20 Things You Didn't Know About No Country For Old Men
16. Javier Bardem Had Doubts Over Starring In The Movie
Prior to getting the role of Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men, Javier Bardem was a successful actor in his native Spain, but had limited roles in American cinema.
Therefore he was a bit surprised when he got the call from Joel and Ethan Coen and learned that they wanted him for one of their movies. He was even more confused after reading the script and seeing what the character of Chigurh would demand from him.
Bardem even told the Coens that he wasn’t the right guy for the part, explaining that he doesn’t speak English very well and doesn’t like violence. The Coens simply responded to him by saying “Maybe that’s why we called you”.
The directors wanted Chigurh’s nationality and ethnicity to be a mystery and saw the, at the time, relatively unknown Spanish actor as the ideal person to play the enigmatic hitman.
Despite the initial doubts, Bardem did go on to say that it was a dream to work with the Coen brothers.