
Web posted March 21, 2001
Bardem Studied Hanks for Role
The Associated Press
He didn't want to star in an American film because he was afraid his English wasn't good enough.
When he finally took on the role of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, who wasted away from AIDS after fleeing his homeland, 32-year-old Spanish actor Javier Bardem studied the work of American actor Tom Hanks.
Hanks won an Oscar for his performance as a young lawyer battling AIDS in the 1993 film "Philadelphia."
Now Bardem has been nominated for a best-actor Oscar for his role in "Before Night Falls." Other nominees are Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Geoffrey Rush ‹ and Hanks.
How has the Oscar nomination changed his life?
"Let's say that more people know me and know my work now, which is great, because that's what an actor wants. To be known," he told The Associated Press. "But generally speaking I don't think it will change my life that much. It's something that in three years from now nobody will remember it."
And what will Bardem do if he wins?
"I'll throw a big party and get drunk with my friends."
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