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==