On his way to the textile store where he proposed taking the photo, Javier Gutiérrez (Luanco, 53 years old) passes by his little son’s daycare, who is sitting, along with the rest of his classmates, ready to eat. The actor crouches down, leans out, laughs happily. Javier Gutiérrez, a magnetic actor if ever there was one, capable of taking on characters and roles of all types and conditions, has become an essential actor in the cinema, television and theater scene. Member of the legendary Animalario theater group, winner of many awards—Goya and Concha de Plata in San Sebastián for The minimal island and another Goya award for The author, among others—has been chaining together impressive performances for years. His most recent work, the role of judge in the series The Asunta case and the one he has made for the cinema in Birds. Now he returns to the theater with Luis Bermejo with Costume, a feature written and directed by Juan Cavestany, which premiered more than ten years ago. Black comedy that delves into the loneliness of human beings, voracity and corruption, Costume arrives in Madrid, at the Teatro de La Abadía, where it has been performed since May 30 and which, before its premiere, has been extended until July 7 due to ticket sales.
Ask. After 10 years, what has moved you to approach this function again?
Answer. It was Luis’s decision. [Bermejo] and mine. After the good taste in our mouths that left us working in The holy innocents, we wanted to tackle a new text or do something with this life of comedians, of traveling, of chatting about the job and about life, of sharing things. It was then that we started looking for a text, until we realized that The Suit had been a function that had not been sufficiently exploited.
Q. It was a work focused on talking about political corruption. Has anything changed?
R. When we commissioned this text from Cavestany more than 10 years ago, we did so to talk about political corruption, which was then one of the main concerns of the Spanish people. In this new function, corruption is somewhat more out of focus. Both Luis and I have a different weight and a different position, we are the same actors, but with more skill and we have faced the text from another place. 10 years ago, we were not so aware of what the text contained, because we had not gone through the journey of illness, death and loneliness that the pandemic and confinement entailed. We have also faced two economic crises, and that is why the entire feeling of loneliness of the individual, the dehumanization of society and how important that final embrace is in which the protagonists of the story merge makes much more sense. Costume. They are two beings stranded in life who cry out for someone to hug them.
Q. Does it look different on stage?
R. More than looking different, I feel different. I am the same, but with a higher level of demand and responsibility. It continues to amaze me that, with such a varied offering as there is in the theater, there are people who leave their house to see Luis and me on stage. That gives me an enormous level of responsibility.
Q. The panorama it describes Costume It is pure selfishness and voracity. Is it so bleak?
R. Something yes, but it leaves a small door to hope. The viewer has a lot of fun, laughs a lot because it is a show with a lot of humor, but it causes absolute anxiety and leaves many questions in the air about who we are and what the society that we are building together is like. The protagonists are two castaways adrift, without handholds, who what they need is for someone to lend them a hand, they urgently need help. In the midst of the noise and polarization that we experience, what we all need is a hug. I am a person who continues to believe in human beings.
Q. Are we facing a savage capitalist world?
R. Definitely. We live in a capitalist society that is increasingly savage and, what is worse, anesthetized. We are not aware of the wheel in which we have been put. It seems an atrocity to me that there are entire families who spend their weekends in shopping centers, what they earn during the week they spend that same week.
Q. Do you think that Spanish society is not critical enough of corruption?
R. I think we have gotten bored and it is something that cannot be tolerated. The political class always plays ‘and you more’, instead of doing an absolute cleanup. Corruption contaminates everyone.
Q. Again against Luis Bermejo, after their meeting in The holy innocents. What is the interpretive duel like with an actor like him?
R. To start, you have to place yourself at the level of Luis Bermejo. Luis is one of the great actors of this country, with a mastery and brilliance like few of his peers. Trying to live up to him is not easy. Plus, he is a real delight as a person. We understand each other very well. At Animalario, we use languages and a way of listening that makes us complement each other very well. If I do theater it is for two things, one because I believe that we are bearers of culture and that is why we have to reach every corner of this country, which means taking the van and traveling thousands of kilometers and then traveling companions. Travel companions in the profession are increasingly important to me, and Luis is a travel companion like few others.
Q. Costume It raises some very specific facts, but they provoke very different and antagonistic opinions. In a world inundated by lies, is there a way to fight them?
R. It is very difficult to put an end to lies when rulers and the media are installed in it, when what they should do is set an example and proclaim the truth. The system is totally perverted, and I don’t know if it has a very easy solution.
Q. For years he has not stopped chaining jobs, which sometimes overlap. Where do you get the energy from?
R. There is a valid formula for me and it is not to think in the long term, not even in the medium term. In order not to get anxious and go into crisis, what I do is go day by day, I don’t usually review what I have to do next week so that the ball doesn’t get too big. It is true that I also lose many hours of sleep, in addition to having the immense luck of a fantastic couple who takes care of the children.
Q. Cinema, television, theater. Nothing escapes him. Are you aware that his name is already a guarantee of success?
R. It would be a mistake to see it that way. If there is one thing that saves me, it is thinking that every project I start has a lot of work to do and that, perhaps, I am not able to bring it to a successful conclusion. I have said no to jobs because I have not felt capable. What is true is that when I give the green light to a project I get involved until the end, I give my best. There are very few in our profession who can choose. Sometimes I can do it, but other times I can’t. I want to live as best I can and support my family and that sometimes leads you to accept jobs that you are not passionate about.
Q. Another recent success has been the series about the Asunta case, in which you play the judge.
R. The story is very hard and I think that the success of this series has been to avoid sensationalism and treat the case with the greatest rigor and sensitivity possible. There are the examples and the commitment to the interpretation of its two protagonists, Candela Peña and Tristán Ulloa.
![Javier Gutiérrez shows one of the garments from the Cáritas Moda clothing store.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/MPGAJYI77RC77N5L43CXSPLWUE.jpg?auth=2546d5d3b5fd78e5ea6b04a35831e729edd0224228356791ae57ba823ca0f508&width=414)
Q. He was part of the Animalario theater group. Do you miss those years?
R. A lot. It was a very wild time in our lives. Animalario was for me a change that was not only professional, but also vital. We were a family and I long to live those creative processes. Although we no longer have the same energies and have other types of responsibilities, I do miss the stage proposals and the risks when approaching them. We continue to collaborate a lot with Alberto San Juan, Andrés Lima, Cavestany, Luis Bermejo and Nathalie Poza.
Q. What does theater give you as a citizen?
R. I am very attracted to the political themes that are addressed in theater, where there is greater risk and commitment to those themes, unlike in cinema, which is much lighter. Perhaps because more money is at stake in cinema and that is why chains, investors or platforms are more careful not to step into certain puddles. As an actor, meeting the audience is something necessary and vital.
Q. Is it scary to go on stage?
R. I go through moments of horror, but if you feel calm before going on stage, something is not right. Those five minutes before going on stage, when you have already left your dressing room, the curtain is drawn and you hear the roar of the audience are addictive.
Q. Where does your passion for acting come from?
R. It comes from a sickly shy child who read a lot and spent many hours alone. We lived in Ferrol where it rained almost every day and we couldn’t go outside to play. Also to imagine many lives. I broadcast soccer games with marbles and trading cards, which I recorded on my sisters’ tape recorder, imitating the voice of José María García. We lived in a house that was a sort of rue del Percebe, a 13-story building with four doors per floor, and at family gatherings I imitated the neighbors. He had a gift for that and he exploited it in meetings. I realized that I amused the staff and I felt very comfortable. I think my passion for this profession as an actor comes from that.
Q. Would you define yourself in any way as an actor?
R. I would talk about honesty. I feel very upset when I’m not up to par and that happens to me sometimes in the theater. For me, doing a bad job is the worst thing that can happen to me. It happened to me with a shakespeare directed by Andrés Lima and no matter how hard I tried to climb that summit, I never arrived. It was a horror for me to do that show.
Q. Is it very demanding then?
R. A lot, with me and the people around me, that’s the worst. I am not one of those actors who tries to save their ass, I am always very aware of what surrounds me so that together we can contribute truth to the story we tell.
Q. In Costume, Luis Bermejo’s character assures: “Everything worthwhile requires a sacrifice.” Do you share it?
R. Absolutely. Nobody gives anything away. The culture of effort is not valued enough and it is a mistake. If someone asks me what the formula for success is, if working continuously can be considered success, I think so, I answer work, work, work. There are no magic wands or godparents. Sometimes there is a portion of luck, but only if there is a lot of work behind it.
Q. Have you ever dreamed of the career you have today?
R. Not even close. Not in the best of my dreams. Every time I pass by Gran Vía I remember that 18-year-old boy who, when he arrived in Madrid, walked down that street and saw the movie posters and neon lights in amazement. My bedside book is trip to nowhere, by Fernando Fernán Gómez. I arrived in Madrid with the idea of being part of that family of comedians, with my suitcase up and down. Many times, my colleagues and I live that image of miles and miles to perform in distant places.
Q. Are you worried about the future?
R. Yes, because even the oldest locals tell you that this is a saw-toothed job. Just because you are here today does not mean that you will be here tomorrow. Just as the phone rings, it stops ringing. Pilar Bardem tells in her memoirs that the telephone that was in the hallway of her house was the one that filled the refrigerator.
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