Fele Martínez

Biography

Rafael (Fele) Martínez was born in 1975 in Alicante, Spain. A product of the Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático de Madrid, he began to act and direct theater at an early age. His first acting attempts were with the Sex-peare Teatro theater company. His chance at stardom came at the hand of Alejandro Amenábar, who offered him a role in his opera prima Tesis. For his work in this production, Fele received the Goya Award for Best New Actor in 1996. From this moment onward he became one of the most well-known actors in Spanish cinema. Among his films are the notable Abre los ojos (Amenábar, 1997), Los amantes del círculo polar (Julio Médem, 1998), El arte de morir (Álvaro Fernández Armero, 1999), Capitanes de Abril (María de Medeiros, 1999), Tuno negro (Pedro L. Barbero y Vicente J. Martín, 2000), and La mala educación (Pedro Almodóvar, 2004). He has also participated in several independent film projects including the short films Pasaia (1996), for which he won Best Actor at the Elche Film Festival, Amigos (1997), La cartera (2000), and El castigo del ángel (2002) which he also directed.