Javier Bardem is one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood working today with several acclaimed credits to his credit including Skyfall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and the Dune franchise. The actor can do great things on screen as he has proved it appearing in Mother! and No Country For Old Man.
But the actor had a riveting childhood, at least the memories of it would be quite weird for many. Bardem revealed that he had a crush on an alien from an acclaimed Hollywood sci-fi movie directed by none other than the legendary, Steven Spielberg.
Javier Bardem’s Bizzare Childhood Crush
Javier Bardem has forged a remarkable resume to his credit. Revisiting his childhood, the Oscar winner (he won an Oscar for his groundbreaking villainous portrayal in No Country For Old Man) revealed that he had a weird crush. In a chat with British Vogue, the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales star revealed that he was enamored by an alien in his childhood. Answering to Vogue’s query about his childhood crush, the actor said:
“ET. I remember the day I saw the film three times in a row. I remember when I met Steven Spielberg. He’s such a wonderful man. What an artist.”
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is considered one of the finest sci-fi movies of all time with a blockbuster theatrical run grossing over $797 million (per The Numbers) at the global box office. The Steven Spielberg-directed movie also went on to become a critical darling claiming an astonishing 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Remarkably, Bardem’s crush, ET. was voiced by Pat Welsh, Steven Spielberg, and Kayden Green in the movie but uncredited.
Javier Bardem Is The Great Admirer Of Steven Spielberg
Bardem has always been a huge admirer of the legendary director. Spielberg’s legacy is unmatched and apart from being Hollywood’s gentleman, the director has made his name among the greatest directors of all time. “I met Steven Spielberg and I told him, ‘I’ve seen E.T. 24 times onscreen in theaters,” Bardem said on theoffcamerashow about his encounter with Spielberg. “And the second movie that I saw the most [was] Raiders of the Lost Ark … He’s great, funny, nice, caring, humble.”
However, the actor turned down an opportunity to star in another successful movie by the director. “I was scared,” Bardem admitted after declining to appear in Spielberg’s 2002 movie, Minority Report for the role of Danny Witwer that eventually went to Colin Farrell.
“I didn’t speak English enough … He gave me this opportunity and I felt like, ‘No, I can’t do this now because it’s not gonna be fun for me. I’m not going to enjoy it. I’m going to be stuck in the pressure of being in a big movie with you, speaking a foreign language that I don’t control.’ You would think that [an actor] who nobody knows rejecting Steven Spielberg [would make him angry]. Well, I’ll let you know, he was so nice, so generous, so understanding. So like, ‘Of course, you don’t see yourself [in the part], it’s fine. It will be some other time.’ He was so caring, that I was very impressed. It shows you that the real people with real talent usually are great people. They’re very humble and very grounded and very in touch with empathy.”
The Spanish star has definitely improved his English speaking as he went on to star in several Hollywood movies with loaded English dialogues. Also, it is safe to assume that now the actor would not want to move away from an opportunity to collaborate with Spielberg.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is available for rent on Apple TV and other video-on-demand platforms.
