Javier Rey (Noia, A Coruña, 1980) began to be a familiar face for the Spanish audience thanks to the character of Mateo in the Velvet series. On the international scene, the interpretation of the Galician drug trafficker Sito Miñanco in Fariña catapulted him. Now, the small screen offers him a new candy: interpreting doctor GarcÃa from one of the most iconic novels by Almudena Grandes in a ten-episode miniseries that premieres today on La 1 and will later arrive on Netflix.
Los pacientes del doctor GarcÃa (Tusquets Editores) received the 2018 National Narrative Award and is the fourth of the novels that make up Episodes of an Interminable War, the project with which the author wanted to narrate significant moments of the anti-Franco resistance. The book and the series, which cover a period of 40 years, tell the story of Dr. Guillermo GarcÃa, who, after Franco’s victory, continues to live in Madrid under a false identity thanks to the documentation provided by Manuel Arroyo (Tamar Novas ), a Republican diplomat whose life he saved in 1937.
Javier Rey, who declares himself a follower of the work of Almudena Grandes, is enthusiastic about this “doctor who loves his profession and whose obsession is saving lives, no matter which side they belong to.” After the Civil War, he is forced to live in hiding to survive, as happened to many citizens. The series also addresses “a part of the story not very told in this country: that the Franco dictatorship covered up Nazi criminals.”
When he was offered the role in this series produced by Diagonal (Banijay Iberia) and Deaplaneta, he was excited and scared “in equal parts†because he was aware of the magnitude of the project. “And now he will surely be one of the most important characters in my life,” predicts the actor, who has been left with the thorn of not being able to meet Almudena Grandes, who died before finishing filming. “He was very involved in the scripts and also in the casting decisions,†among which was the approval of him playing the lead, “which gave me a lot of peace of mind before shooting.†He regrets that the author “has not been able to see the series because I am very proud to be Dr. GarcÃa.”
With a reputation for preparing characters conscientiously and almost obsessively, for the Galician actor Doctor GarcÃa’s patients sends the clear message that “any war is stupid and unnecessary, even though it has happened and sadly continues to happen.” For this reason, it is necessary to avoid launching “hate messages from the political sphere that remain too archaic in 2023 and that seek to please an audience to win a handful of votes, without thinking about the consequences. That is a colossal irresponsibilityâ€. Projects like this are necessary to, through entertainment and fiction, “get to know our history from another point of view, away from those who want to destroy it for their own benefit.”
While in his professional life the news about his work does not stop (the supernatural thriller The Sleeping Woman is pending release), in his private life he is discreet and only uses the networks to promote professional projects. Although he does not hide it, Rey also does not like to talk about the sentimental relationship that he has with the actress Blanca Suárez (since the filming of the movie The Summer We Live in 2019.
The actors had previously met in the series What their eyes were hiding, although, curiously, they did not make a good impression there, they revealed in El homiguero. But later they fell in love and since then they have formed one of the most established couples in Spanish cinema. Confirmation of their relationship came in 2020, when they decided to go through confinement together.
Although Rey’s childhood dream was to be a professional cyclist, he later discovered his vocation for acting. He moved to Madrid, where he worked as a telemarketer while training as an actor. In 2002 he met the Canarian actress Iris DÃaz (she participated in the second season of Hierro), with whom he formed a couple until 2018, when their paths parted shortly after their son Lucas was born.
