Eduard Fernández

Eduard Fernández Serrano (born 25 August 1964) is a Spanish screen and stage actor from Catalonia. He has featured in films such as Fausto 5.0, In the City (2003), Smoke & Mirrors (2016), While at War (2019), The 47 (2024), and Marco, the Invented Truth (2024). He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Goya Awards.

Early life and education Eduard Fernández was born in Barcelona on 25 August 1964. His breakthrough film role in 1999 thriller Washington Wolves earned him a nomination to the Goya Award for Best New Actor.

His portrayal of Santos Vella, a contemporary Mephistopheles, in Fausto 5.0 (2001) earned him the Goya Award for Best Actor.

Fernández starred in Alberto Rodríguez's political thriller Smoke & Mirrors (2016) as corrupt spy/fixer Francisco Paesa, clinching the Silver Shell for Best Actor at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.

In 2019, he portrayed the founder of the Spanish Legion, one-eyed and one-armed Millán Astray, in While at War, a drama film set in the early stages of the Spanish Civil War focused on the plight of philosopher Miguel de Unamuno. For his performance in the film, he won a Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred in Belén Funes' social drama A Thief's Daughter in tandem with his daughter Greta.

In 2021, Fernández featured in Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea, in which he portrayed Open Arms founder Òscar Camps, the protagonist of the film.

Fernández featured in 2022 psychological thriller God's Crooked Lines (2022), portraying psychiatric hospital director Samuel Alvar, the nemesis of lead character Alice Gould. In an interview to Vanity Fair, Fernández stated that he believed his character to be "a bit misogynistic in addition to having a big ego". Fernández attending the 81st Venice International Film Festival in 2024 for the premiere of Marco, the Invented Truth. In 2024, Fernández portrayed two iconic roles in film: Manolo Vital in The 47 and Enric Marco in Marco, the Invented Truth, the former a bus driver of immigrant background who hijacked a Barcelona bus line in 1978 in order to stand for his neighbors' rights and the latter an impostor who falsely pretended to be a survivor of the Flossenbürg concentration camp. For the aforementioned performances, he respectively won the Gaudí and the Goya Awards for Best Leading Actor. Also in 2024, he was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts. The year was rounded up with the short film El otro, Fernández's directorial debut, which premiered at the 69th Seminci. In 2025, he was awarded with Spain's , recognizing his career as well as a year 2024 with "two outstanding performances in two completely different films".

In 2025, he portrayed PCE leader Santiago Carrillo in the historical drama miniseries The Anatomy of a Moment about the 23 February 1981 Spanish coup attempt. In order to prepare for the role, he worked with Carlos Latre. In the film, he portrayed a renowned writer and scholar reuniting with his three estranged children for Christmas.

Family Fernández had a 25-year relationship with writer , with whom he had one daughter, Greta (born 1995), who has also pursued an acting career.

Views In 2026, Fernández co-signed alongside other Spanish artists a text urging the United Nations and the governments of the world to actively work towards the release from prison of Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti.

Partial filmography

Films Year Title Role Notes 1994 Souvenir Feature film debut Los lobos de Washington (Washington Wolves) Miguel 2000 El portero (The Goalkeeper) Nardo 2001 La voz de su amo (His Master's Voice) Charli Son de mar (Sound of the Sea) Alberto Sierra Fausto 5.0 Santos Vella 2002 El embrujo de Shanghai (The Shanghai Spell) Forcat Smoking Room Ramírez 2003 The Galíndez File Jesús Galíndez En la ciudad (In the City) Mario 2004 Cosas que hacen que la vida valga la pena (Things That Make Living Worthwhile) Jorge 2005 Hormigas en la boca (Ants in the Mouth) Martín Obaba Lucas El método (The Method) Fernando 2006 Alatriste Sebastián Copons Ficción (Fiction) Álex 2008 3 días (Before the Fall) Lucio Che Ciro Algarañaz El vestido Fernando 2009 Amores locos (Mad Love) Enrique Tres dies amb la família (Three Days With the Family) Josep Maria Flores negras Peter Luna caliente Juan 2010 Biutiful Tito Pa negre (Black Bread) Mestre ('teacher') La mosquitera (The Mosquito Net) Miquel 2011 La piel que habito (The Skin I Live In) Fulgencio 2012 The Pelayos (Winning Streak) La Bestia Emilio Miel de naranjas (Orange Honey) Vicente Una pistola en cada mano (A Gun in Each Hand) E. 2013 Todas las mujeres (All the Women) Nacho Gente en sitios (People in Places) 2014 Marsella (Marseille) Jesús El Niño Sergio Murieron por encima de sus posibilidades (Dying Beyond Their Means) Los ausentes 2015 Lejos del mar (Far from the Sea) Santi Felices 140 (Happy 140) Ramón Truman Luis 2016 La noche que mi madre mató a mi padre (The Night My Mother Killed My Father) Ángel El hombre de las mil caras (Smoke & Mirrors) Francisco Paesa 1898, los últimos de Filipinas (1898, Our Last Men in the Philippines) 2017 Perfectos desconocidos (Perfect Strangers) Alfonso 2018 Todos lo saben (Everybody Knows) Fernando 2019 Mientras dure la guerra (While at War) Millán-Astray La hija de un ladrón (A Thief's Daughter) Manuel 2021 Mediterráneo (Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea) Oscar 2022 Los renglones torcidos de Dios (God's Crooked Lines) Samuel Alvar Marco, la verdad inventada (Marco, the Invented Truth) Enric Marco El 47 (The 47) El mal padre (The Bad Father) Santiago Balmes 2011 Francesc Cambó TV movie 2014 Descalzo sobre la tierra roja Pedro Casaldáliga Miniseries La zona Héctor Uría 2020–23 30 monedas (30 Coins) Padre Vergara Mano de hierro (Iron Reign) Joaquín Manchado Anatomía de un instante (The Anatomy of a Moment) Santiago Carrillo (The House of the Spirits) Severo del Valle

Accolades

Fernández has been recognized by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain for the following:

14th Goya Awards: Best New Actor, nominated, for Washington Wolves (1999) 16th Goya Awards: Best Actor, win, for Fausto 5.0 (2001) and Best Supporting Actor, nomination, for Sound of the Sea (2001) 18th Goya Awards, Best Supporting Actor, win, for In the City (2003) 19th Goya Awards, Best Actor, nomination, for Things That Make Living Worthwhile (2004) 20th Goya Awards, Best Supporting Actor, nomination, for The Method (2005) 25th Goya Awards, Best Supporting Actor, nomination, for Biutiful (2010) 28th Goya Awards, Best Actor, nomination, for All the Women (2013) 29th Goya Awards, Best Supporting Actor, nomination, for El Niño (2014) 31st Goya Awards, Best Actor, nomination, for Smoke & Mirrors (2016) 33rd Goya Awards, Best Supporting Actor, nomination, for Everybody Knows (2018) 34th Goya Awards, Best Supporting Actor, win, for While at War (2019) 36th Goya Awards, Best Actor, nomination, for Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea (2021) 39th Goya Awards, Best Actor, win, for Marco, the Invented Truth (2024)