Javier Bardem has expressed gratitude to Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, who at the press conference of the jury members of the official section of the Cannes festival, defended that the Spanish actor, like Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo, raised their voices publicly in support of Gaza and harshly criticized the American industry for the alleged professional reprisals against the three actors. “I sent him a message through a mutual friend thanking him and also Laverty has always been an artistic and personal reference,” the Oscar-winning actor confessed to a small group of journalists during an interview about his role in El ser querido, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, which is competing for the Palme d’Or and is officially presented this afternoon at the French festival.
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“He is a guy who without having to say it, raised his hand and said he had to clarify something… and speaking of that blacklist he referred to or that boycott I will say that there are things I have heard, nothing specific that I can report because otherwise I would report with names and surnames, but what I am feeling is quite the opposite, I am feeling more people even calling me from the United States to shoot,” he admitted. “I feel that there are more people supporting – he continued – maybe not speaking publicly but recognizing that this is the way to move forward. And that has to do with the new generations, who have said ‘no, this is unacceptable’.”
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Bardem is aware that when you take action “there are reprisals,” and in his opinion, “it’s fine because I can afford them, since I have a work spectrum that allows me to. I always say that those who are in my situation should speak. I think it’s cowardly not to speak if you can. If you are starting your career maybe you shouldn’t, but if you can, I find it cowardly because neutrality is no longer an option in the face of a massacre like this which is very identifiable and very unjustifiable,” he concluded.
