
He co-wrote Bajo Ulloa’s movie ‘Airbag’ and wore a black lehendakari. Did PNV lower the essences?
No, no, nobody drops anything. We can wink at the cinema, have a nervous breakdown, but we can’t revolutionize anything. It can be a little underwhelming from humor. Cinema in this country is generally progressive.
If he was “the one with the Airbag” before and then they call him Koldo on the street, can you imagine asking him for a confession after Ellacuría?
Well, I would love to have a divine time. I’ll acquit them all and for free.
Because how are you with sins?
I think they don’t. I don’t mean to say we can rape children or kill old women, but this original sin thing just doesn’t suit me. No one called me to come here and also no one at the reception. When you ask who we are, where we came from, where we are going, they don’t answer. So if you don’t let me know what the bylaws are, I’m terrified of making mistakes because I’m human and that’s it.
“I haven’t quarreled with anyone who made me feel better than Amenábar”. What did he give you?
Magical, very wise, multicultural and very loving. He has a great sense of humor, listens very well, takes care of everyone, is very kind, knows how to love and respect himself, and guides you very intelligently. I love her so much. He’s the person I understand best with him, and it’s a big problem for me when he says that because I have so many directors who are close friends and they’re going to be pissed off.
For example, Imanol Uribe?
I just wanted to talk about it. It’s the third film I’ve made with Imanol after ‘Días contados’ and ‘Miel de Naranjas’ and another director I love working with. We did ‘They came in the night’ in Cali, Colombia and it was quite adventurous. Shooting here in Madrid, where everyone goes home, is not the same as being with the whole crew, a tribe of Gipuzkolu. Imanol is a pleasure to work with because he does everything very clearly, very well, his hand is very good, his pulse is very good. He is a sage.
Do you think that cinema and culture in general are more the domain of the left?
I am a progressive and left-wing man, and I think that the world of cinema and culture in Spain, just like in Hollywood, is in that region. However, this does not mean that there are no actors, directors, playwrights, musicians with different ideologies. It wouldn’t occur to me to say that culture is the legacy of the left, because I know and work with friends on the far right and love them.
“I’m a green dog and I don’t like the democracy proposed by the PSOE nor by the PP”. What is yours, Vox democracy?
I think the word democracy is wrong. Only the PSOE and the PP have ruled since the Franco regime ended, and I spend my life living the democracies of others. In my democracy you can have an abortion, smoke, have sex on the street, go shopping naked. But I won’t find a party, Karrismo. How and where democracy arose for the parrot. It might sound funny if the people presented don’t have culture.
He admits to having “panic about screwing this up”. Does it happen to you a lot?
Yes, can’t you see that there is no one at the reception? Can’t you see nobody’s telling us how to do things? Can’t you see no one is telling us what we’re drawing here and whether we’re doing it right or wrong? I’m afraid of ruining my normal life, I’m afraid of being a bad father, I’m afraid of being a bad lover, I’m afraid of being a bad wife. I’m afraid of being a bad actor.