Fernando Rey
Biography
Fernando Rey was a Spanish actor whose film, theater, and television work took him across Europe and the United States. Born in A Coruña, he entered films as an extra in 1936 and had his first speaking part in 1944. He became internationally known through his work with Luis Buñuel, including Viridiana (1961), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), and That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), and with Orson Welles in Chimes at Midnight and The Immortal Story. He played the drug lord Alain Charnier in The French Connection (1971) and repeated the role in French Connection II (1975). He won best actor at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 1971 and 1988 and at the Cannes Film Festival in 1977 for Elisa, vida mía, and Spain's film academy awarded him its gold medal. In his later years he worked mostly in Spain, including a television Don Quixote.
76years old at death
- Born A Coruña
- Died Madrid
- Star sign: VirgoThe sign runs August 23 to September 22
- Fernando Casado Arambillet (birth name)Also credited as Fernando Rey Escalera
Movie Career
- Films
- 36
- Career span
- 37 years1955 to 1992
Photos
Share
Did you know?!
Big break
Rey was cast as Alain Charnier in The French Connection after William Friedkin, wanting a Spanish actor from a Buñuel film, could not recall Francisco Rabal's name; Rabal spoke neither English nor French, so Rey stayed.
First role
Rey began his film career in 1936, working as an extra, and sometimes he was even credited for those roles.
Fernando Rey movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie1972 Comedy, Drama, Fantasyas Don Rafael Acosta
IMDb rating 7.751K votes
Most often with
Luis Buñuel directed three of these films, Orson Welles two and Sergio Corbucci two. Aldo Sambrell appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Aldo Sambrell's page
Yul Brynner's page
Milena Vukotic's page
Giuliano Gemma's page
Ángela Molina's page
Tito García's page
All films by Luis Buñuel
All films by Orson Welles
Sergio CorbucciDirector, 2 films, 1966 to 1970
Also three films together2 more actors
- Julio PeñaThe Price of Power (1969), Villa Rides (1968) and Chimes at Midnight (1965)
- Rafael AlbaicínCompañeros (1970), Navajo Joe (1966) and Scheherazade (1963)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Fernando Rey's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$94.7 million
11 of the 36 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 36 films: 11 worldwide figure; 6 us gross only; 1 never in cinemas; 18 figure not found.
- 11Worldwide figure
- 6US gross only
- 1Never in cinemas
- 18Figure not found
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 99% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$41M43.5% of the total
- 2$13M13.3% of the total
- 3$13M13.2% of the total
- 4$11M12.1% of the total
- 5$7.2M7.6% of the total
- 6$6.1M6.4% of the total
- 7$2.0M2.1% of the total
- 8$877K0.9% of the total
$785,338from the other 3 films with a worldwide figure, 1% of the total
Awards
Six awards and honors from 1972 to 1991, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | |||
| 1977 | Best Actor | Elisa, vida mía | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 1991 | Medalla de Oro | Won | |
| 1989 | Castelao Medal | Won | |
| 1989 | Goya Award for Best Actor | Winter Diary | Won |
| 1982 | Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts | Won | |
| 1972 | Silver Shell for Best Actor | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.