He gained notoriety for his performance as Chema in Thesis (1996), his feature film debut and for which he won the Goya Award for Best New Actor.

[2][3] He moved to Madrid to study at the RESAD, where he set up a theater and storytelling group, the 'Sex-Peare', along with other school alumni.

[4] His chance at stardom came at the hand of Alejandro Amenábar, who offered him a role in his opera prima Thesis.

[6] It was followed by performances in films such as Open Your Eyes (1997),[7] Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998), The Art of Dying (1999), April Captains (2000), Black Serenade (2001), and Bad Education (2004).

This page draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia which was accessed in the version of 30 November 2005.