So what are you working on now? The last three films that we've seen here in the States were political, as we discussed, but they were done a long time ago. Are the projects you're looking at now in the same vein - will people assume you're making a statement again?

[Laughs] It's funny... I've been reading a lot, between Spain other countries around the world, and I haven't found anything that I'm crazy about.

Interesting. So you're not shooting or in pre-production on anything now?

No, I'm not.

Wow.

I'm not - I mean, it's been a year and a half since Mondays In the Sun. I've done some theater in Madrid, but not any movies, and it's fine for me. I'm patient, which is good.

What was the theater that you did?

Every Monday I was doing a piece from two plays: one from Chekov’s Three Sisters and a William Shakespeare play called Measure By Measure. Every Monday in an acting school. Not because I was teaching - because I was learning. [Laughs]

Were you doing those in English or in Spanish? Or Russian in the case of Chekov.

[Laughs] No, Spanish.

That's very cool. Do you aspire to do bigger theater, larger productions?

I would love to do that and basically that's exactly what I'm thinking about because scripts, cinema scripts, are not really good. I suppose it's time to move on.

Or maybe the good scripts are so small that they can't find their way to you. You don't know that they're out there because they're not being written by the big people who can get their stuff to you because you're such a big movie star now. [Laughs]

[Chuckles] Yeah, I'm sure I'm a big movie star now.

It's really funny though - you would not consider it and maybe many others wouldn't consider it, but it's amazing the level that you have exploded to over the years and I just hope that you are able to keep doing what you want to do in the face of obstacles like the evil paparazzi.

[Laughing] I would love to and that's my goal! To express through those roles that I think are worth making, because only that way will I be happy and bring something to them.

And you know what? I would like to answer how you know you said before that you had some problems with my character in Mondays In the Sun. It's funny because I was reading the script and yes, sometimes I was thinking, who is this guy? I mean, he's a nice guy, he's a violent guy, he's a joker, he's a son of a bitch. But at the end everything resolved. What I thought is that he looks very selfish but at the end he's the one who's really paying attention to the rest of the people and the one who reminds them that they have to be together otherwise they will be destroyed, which is something that is going on in these days. People go out on the streets and say no to war. If we are together, some people will listen to us. If we as individuals do something, we as individuals we won't be heard, and that's a pity but it's true.

So what I like about Mondays In the Sun is that my character goes through different levels and mixes different colors but at the end - it's not to forgive it or excuse him - you realize that he has a big heart, and I like that. I'm in love with that role, I'm sorry. [Chuckles] But I can understand why you said what you said. And also, the movie gives four different points of view of four unemployed people in that bar: the one who goes looking for a job desperately; the guy who works as a security guard; the other man who's so afraid that he can't stop drinking; or me, the one who says, between choosing something bad and something really bad, I choose nothing. And that's very brave and that's difficult to understand for people like us.

Well, I didn't mean to insinuate that I didn't like Santa, but just like you said, he was complicated, which is a great thing - he made me think, he wasn't just entertaining. Film doesn't have to be entertaining all the time. He was a good example of what it is to try and stick with what you believe in and how you can get frustrated in that. And he was an interesting juxtaposition, a challenging compliment, to another character of yours like Rejas, who is trying so hard to be in control of a situation but is still sticking to what he believes in, like the fact that he's not going to engage in violence and he's not going to be corrupt just to get things under control. It says a lot about you.

When did you see Mondays and where?

I unfortunately saw on videotape but I turned off all the lights and paid close attention in my house, because I didn't make it at Sundance.

Fernando Leon, the director, was in L.A. like three days ago - it played at the Egyptian theater.

Yeah, I was out of town for that. Did you hear what the reaction was?

I heard it was very good. I don’t know - I heard only from Fernando; he left me a message, he was very happy. And I will say that Fernando is not especially... I mean, he's a very happy man because he's fine with what he does, but he's not a very euphoric person. It's difficult for him to go euphoric with the response of the people.

I think you're going to get a lot of people saying that it's the anti-Full Monty. It's kind of a silly way to categorize it but that's what I was thinking of: "This is the way that it really is, rather than a bunch of guys going out and becoming strip dancers or something."

Well, I'm sure that Fernando would love to talk to you.

[Laughs]

Because when the movie came out, some of them were asking that even at Sundance. I liked Full Monty, I had a good time with it, but it's true, the comparison, even though I never thought about it. And Fernando says, I don't like a movie where at the end these people, in order to get some money and to get some respect, have to put their pants down and show their ass, and it's true. [Laughs] We're the opposite.

Exactly - and thank you for making the opposite. Thank you for making things real.

You're welcome. Thank you for telling me that.

You're welcome, and happy early birthday to you - I hope you have a good one!

How do you know it's my birthday?

Because this is what happens when you become a big name! It's in the bio that gets passed around.

Okay. [Laughs] First of March, 34 years, I'm an old man.

You are so young! That's another thing that blows my mind, that you've done so much and that you have this capacity to get so much across in your roles and to be so powerful while you are so young.

Thank you very much.

I can't imagine what you'll be doing when you're fifty or sixty - it’s gonna be crazy.

Me either! Oh my god, I don't even want to think about it!

Take it slow, take it slow.

You know what? I would like to meet you, I would like to talk to you in person.

Someday when you're in L.A. again I'll come up to you and I'll play this tape for you and you can remember that we had this conversation.

Okay!