Francisco Rabal

A handsome, athletic performer who played numerous supporting roles in the 1940s and came to prominence as the title character of Luis Bunuel's "Nazarin" (1958), Francisco Rabal appeared in nearly 200 international films, by directors including Michelangelo Antonioni, Jacques Rivette, Arne Mattsson and Pedro Almodovar, making him one of Spain's most popular and prolific actors. He made his American feature debut in 1977, in William Friedkin's "Sorcerer," and won a Best Actor award at Cannes for his role in Mario Camus' "The Holy Innocents" (1984). Rabal had perhaps the role of a lifetime when Carlos Saura tapped him to portray the aging artist in his "Goya in Bordeaux" (2000). Rabal also wrote and directed several short films. He was the father of director Benito Rabal and the grandfather of actor Liberto Rabal.