Juan Diego (actor)

Juan Diego
At the 33rd Goya Awards in 2019
Born	Juan Diego Ruiz Moreno 14 December 1942 Bormujos, Spain
Died	28 April 2022 (aged 79) Madrid, Spain
Occupation	Actor
Children	2

Juan Diego Ruiz Moreno (14 December 1942 – 28 April 2022), professionally known as Juan Diego, was a Spanish actor who appeared on stage, in television and film productions since 1957. He starred in films such as The Holy Innocents, The 7th Day, Dragon Rapide, París-Tombuctú and You're the One.

Performing with a raspy voice for much of his career, he is often associated with abrupt, violent, and authoritarian roles, having a knack for nailing fascist-like characters. His most known television role was the foul-mouthed Don Lorenzo in Los hombres de Paco, popular for the idiom ¡Mis santos cojones!

Also known for his left-wing political activism, Juan Diego took part in the struggle for advancing film workers' labor rights in Spain.

Biography

Juan Diego Ruiz Moreno was born on 14 December 1942 in Bormujos, and spent his childhood there. He made his acting debut in theatre in 1957. Key stage credits throughout his career include performances in plays such as Olvida los tambores, El lector por horas, La gata sobre el tejado de zinc, and Yo me bajo en la próxima, ¿y usted?

After studying performing arts in Seville, Juan Diego moved to Madrid in order to develop his acting career, featuring in Televisión Española shows (most notably in plenty of Estudio 1 plays), likewise making his film debut in Eloy de la Iglesia's Fantasía... 3 (1966).

Having joined the then clandestine Communist Party of Spain in the late 1960s, Juan Diego had a leading role in organizing the 1975 Spanish actors strike. The first of his two children was born in 1970. His left-wing political activism did not end upon the death of dictator Francisco Franco, but continued during the Transition and beyond. Decades later, he would also be seen demonstrating in Spain against the Iraq War.

Diego starred as Marcos, a popular television host and member of a post-Francoist party (and scorned husband), alongside Ana Belén and a big black dog in a love triangle in the 1977 zoophilia-themed film La criatura.

He landed a breakthrough role with his performance in Mario Camus' 1984 film The Holy Innocents, playing Señorito Iván, a repulsive authoritarian landlord from an Extremaduran cortijo, obsessed with game hunting and disdainful of his workers. He earned his first Goya Award nomination at the first edition of the awards celebrated in 1987, for his leading role as Francisco Franco in the period drama Dragon Rapide, which tracks the early stages of the Spanish Civil War. He earned another best actor nomination for his role as Saint John of the Cross in the 1989 film The Dark Night, his first collaboration with Carlos Saura.

He played a señorito again in the 1988 film Jarrapellejos, as Saturnino, a rapist and murderer. He portrayed another historical figure by playing the title character of the 1991 Mexican film Cabeza de Vaca. He won his first Goya Award for his supporting role in The Dumbfounded King (1991), playing Father Villaescusa, a 17th-century scheming friar characterised by his "arrogant, enervated, and irascible" gaze. He featured in supporting roles in the 1992 film Jamón, jamón and in the 1993 film Banderas, the Tyrant, respectively portraying Manuel, the owner of the Sansón underwear factory and father of José Luis (Jordi Mollá), and the licenciado Nacho Veguillas, a sycophant pandering to megalomaniac dictator Santos Banderas, portrayed by Gian Maria Volonté.

Juan Diego appeared in Luis García Berlanga's last full-length film París-Tombuctú (1999), playing the anarchic nudist Boronat, a role that won him his second Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor. He starred as the title character in the 2002 television miniseries Padre coraje, directed by Benito Zambrano, in a story based on true events in which Juan Diego's character enters the underworld to find those responsible for the murder of his son.

Juan Diego's supporting performance in the 2003 comedy Torremolinos 73 as Don Carlos, a porn film producer, landed him another Goya award nomination. Another of his collaborations with Carlos Saura, his supporting performance in the 2004 film The 7th Day portraying Antonio Izquierdo (an illiterate man and co-perpetrator of the Puerto Hurraco massacre), earned him Goya award nominations in consecutive years.

The television role earning Juan Diego the most public recognition was that of the foul-mouthed Don Lorenzo in the crime comedy-drama television series Los hombres de Paco, whose original broadcasting run spanned from 2005 to 2010. The series was picked up for a revival in 2020, leading up to the release of new episodes in 2021 featuring Juan Diego in a recurring role.

Juan Diego won his only Goya Award for Best Leading Actor (and third overall) for his performance in Víctor García León's 2006 drama Go Away from Me, playing an aging thespian and father to a freeloading son portrayed by Juan Diego Botto.

In his later career, Juan Diego often worked for newcoming directors in films such as Nightfall in India (2014), Can't Say Goodbye (2017), The Cover (2021), or Víctor Conde's Venus, a posthumously released work. He also featured in the 2011 political thriller 17 Hours playing general Alfonso Armada, a member of the clique of officers who plotted the 1981 attempted coup d'etat in Spain; in the 2012 drama Todo es silencio, portraying Mariscal, a local cacique with a grip over maritime smuggling; in the 2017 Catalan period drama Uncertain Glory, playing Cagorcio, the abusive father of femme fatale Carlana; and in the martial arts film Xtreme (2021), playing Ricardo, an aging crimelord.

Juan Diego died at Clínica de la Zarzuela in Madrid on 28 April 2022. Many fellow actors and friends attended his lying in repose at the Teatro Español, including Marisa Paredes, Ana Belén, Víctor Manuel, Imanol Arias, Gabino Diego, Eduard Fernández, Manolo Solo, Emilio Gutierrez Caba, Carmelo Gómez, Mariano Barroso, and María José Goyanes.

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades