Juan Diego Botto

Juan Diego Botto Rota (born 29 August 1975) is an Argentine-Spanish film, stage and television actor.

Born in Argentina, he moved to Spain together with his mother (the actress and acting coach Cristina Rota) in 1978. Following early film appearances as a child actor, he landed a breakthrough role in the 1995 film Stories from the Kronen. He has since starred in films such as Martín (Hache) (1997), Plenilune (2000), Broken Silence (2001), Obaba (2005), Go Away from Me (2006) and Ismael (2013). He has also worked as a stage director and playwright and debuted as a film director with the 2022 social drama-thriller On the Fringe.

Early life Botto was born on 29 August 1975 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, son of and Cristina Rota. was kidnapped and murdered in 1977 during the Argentine Dirty War. His sisters are both actresses. His mother taught acting classes out of their apartment, before creating her own academy.

Botto attended high school in New York and lived there for two years.

Career Botto studied acting at the school founded by his mother in Madrid, which later became the Center for New Creators, based in the Sala Mirador. Later he moved to New York to continue his studies under the direction of Uta Hagen.

Botto's first film appearance was at the age of eight in the film Game of Power, by Fausto Canel (1983).

During the 1980s, Botto played small roles in films and appeared in the 1990 American television series Zorro. In 1992, he landed a role as the son of Christopher Columbus in the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise, by Ridley Scott. Three years later he starred in the film Stories from the Kronen, an adaptation by Montxo Armendáriz of the novel of the same name, in which he achieved great success and popularity.

Botto's role in the 1999 film Sobreviviré (I Will Survive), about a woman who falls in love with a man who, unknown to her, is homosexual, got him more national and international recognition.

Botto's career has included films such as Martín (Hache), by the director Adolfo Aristarain; Broken Silence, by Montxo Armendáriz, Plenilunio, by Imanol Uribe, Asfalto, by Daniel Calparsoro; Go Away from Me, by Víctor García León; Todo lo que tú quieras, by Achero Mañas; as well as several works abroad, such as The Dancer Upstairs, directed by John Malkovich and starring Javier Bardem; Bordertown, by Gregory Nava, starring Jennifer Lopez; The Anarchist's Wife, by Marie Noëlle and Peter Sehr; and El Greco, by Yannis Smaragdis, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cairo Film Festival in 2008.

In his professional career he has always combined cinema and theater. He is the coordinator of the Sala Mirador theater.

In 2005, he directed the play El privilegio de ser perro (The Privilege of Being a Dog), written by himself, about the tough life immigrants are subjected to while trying to sneak into and live in a new country. In December 2008, and after a tour throughout Spain, Hamlet premiered at the Theatre of María Guerrero in Madrid, which he directed and starred in, along with José Coronado, Marta Etura and Nieve de Medina, among others. He is also the author of the plays Despertares y celebraciones, directed by his mother Cristina Rota, and The Last Night of the Plague, directed by Víctor García León.

In 2012, he wrote the play Un trozo invisible de este mundo. The text, which deals with immigration and exile, mixes drama and humor with commitment. In it he acted, directed by Sergio Peris-Mencheta. In 2014, Botto won the Max Theater Awards for Best Actor and Best New Author for this work, which also won the Max Award for Best Play of the year.

He has received numerous cinematographic distinctions. He has been nominated for the Goya Awards four times for his appearances in the films Historias del Kronen, Plenilunio (2000), Vete de mí (2006) and Ismael (2013). His career in the theater has also made him the winner of a Fotograma de Plata Award for best theater actor in 2008 for his participation in Hamlet, as well as two Max Awards and a Cosmopolitan Award.

From 2016 to 2017, Botto starred in the TNT drama series Good Behavior, playing Javier, a charming hitman with a moral code who crosses paths with Letty (Michelle Dockery), a professional thief. Underneath their cold and calculating work, they both hide a harsh and dark family reality.

In January 2017, he worked on the suspense series Pulsaciones, on Antena 3, where he played Rodrigo Ugarte.

He played General Presidente Silvio Luna in the 2021 DC Extended Universe film The Suicide Squad, directed by James Gunn.

His debut as a feature film director is the film On the Fringe, selected for screening at the 79th Venice International Film Festival's Horizons section.

Personal life Botto currently lives in Madrid with his wife, Spanish journalist and writer Olga Rodríguez. They have a daughter, Salma. He is also active in politics, protesting the 2003 war in Iraq and taking part in a support group for fellow children of the disappeared.

Filmography

Film

Year Title RoleNotes 1984 Los motivos de Berta (Berta's Motives) Luisito 1986 Teo el pelirrojo Santiago 1989 Si te dicen que caí (If They Tell You I Fell) 1991 1992 1492: Conquest of Paradise 1995 Historias del Kronen (Stories from the Kronen) Carlos 1996 La sal de la vida Charly Éxtasis Aspirante La Celestina Calisto Más que amor, frenesí (Not Love, Just Frenzy) Carlos 1997 En brazos de la mujer madura (In Praise of Older Women) Andrés Martín (Hache) Hache 1998 Bin ich schön? (Am I Beautiful) 1999 Novios (Couples) Arturito Sobreviviré (I Will Survive) Iñaki Miguel 2000 Plenilunio (Plenilune) El asesino Asfalto Charly 2001 Silencio roto (Broken Silence) Manuel 2002 Jacobo The Dancer Upstairs Sucre El caballero Don Quijote (Don Quixote, Knight Errant) Tosilos 2003 Los abajo firmantes (With George Bush on My Mind) Jorge Also co-writer 2004 Roma Manuel Cueto / Joaquín "Joaco" Góñez Older version of Góñez portrayed by José Sacristán 2005 Obaba Miguel La fiesta del chivo (The Feast of the Goat) Amadito García Guerrero 2006 Vete de mí (Go Away from Me) Guillermo Va a ser que nadie es perfecto (Nobody Is Perfect) Bit part 2007 El Greco Fernando Niño de Guevara Bordertown Marco A. Salamanca 2008 La mujer del anarquista (The Anarchist's Wife) Justo Álvarez Calderón King Conqueror Unfinished film 2009 Las viudas de los jueves (The Widows of Thursdays) Gustavo 2010 Todo lo que tú quieras (Anything You Want) Leo 2012 Silencio en la nieve (Frozen Silence) Arturo Andrade O Theós agapáei to chaviári (God Loves Caviar) Count Lefentarios Dictado (Childish Games) Daniel 2013 Ismael Luis 2014 La ignorancia de la sangre (The Ignorance of Blood) Javier Falcón 2017 Los comensales 2020 Rocambola Saeta Los europeos (The Europeans) Antonio 2021 The Suicide Squad Silvio Luna 2022 En los márgenes (On the Fringe) Manuel Also director and co-writer No mires a los ojos (Staring at Strangers) Sergio O'Kane 2024 The Room Next Door Photographer 2025 Los aitas (Breaking Walls) Juanma Tras el verano (The Stepmother's Bond) Raúl Mi amiga Eva (My Friend Eva) Víctor Altas capacidades (Better Class) Domingo (The Sentence) Pablo Post-production

Television

Year Title RoleNotes 1990 Zorro Felipe (Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro's mute servant) 1996 Lucrecia César TV movie 2003 Augustus Iullus Antonius TV film 2016-2017 Good Behavior Javier Pereira Series lead 2017 Pulsaciones Rodrigo Ugarte 10 episodes 2019 Instincto Pol 5 episodes 2020 White Lines Oriol Calafat 10 episodes 2020 Tales of the Lockdown Director and writer 2022-2024 Todos mienten Sergio 12 episodes 2022 No me gusta conducir Pablo Lopetegui TV miniseries, 6 episodes 2025El CentroMichelinLead Role

Music videos Somos Anormales (2017, music video)

Director "Doble moral" (segment of the collective film ; 2004) "Gourmet" (episode of the streaming series ; 2020) En los márgenes (2022)

Theater El privilegio de ser perro (2008) El ultimo dia de la peste (2010) Invisibles (2014) Una noche Sin Luna (2021)

Accolades

Year Award Category Work Result 1996 Best New Actor Stories from the Kronen 2001 Best Actor Plenilunio 2007 Best Supporting Actor Go Away from Me Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role 2010 Best Stage Actor in a Leading Role Hamlet 2013 Best Stage Actor in a Leading Role Un trozo invisible de este mundo 2014 69th CEC Awards Best Supporting Actor Ismael Best Supporting Actor Best New Playwright Un trozo invisible del mundo Best Actor 2021 Best Film Actor The Europeans Best Supporting Actor (film) Best Supporting Actor National Theater Prize Best Actor 2023 Best Actor in a TV Series I Don't Like Driving Best New Director On the Fringe Best Film Actor in a Minor Role The Room Next Door