La bola negra

In the film: a village trumpeter whose mother dies in an Italian air raid. He is drafted by the Nationalists and made to guard the wounded Republican prisoner Rafael. The part is quiet and physical, and he lost a lot of weight for it.

Before: a singer-songwriter who blends folk, rumba and flamenco. He grew up between the coast and the village of Las Cuevas de Cañart (Teruel), where his grandmother lives, and that rural world runs through his songs. He started in 2017 by posting covers online. He auditioned for La Voz and Operación Triunfo and was turned down by both.

• "Nana triste" with Natalia Lacunza (2019): No. 4 in Spain, triple platinum. This was his breakthrough.
• "Guantanamera" (2018, double platinum) and "Ya mi mamá me decía" (platinum).
• La cantera (2022): debut album, produced by Raül Refree, the film's composer. Reached No. 3 in Spain.
• Spanish Leather (2025): second album, also No. 3. He was on its international tour while promoting the film.
• Duet with Troye Sivan, "In My Room" (2023). Two Latin Grammy nominations for music videos.

Worth knowing: he is openly gay. Los Javis met him around Primavera Sound 2024, showed him La piedra oscura and told him they had written Sebastián for him. He co-wrote and sings the film's original song, "La nieve", which is in the Oscar race. The Middleburg Film Festival gave him its International Spotlight Award. About his debut he said: "It's like losing my virginity. There's only one first time."

In the film: Lorca's last love, a real historical figure. He is wounded by shrapnel, held prisoner in a military hospital and guarded by Sebastián. He is the one who asks Sebastián to save Lorca's manuscript. Critics singled out the Rafael–Sebastián story as the emotional core of the film. It is widely seen as the most important role of his career.

Before: one of Spain's best-known young TV actors. He trained in Los Angeles at Santa Monica College and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

• Élite (Netflix, 2018–21): Guzmán, the role that made him famous internationally.
• 1899 (Netflix, 2022), from the creators of Dark.
• Zorro (Prime Video, 2024): the title role.
• Querer (Movistar Plus+, 2024): Feroz nomination for best supporting actor.
• Terra Alta (2025) as detective Melchor Marín; the film La fiera (2026).

Worth knowing: he is the son of actress Ana Duato (Cuéntame cómo pasó) and producer Miguel Ángel Bernardeau, and the nephew of choreographer Nacho Duato. His sister María Bernardeau has a cameo in the film. He dated singer Aitana from 2018 to 2022.

In the film: a historian and former playwright researching queer culture in Athens. He inherits a manuscript from the grandfather his mother refused to talk about. The character is a tribute to co-writer Alberto Conejero. He lives with Juan Pablo (Julio Torres). Whether they are lovers or flatmates is deliberately left unclear.

Before: trained at the Corazza acting school in Madrid and built his career on TV, often in queer roles.

• Veneno (2020): Alfonso, young Cristina's loyal best friend. His first job with Los Javis.
• Maricón perdido (2021): his first lead, playing the young Bob Pop in the writer's autobiographical series.
• Cardo (2023), produced by Los Javis: a Demon.
• Amar es para siempre (2023–24): Rafael Conde, 149 episodes of the daytime drama.
• Mariliendre (2025, musical series), La vida breve (2025, as the castrato Farinelli, which earned a Unión de Actores nomination) and La canción (2025).

Worth knowing: "I've been chasing them since I was 18, when they were selling T-shirts in a theatre lobby for La llamada." Next up: the romantic comedy A una isla de ti (Málaga Festival 2026).

In the film: a young man from a good Granada family who is blackballed by the city's casino because people suspect he is gay. He has to win over the club's board, backed by his sister (Natalia de Molina) and pushed by his father (Antonio de la Torre). He is the protagonist Lorca himself had sketched.

Before: no acting experience. He studied Biology in Granada and went viral on TikTok after announcing that he was dropping out and felt lost. In 2024 he published a novel, Ultravioleta, a queer love story.

Worth knowing: accounts of how he was cast differ. He says he answered an Instagram casting call he thought was for extras and passed several rounds. Catalan broadcaster 3Cat reports that his novel caught Los Javis' attention and that he skipped the usual process. "Los Javis found me. I was coming out of a very bad period." The Spanish press has called him the breakout of the season.

In the film: Alberto's mother, a prickly woman whose father abandoned her as a child. She wants nothing to do with him, until her son starts asking about the family's real history.

Before: one of Spain's most respected actresses, at home in both Spanish and French cinema.

• Two Goyas for Best Actress: Mar adentro (2005, Amenábar) and Yo, también (2010). The latter also won her the Silver Shell at San Sebastián.
• Almodóvar: Hable con ella (2002), Volver (2006) and Los abrazos rotos (2009).
• Cannes Best Actress (2006), shared by the female ensemble of Volver, Penélope Cruz included.
• Zama (2017, Lucrecia Martel) and Viaje al cuarto de una madre (2018, Gaudí Award).
• La Mesías (2023) for Los Javis, which won her the Feroz, Forqué and Platino awards and the Unión de Actores award.

Worth knowing: this is her third project with Los Javis, after Veneno and La Mesías.

In the film: a Madrid variety star, a cupletista, who travels to Cantabria to entertain the Nationalist troops. She meets Sebastián and encourages him to follow his desires and rebel against the order around him. She performs one of the film's big numbers singing and dancing on top of a tank, filmed with 500 extras. Her songs are "Las tardes del Ritz" and "Batallón de modistillas".

Before: Spain's most famous actress.

• Breakthrough with Bigas Luna's Jamón, jamón (1992).
• Almodóvar's muse: Carne trémula, Todo sobre mi madre, Volver, Los abrazos rotos, Dolor y gloria and Madres paralelas.
• First Spanish actress to win an Oscar: Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2009). Four Oscar nominations in total.
• Cannes Best Actress for Volver (2006, shared with Lola Dueñas and the ensemble) and the Volpi Cup in Venice for Madres paralelas (2021). Three Goyas.

Worth knowing: Los Javis wrote the role specifically for her. It started as a single musical number and grew to include a scene with Sebastián after they talked with her. She took months of singing, dance and choreography classes. She was coached by the daughter of Olga Ramos, the "Queen of Cuplé" of Madrid nightlife. "She represents a dream of freedom that none of the protagonists has." Her son with Javier Bardem, Leo Encinas Cruz, has a cameo.

In the film: a renowned Hispanist and Lorca specialist. Alberto turns to her to authenticate the manuscript and piece together its story. The trailer shows her speaking Spanish. She shares a scene with the writer Alana S. Portero.

Before: a Hollywood legend across film, stage and TV.

• Eight Oscar nominations, no win, the most for any living performer without a win: The World According to Garp, The Big Chill, The Natural, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, Albert Nobbs, The Wife and Hillbilly Elegy.
• Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1996).
• Three Tony Awards (including Sunset Boulevard) and three Emmys (two for Damages).

Worth knowing: according to the directors, she "devoured the script" and fell in love with it immediately. The Spanish press called her casting one of the film's biggest surprises.