Early years Darín was 10 years old when he made his theater debut alongside his parents. By the age of 16 he had achieved a stable position in
television in Argentina, in TV shows such as
Alta comedia and
Estación Retiro, under the patronage of
Alberto Migré, Argentina's major TV producer at the time.
TV success (1980s) During the 1980s, while still collaborating with Migré, Darín was acclaimed as one of the
galancitos (Spanish for "charmers"), a group of young actors that adapted popular TV programs into theater productions. The
galancitos were very popular all over Argentina. In 1987, Darín starred in the television show
Estrellita mía, with
Andrea Del Boca, and two years later in the show
Rebelde, with
Grecia Colmenares. He switched to comedy in the early 1990s, which led to his greatest television success co-starring in the remake of the 1970s TV show
Mi cuñado (1993–1996), alongside
Luis Brandoni.
Film success (1990s) Despite his success on television, Darín never left theater and continued to perform in productions such as
La extraña pareja (a Spanish adaptation of Neil Simon's
The Odd Couple) (1984),
Taxi (1985),
Sugar (1986–1987),
Rumores (1990),
Algo en común (1995) and
Art (1997–1999). He debuted as a theater director in 1990, with the production
Pájaros in the nait, starring
Adrián Suar,
Diego Torres and
Leonardo Sbaraglia. He started his film career by appearing in films mainly aimed for young audiences, such as
He nacido en la ribera,
Así es la vida,
La rabona and
Los éxitos del amor,
La carpa del amor,
La discoteca del amor and
La canción de Buenos Aires. He then shifted to more mature roles, which permitted him to appear in films such as
El desquite, Revancha de un amigo and
La Rosales. The critics first noted and praised Darín for his role in the film
Perdido por perdido, directed by the newcomer
Alberto Lecchi. He then appeared in
Eduardo Mignogna's
The Lighthouse (
El faro in Spanish), and starred in
Juan José Campanella's
Same Love, Same Rain (
El mismo amor, la misma lluvia in Spanish), which brought him further critical acclaim. But his success in the film was established by his role as Marcos, a con artist amid Argentina's financial crisis, in the 2000 film
Nine Queens (
Nueve Reinas in Spanish), in which he starred alongside
Gastón Pauls.
International acknowledgement (2000s) After the success of
Nine Queens, Darín played a minor role in Mignona's
La fuga (
The Escape), in 2001. In that same year, he co-starred in
Son of the Bride (
El hijo de la novia), alongside
Norma Aleandro and
Héctor Alterio. The film was a commercial and critical success, resulting in its nomination for an
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and its winning the
Silver Condor Award for Best Film. Darín then starred in the comedy film
Samy y yo, with
Angie Cepeda, in 2002. He also starred with
Cecilia Roth in
Kamchatka, a drama that was Argentina's official submission for the 2002 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it was not nominated by the Academy. In 2004 he co-starred with actress
Mercedes Morán in the film
Moon of Avellaneda (
Luna de Avellaneda), in which he played a man trying to save his childhood club from bankruptcy. In 2005 he portrayed a taxidermist with a photographic memory who unknowingly gets himself involved in a crime scheme in the film
The Aura. This last performance earned him an
Argentine Film Critics Association Silver Condor Award for Best Actor and a
Clarín Award for Best Actor. In 2006 he and
Juan José Campanella were awarded Spanish citizenship by certificate of naturalization, a special concession given by the
Kingdom of Spain to people of particular merit. That same year, he starred in the Spanish film
The Education of Fairies (
La educación de las hadas), alongside
Bebe and
Irène Jacob. In 2007 he appeared in the film
XXY, where he plays the troubled father of an intersex teenage daughter. That same year, he starred and debuted as a film director in the film
La señal (
The Signal), a project Eduardo Magnogna left unfinished after his death. In 2009 he starred with
Soledad Villamil and
Guillermo Francella in
The Secret in Their Eyes (
El secreto de sus ojos), a film by
Juan José Campanella. The film won the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was the second biggest box-office hit in the history of Argentine cinema. His performance as Benjamín Espósito earned Darín a second
Silver Condor Award for Best Actor and his first nomination for the
Goya Award in that same category. Also in 2009 he appeared in the Spanish film
El baile de la Victoria, which earned him a nomination for the Goya Award, this time as Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Continued success (2010s) In 2010 he starred in
Pablo Trapero's
Carancho, with
Martina Gusmán, where he played the role of an unscrupulous lawyer. In 2011, along with
Muriel Santa Ana and
Ignacio Huang, he starred in
Sebastián Borensztein's successful
Chinese Take-Away (
Un cuento chino). That same year he was awarded two
Konex Awards: the Platinum Konex for Best Actor, and the Bright Konex for the Most Influential Figure in Argentine Show Business in the 2001–2010 Decade. In 2012 he starred in
White Elephant (
Elefante blanco), again along with
Martina Gusmán. The following year he starred in the box-office hits
Tesis sobre un homicidio (
Thesis on a Homicide) and
7th Floor (
Séptimo). In 2013 he returned to the theater and starred in the play
Escenas de la vida conyugal (a Spanish adaptation of
Ingmar Bergman's
Scenes from a Marriage), alongside
Valeria Bertuccelli. In 2015 he reprised the role with
Érica Rivas, in
Mar del Plata. His performance earned him the
Sea Star (Estrella de Mar) Award for Best Actor in a Dramatic Comedy. In 2014 he starred in
Wild Tales (
Relatos salvajes), the biggest box-office hit in Argentine cinema history, along with
Leonardo Sbaraglia,
Oscar Martínez,
Érica Rivas,
Rita Cortese,
Darío Grandinetti and
Julieta Zylberberg. This was his third film to get nominated for an
Academy Award. His performance earned him his third nomination for the Goya Awards, this time in the Best Actor category. In 2015 he starred in
Cesc Gay's
Truman, which earned him a Concha de Plata award for Best Actor at the
San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Recent work (2020s) In 2022, he starred in
Argentina, 1985 as
Julio César Strassera, who served as Chief Prosecutor during the
Trial of the Juntas in 1985. As of 2023, Darín has starred in the four films that have been nominated for the
Academy Award for
Best International Feature Film in representation of Argentina in the 21st century:
Son of the Bride (2001),
The Secret in Their Eyes (2009),
Wild Tales (2014) and
Argentina, 1985. Darín stars as Juan Salvo in
The Eternaut, a TV series for
Netflix based on
the comic of the same name. == Personal life ==