Juanjo Artero: "I haven't stopped doing theater these years, I'm enjoying it"

Spanish actor Juanjo Artero, known for his role as Javi in the series Verano Azul and as Charlie in the series El Comisario, has landed in Lanzarote to be part of the jury of the Lanzarote Film Festival in this 2024 edition.

In the meeting with the media this Friday on the terrace of the Gran Hotel in Arrecife, he revealed to La Voz the enthusiasm with which he has faced the challenge of being a jury member at this film festival. The interpreter has enjoyed the experience of belonging to the court in the Animation section. From his personal experience, he has made it clear that in this edition "there was a lot of level", the main reason why it has been difficult for him to score the candidates. "It has been complicated, so I hope I have been fair," he acknowledged. In addition, he wanted to highlight the importance of making community with his fellow jurors at the festival, to acquire different visions about the work of the participants. "Being with more people on a jury you learn from the point of view of other colleagues," he pointed out.

Artero recalled his beginnings in the world of acting, which were at age 14, in one of the series that marked the lives of Spaniards, Verano Azul. A start at an early age in the profession that helped him discover that being an actor was what he wanted for his life. "I owe a lot to it and I don't deny it, I fell in love with the profession with the series," he confessed. Thanks to the character as to the series, in a stage to which he has a lot of affection, he has managed to maintain that innocence of a first project. "I have not lost that spontaneity, doing everything from the game as when you are a child", he said.

The actor explained to the newspaper that it was a key moment that marked a before and after in his career. "What taught me the most was the experience of filming and its director Antonio Mercero," he added. Despite the great success that the series had when it premiered in October of 1981, the main protagonist was not aware of the impact it was going to have shortly after. "Look how innocent I was, I thought nobody was watching it", he said.

The actor wanted to share with the readers a curious anecdote that happened to him with his friends in his adolescence. "I didn't tell anyone that I had done the series and when I became more friends with someone I would say: "I'm in the series, but don't say anything", he confessed. He could not imagine what was seen at that time, until he realized his fame.

"I have not lost that spontaneity that I had at 14 years old"

Artero has shown the passion with which he currently dedicates himself to the theater. An interpretive branch in which he is immersed. The illusion that gives him getting on a stage and interacting with the public is palpable in his words. "I have not stopped doing theater these years, and now I have been a year without series, I am enjoying it," he made clear. His current theatrical work Robots, is a clear example of a worked function and to which he has dedicated a lot of passion. "It has been three and a half months of rehearsals, a wonderful experience that is appreciated in the result of the work," he revealed.

In addition to actor, presenter, and higher graduate in dramatic art, he has also been a producer of a very personal monologue: The miracle of the earth. A type of theatrical work that he premiered in his beloved Nerja (Málaga), in which he "was born as an actor" and that has brought him "many joys". "It talks about my own story," he explained. Dedicating himself to producing has meant reconnecting with the times when he worked in the company theatrical Micomicón, in which he dedicated himself to "take the van and sell functions", among many other activities. "Being an entrepreneur is something that is in my being", he clarified.

One of the most exciting moments he has experienced throughout his professional career was when he was nominated for the Goya Awards for Best Male Supporting Actor for his character in the film No Rest for the Wicked, a film that won six Goya Awards in 2011. He discovered that he was a candidate to achieve the award while listening to the news at home. "I found out about the nomination on the radio while I was in the bathroom," he said. Laughing, he looked back and explained that it was an award that made him especially restless and so he commented on the sensations he had during the gala. "At the moment in which they said the name of my partner I relaxed, I would have liked them to give it to me, but I thought: "Uf!, how good, now I don't have to go up there", he revealed. Although he would have loved to get the recognition, in the previous moment he was full of nerves. "Oh my god, if I screw up it's going to be in front of the whole profession!", he acknowledged with great naturalness.

A promising future awaits the actor in the profession. In September he resumes the tour of Robots, and also, he will continue betting on the theater with the play Ifigenia, in which he will play the character of Greek mythology Agamenón, in the International Classical Theater Festival of Mérida, in which he will work again with his partner María Garralón. Two bets with which he lets himself go and flow towards his next works. "The waves are coming and you are dodging them," he confessed. The actor makes it clear that he does not close doors to expand his participation in other projects, "if it allows him to combine it with the theater", he assured.

Artero has encouraged young people who want to dedicate themselves to acting to bet on the profession. Like him, his son and daughter are dedicated to acting, they help each other to work together for the sequences and encourage each other in their projects. His daughter has recently been chosen to debut in a small role. "I live it with nerves, but I tell him that he has a lot to do, that it is the first one," he stressed. The greatest teaching he has extracted and that he can instill in his children is to continue fighting to enter the profession. "You have to have the body tuned, not conform and learn from everyone", he advised.

Seeing his children follow his professional steps is a great joy as a father. Also his passion for acting was something that came from family. "My father was an amateur of acting," he revealed. He wanted to comment on the way in which his father began to connect with the profession. "In college he joined the theater group and did a tour of Morocco with a play at a film festival," he pointed out proudly.

Family trip to Lanzarote with 18 years

"I have come to Lanzarote a lot," he said when asked about his contacts with the volcanic island. In fact, he has not let escape the "beautiful memory" of a trip to Lanzarote in the past. The actor has confessed that he made a "very special" getaway to the island at age 18, in which he spent a few days in a caravan with his parents. So much has been the emotion that has invaded him that he could not avoid shedding a tear remembering his recently deceased father.

The actor is clear about what his plans will be for these days during his stay on the island. "I am going to focus on the festival and on resting," he specified. Although he does not rule out approaching to "do some excursion" through some of the corners of the island, and of course, take the opportunity to enjoy the gastronomy.