Carlos Iglesias

Carlos Iglesias was born in Quintanar de la Orden (Toledo, Spain). His parents migrated to Switzerland until he was 13 years of age and then to Madrid and Alicante, both in Spain. He became an actor by accident while playing the part of an actor who had fallen ill in an independent theater group. He then went on to study at the RESAD (Real Academia de Arte Dramático, or Royal Academy for Dramatic Art). He became first known for his role as Pepelu in Pepe Navarro's TV show "Esta noche cruzamos el Mississippi" ('Tonight We'll Be Crossing the Mississippi', 1995-97). Later on he played Benito, a thick-brush, sloppy painter in the TV series "Manos a la obra" ('Let's Get To It', 1997-2001). It was in this series that he finally became widely popular, as ratings were usually quite high, topping 6 million viewers in a population of 42m. He directed his first big-screen movie, "Un franco, catorce pesetas", in 2006 ('Crossing Borders'). The movie plot (about the life of a Spanish immigrant in Switzerland in the late 1960s) is based on his parents' as well as his own experience as an immigrant.

Having received his diploma from the Real Escuela de Arte Dramático de Madrid (Madrid's Royal School for Dramatic Art), in the 1980s Carlos Iglesias acted mainly in both classic and contemporary theatrical venues. Among others, in 1982 he played a part in Carlo Goldoni's "Arlequín, servidor de dos amos", under Ángel Gutiérrez's direction and, with the same director, in Chejov's "Polinka". He worked in 1983 under director Luis Balaguer in Lauro Olmo's play "Pablo Iglesias"; in Valle-Inclán's "Los cuernos de Don Friolera", directed by José Estruch and Juan José Granda; in 1986 in Sergi Belbel's "Caleidoscopios y faros de hoy", directed by Juan José Granda; in 1987 in Federico García Lorca's "El público", produced by Lluís Pasqual for the Centro Dramático Nacional; in 1990-91 in Jean Genet's "Ella", directed by Ángel Facio; and in 1992 in Valle-Inclán's "Las galas del difunto", directed by Francisco Muñoz, among many other theater plays.

From the early 90s onwards, Carlos Iglesias opted mainly for television shows of all different kinds: drama productions (in José Ramón Larraz's "Goya"; in Mario Camus's "La forja de un rebelde"; in Luis García Berlanga's "Blasco Ibáñez"); TV series (in Vicente Escrivá's "Éste es mi barrio" and "Manos a la obra"; also in "Siete vidas" and Sergio Cabrera's "Cuéntame cómo pasó"); and as main actor in various TV shows, such as in the above-mentioned "Esta noche cruzamos el Mississippi".

For the big screen, he was cast for Pedro Costa's movie "El caso Almería" (1983); for Jaime Camino's "Dragón Rapide" (1986); or Pedro Pinzola's "Siempre felices" (1991). Recently, he has acted as SanchoPanza in Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón's "El caballero don Quijote" (2002) and in José Luis Garci's "Ninette" (2005), alongside Elsa Pataky.

Carlos Iglesias's first big-screen full-length movie as director, "Un franco, catorce pesetas" (Crossing Borders, 2006), was a hit among viewers, as well as a success in the various film festivals it took part in.

"Ispansi!" (literally 'Spaniards!' in Russian, 2010) is his second movie as director.