Manolo Solo

Manuel Jesús Fernández Serrano (11 January 1964 – 30 July 2026), better known as Manolo Solo, was a Spanish actor.

Solo started off as a musician in the Sevillian rock scene, and later turned to acting. He achieved a late recognition as a leading actor after persevering in many middle and minor roles in tens of features, shorts and series, including his portrayals of Judge Ruz in B, la película (2015) and a small-time dealer in The Fury of a Patient Man (2016), for which he won the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor. After his performance in Close Your Eyes (2023) he landed other leading roles in his final years in The Portuguese House (2025) and Face to Face (2025). His television work includes performances in 30 Coins, Celeste, and The Anatomy of a Moment.

He was the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Goya Award and four Actors and Actresses Union Awards.

Early life and education Manuel Jesús Fernández Serrano was born in Algeciras on 11 January 1964. His parents were teachers. His father died when he was a toddler. He was raised in neighbouring Los Barrios until age 6, later moving to Seville with his family. The missing of his father influenced on the choices of the stage name Manolo Solo when he started a musical career when he was 16–17 and on his university degree, even if he never worked as a teacher. In 1991, Los Relicarios released the album Detentebala.

Acting career After debuting as a stage actor in 1989 and making a number of television appearances, he landed his feature film debut in the drama Everything in Place,

He appeared as the subordinate of the cruel Captain Vidal in Pan's Labyrinth (2006).

In 2011, he appeared in 17 Hours, a film about the 1981 coup attempt in Spain, portraying the then director of Radiotelevisión Española. Solo (third from the left) in a group picture during the presentation of The Plague at the 2017 San Sebastián International Film Festival. Under the direction of fellow Andalusian Alberto Rodríguez, he appeared in supporting roles as a director of a youth detention center in 7 Virgins (2005), as a journalist for during the Transition in the thriller film Marshland (2014) and as inquisitor general Celso de Guevara in the 16th century-set series The Plague.

In the legal drama B (2015), Solo portrayed Pablo Ruz, the judge of Spain's Audiencia Nacional who presided over the Gürtel case and the Bárcenas case, opposite to Pedro Casablanc (Luis Bárcenas).

Solo featured in the play Smoking Room, a stage adaptation of the 2002 film by Roger Gual and Julio D. Wallovits. It debuted at the Teatro Pavón Kamikaze on 12 October 2017 and won Solo the Actors and Actresses Union Award for Best Theatre Actor in a Secondary Role. Solo's career onstage continued with his participation in Mrs. Dalloway, based on the novel by Virginia Woolf, portraying Peter. It debuted at the Teatro Español on 28 March 2019.

For his role in the comedy film The Good Boss (2021) as Miralles, the right hand of businessman Julio Blanco (played by Javier Bardem) and working as a sort of conscience for the latter, he landed another nomination for the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Víctor Erice's Close Your Eyes (2023) earned him recognition as a leading actor. Critic Glenn Kenny observed that, in the film, his "deep-set eyes convey universes of worry and sadness". The performance landed him his first nomination for the Goya Award for Best Actor. According to Solo, the greatest challenge he faced in order to play the role was understanding Gutiérrez Mellado's complex evolution "from being someone who helped carry out the coup d'état in '36 to becoming someone who tries to stop another coup 40 or 50 years later".

He starred in the drama film Face to Face (2025) opposite Sonia Almarcha as an embittered online hater who meets in person the celebrity television host he abuses online.

Solo died in Madrid on 30 July 2026, at the age of 62, after a prolonged illness caused by cancer. He was shooting Las vecinas. His wake was held at the funeral home of San Isidro in Madrid and was attended by colleagues such as Raúl Arévalo, Melina Matthews, Malena Alterio, Álex de la Iglesia, and Carolina Bang.

Selected filmography Film

Television Year Title Role Notes 2014 Prim, el asesinato de la calle del Turco Nandín TV movie 2018-19 La peste (The Plague) Celso de Guevara Celeste Toni Anatomía de un instante (The Anatomy of a Moment) Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado

Accolades

Year Award Category Work Result