Javi Beltrán: “I act much better without thinking about what they will say about me”

Throughout the day we make many decisions: turn down one street or another, make that call you’ve been putting off for a long time, indulge yourself, contact that friend you haven’t heard from in a while, and so on. Decisions that have alternatives and that end up shaping your day, your month, your year and your life. Albert Boronat he has written and directed three stories full of decisions that make up the work A house in the mountain. These stories are not presented in the usual way in an audience, but around a table in the Heartbreak Hotel room. talk to Javi Beltránwhich, together with Sergi Torrecillahas embarked on this little adventure.

Teatre Barcelona: What was your first impression when reading the text?

Javier Beltran: The story is curious because Sergi Torrecilla and I are from the same generation. We had never worked together, but we were colleagues, and both of us, separately, had already worked with Albert Boronat. We proposed to Albert to do something together, and he said: “I have this text”. There was only a part of it then, I had submitted it to a competition. We read it and I loved it, it freaked me out. In addition, Boronat has a very peculiar way of writing. When you have to bring it to the stage as an actor, it is not a conventional text. I had already done a work with him, Snorkeland I already knew how to write, how to work and how to construct sentences. Sergi, on the other hand, had done two or three works with him. So, when we read this text, it was like: “This is incredible.”

The play is somewhat reminiscent of the books of Choose your adventurewhere you have to make continuous decisions. Taking this idea, you too have had several adventures throughout your career. One of them was to participate as an extra in an opera Turandot.

Yes, with the Núria Espert as director. I had just turned 18.

But do you sing?

No, what’s up! He was just an extra. He had already started to study dramatic art and worked as an usher in some cinemas. A classmate recommended it to me. I auditioned, went in and matched with a group of fantastic people, many of whom still work at the Liceu. They were older than me and looked after me a lot. It was brutal to be an extra at the Liceu de Barcelona.

Another adventure was your film debut playing Lorca in a film with Robert Pattinson, just before he did twilight.

Yes, just before. We were rehearsing and he said: “I’ve been offered a vampire movie in Canada, but what am I going to do in Canada playing a vampire? I don’t know if I will do it…”. And right when we finished shooting, he went over there to do it. And look, a brutal success. We had once gone for a few beers in Barcelona, ​​which would now be impossible with Robert. It was funny and curious.

‘The history boys’ (2008, Goya Theatre)

Then you worked a lot in theater, for example with Pou.

Yes, my professional leap into the theater was with him, a The history boys. We premiered it at the Goya and spent a year and a half touring all over Spain, which are things that are happening less and less, and it’s a shame. We were a group of young actors, there was also Nao Albert…

Without Marcel Borràs.

Exactly, without Marcel. Then I did another work in a row with the Well, a kind of biopic about Orson Welles. We also toured and it was a lot of fun. I have a lot of affection for him; he has been like a teacher to me.

‘Dreams of freedom’ (2004, RTVE)

And now you are combining theater with national television series.

Yes, we’ve been rolling for a year. Now we’re doing the second season and it’s working really well. We are audience leaders, we are delighted with life.

You also had time to study Humanities.

Yes, I have a degree.

Your trajectory is not very common, because many actors do not chain jobs constantly. I imagine you said a lot of “yes”, but were there any “no”?

Phew, many. For the past two or three years, fortunately, I have had the privilege, sometimes, of turning down projects because I am already in others. But it’s not very common, and it makes me angry that I can’t do everything. I like to be everywhere.

And how do you manage to say no?

When I say no, I get restless because I think: “What am I missing?”. I also worry if someone will take it the wrong way or if they will call me back. But it’s the actor’s day-to-day life. It’s not easy to say no, because who knows whether in six months I’ll have a job or not. But it is what it is. And sometimes it happens that I don’t have anything for months and suddenly everything comes to me at once. I manage it as best I can. When they say no to me, I think I’ve learned that nothing happens. It’s a matter of odds, luckily. You can do a very good test, but if they want someone who does 1.60, then I don’t fit. And what will I do? Will I get stuck? No, it has to go ahead.

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