He studied medicine and music before choosing to follow a path many artists tread. Miguel Rellán, born in Tetuán in 1943, has continually built a prolific career by carefully selecting stage roles while readily switching to cinema when opportunities paid well. He appears at the Teatro Principal in Alicante this Saturday for a production titled Come Home, a work linked to Harold Pinter. Last Thursday marked the start of its second season, and retirement remains a distant thought for him.
Coming to Alicante with a performance still in hand, Come Home is written by Harold Pinter and stages the life of a single family with its lights and shadows. It unfolds with the simplicity of a familiar story, as if everyone shares a common heartbeat.
Yes, that’s true. In this piece, Pinter focuses on a family to explore human nature as a craftsman would study a routine, a mechanic at work perhaps. Pinter has described his theater as demanding and often hard to pin down because it mirrors life’s contradictions. Yet it seeks to reflect a life that has always felt contradictory and confusing for him. In rehearsals for Come Home, the experience can feel like walking down a street and suddenly a window on a mezzanine opens, granting a glimpse into a family’s world. They love, they argue, they lie, they tell the truth to one another… and after an hour and a half, the window closes, inviting the audience to interpret what they have seen. This is Pinter’s third production I have worked on, and his overarching aim seems to be to hold up a mirror and say: don’t hide from it, you are in it. In recent years, the world has seen a sharp rise in folly and ignorance, and the public bears responsibility for what unfolds as citizens vote for their leaders. This is why theater matters so much.
How essential is it for an actor to return to the stage from time to time?
Theater remains a constant for the performer, with occasional film or television to fill the pantry. Theater is tangible; cinema reflects the director’s vision and staging. It’s akin to singing either rock or opera. People sing a lot lately. Yet stepping onto the stage to sing is a different experience. Cinema relies on image, while theater captures reality. It is a lie the audience accepts, with the actor pretending to be someone else and the audience pretending to believe it, even while knowing the truth. There is plenty of footage and music everywhere, yet live performance feels more unpredictable than ever, and that may be its strongest appeal. The best representation can be described as follows.
“It seems to me that in recent years the rate of stupidity has increased exponentially all over the world. Starting with those who sent us.”
Serials have given the profession more air, with Sorry for the Inconvenience launching its second season on Thursday. He appears wary of the image-driven world.
Not at all. The experience has been genuinely positive. If film offers come and the agents secure meaningful compensation, he would consider them, but he rarely seeks them out. He describes himself as a sharpshooter who can work with a director like Martínez-Lázaro, accustomed to roles that might be cut or unseen on screen. He values distance from projects that don’t align with him, and enjoys collaborating with friends like Juan Cavestany and Álvaro Fernández Armero, who helped shape this series with a conductor in mind. He loves music and welcomed a script written with that in mind, but the role went to someone else; still, the collaboration was welcome. Working with friends is special, though it doesn’t happen all the time, and sometimes there is no choice but to accept certain outcomes.
With whom does he feel no hesitation?
At the start, the goal was to work with figures like Carlos Saura or Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón in film, and Nuria Espert and Adolfo Marsillach on stage. He was hungry and it took time to learn that everything must be earned. He no longer watches movies regularly, and he has learned to say no when needed. If money comes from film or TV, he will take it, but not in theater. Theatre remains demanding, a school that teaches generosity, teamwork, and culture, and it requires careful choice of friends, since lovers may become lifelong companions.
Have the methods of making movies and TV shows changed a lot in recent years?
Technically yes. Cables vanished. Yet this does not necessarily translate into better cinema or television. A platform executive once noted that quality has slipped for a discerning audience. It feels like much has been said already. Beyond the internal journey, Shakespeare set a high mark, and the rest is a matter of counting what has been expressed.
“Theatre is a lie that the audience agrees with; I pretend to be someone else and the audience pretends to believe it.”
There was a Goya win for a role in 1986. Is another award due soon?
Awards are not the final measure. They exist to support the work, not to crown it. It’s easy to tally who shines the most, but difficult to compare one actor to another. If a career is built on steady effort and dedication, recognition will come, though some achievements may feel undeserved. The true reward is the ongoing discipline of the craft.
An actor has no retirement age because roles span generations. Does he think about that moment?
No. Some creators never retire from their art. Do poets or writers retire? A dancer keeps moving, even when limits tighten. The idea that health fades with age is a reality, yet the philosophy remains that one can always pursue artistry. Chaplin once said there is only time to be an amateur in this life.
A few weeks ago, the Artists Charter was approved. Will the industry shift before and after this moment?
That question remains open. As El Brujo once said, the status of a wandering knight is hard to pin down. The unemployed seek support, while many actors are out of work for various reasons, from misfit professionalism to the lure of fame. There are many talented, replaceable performers, and they have every right to pursue visibility. Creating cinema and television is easy, reading the text sometimes just as simple, but the craft is not for everyone. I have seen many talented people who could outshine the world and many who would not. Being an actor remains something distinct.
“There are a lot of players who are unemployed because they deserve it, because they are bad, because they are not professional, because they are just handsome.”
If given a call to recommend a movie, TV show, or game, who would he listen to on the other end of the line?
To a friend. There are many: Fernando Colomo, David Galán Galindo, Jorge Coira. These would be great projects. Luck plays a part too. Sometimes a young creator believes in something and that belief fuels new work. Short films abound, and there are hopeful newcomers who think cinema started with a recent hit. He loves learning and remains curious, even as he notices when others are misinformed. Some people are very foolish, others incredibly smart.
He studied medicine. Might healing the body ever tempt him more than healing the soul?
Medicine was chosen because his father was a doctor, and he has never regretted it. He often imagines living three lives: one as a conductor, one as a doctor, and one as an actor.