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Eusebio Poncela

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Poncela and the second or maternal family name is Aprea.
Eusebio Poncela
Born
Eusebio Poncela Aprea

(1945-09-15)15 September 1945
Madrid, Spain
Died27 August 2025(2025-08-27) (aged 79)
El Escorial, Spain
EducationReal Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático
OccupationActor
Years active1960–2025

Eusebio Poncela Aprea (15 September 1945 – 27 August 2025) was a Spanish actor. He featured in films such as Rapture, The Law of Desire, and Martín (Hache). His work in Intact (2001) earned him a nomination for a Goya Award for Best Actor.[1]

Early life and education

[edit]

Eusebio Poncela Aprea was born in Madrid on 15 September 1945, and was raised in Vallecas.[2][3] He trained at the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático.[4]

Career

[edit]

After graduating in drama, he made his theatre debut in a play of Mariana Pineda in 1960.[5] He earned clout on the Spanish stage scene, with ensuing roles in plays of Marat/Sade, Romeo and Juliet, and A Taste of Honey, after which he developed a screen career in film and television.[6]

He featured in Eloy de la Iglesia's The Cannibal Man (1972), portraying a homosexual character.[4] The Spanish film cut was nonetheless mutilated by the Francoist censorship.[7] He also appeared in A House Without Boundaries (1972). He starred as the lead of the cult film Rapture, directed by Iván Zulueta, a key instance of experimental film produced in Spain during the Transition.[8] In the film, which was not successful upon its release,[6] he portrayed a director of low-budget horror movies vampirised by the effect of addictions to cinema and heroin.[9] In Guillo Pontecorvo's Ogro, he portrayed one of the ETA members who carried out the magnicide of Carrero Blanco.[10] He attained mainstream recognition in 1982 with his work in the series Los gozos y las sombras.[11]

In 1986, he starred in Pilar Miró's Werther, a film adaptation of Goethe's novel selected for the 43rd Venice International Film Festival,[12] and starred as detective Pepe Carvalho in the crime television series Las aventuras de Pepe Carvalho.[13] With Antonio Banderas, Poncela co-starred in Law of Desire (1987), playing a gay film and theatre director.[14]

In the 1990s, he lived in Argentina, featuring in films such as A Shadow You Soon Will Be (1994),[15] Martín (Hache) (1997),[11] and La sonámbula [es].[16]

In the 2000s, he returned to Spain.[11]

He has also appeared in Black Serenade (2001), Intact (2001), and 800 Bullets (2002).

At the 2004 Gijón International Film Festival, he received the Nacho Martínez Award.[5]

He portrayed Cardinal Cisneros in the third season of the historical series Isabel, reprising the role in the sequel series Carlos, Rey Emperador, in a crossover episode of El ministerio del tiempo, and in the feature film The Broken Crown.[13][17] His television work continued with villain roles in Red Eagle and El accidente.[13]

In advance of the 2017 Sant Jordi Awards ceremony, Poncela was announced as the recipient of the Sant Jordi Special Award for Lifetime Achievements.[5]

In 2022, he starred in a play of Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman directed by Carlota Ferrer.[18]

Poncela played a psychiatrist in the 2025 psychocological thriller series Matices [es].[19]

Poncela died at his residence in El Escorial, on 27 August 2025, at the age of 79.[20][21] The Last Rapture, a documentary film about Rapture featuring Poncela, is set to be released in September 2025 at the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival.[22]

Personal life

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Poncela was a recovering heroin addict.[23] In a 2022 interview to Vanity Fair, he described himself as "quite solitary and misanthropic".[24][6] He stated that he managed to kick his heroin habit after moving to Argentina.[24] Likewise, seeking to set a distance from his addictions, Poncela left the centre of Madrid for El Escorial.[20][n. 1]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1972
 La semana del asesino (The Cannibal Man) Néstor
[25]
1979 Arrebato (Rapture) José Sirgado [26]
1979 Operación Ogro (Ogro) Txabi [27]
1983
 El arreglo [ca] Crisanto Perales
[28]
1986 Matador Comisario
[29]
1987 La ley del deseo (Law of Desire) Pablo Quintero [30]
1988
 El Dorado Fernando de Guzmán
[31]
1990
 Continental [fr] Otálora
[32]
1991
 El invierno en Lisboa [ca] Floro Bloom
[33]
El rey pasmado (The Dumbfounded King) Conde de la Peña Andrada
[33]
1992
 El juego de los mensajes invisibles Jaime
[34]
1993
 El laberinto griego (The Greek Labyrinth) Jacques Lebrun
[35]
1994
 Una sombra ya pronto serás (A Shadow You Soon Will Be) Lem
[36]
1997
 Martín (Hache) Dante
[37]
1998
 La sonámbula [es] Ariel Kluge
[16]
1999
 La sombra de Caín Esteban
[38]
2001
 Cabecita rubia [es] (Lost Horizon) Tulan
[39][40]
Sagitario Jaime
[41]
Tuno negro (Black Serenade) Don Justo
[42]
Intacto (Intact) Federico
[1]
2002
 800 balas (800 Bullets) Scott
[43]
2005
 Hermanas (Sisters) Luis Morini
[44]
2006
 Los Borgia (The Borgia) Cardenal Giuliano della Rovere
[45]
Remake [es] Álex
[46]
2007
 Teresa, el cuerpo de Cristo (Theresa: The Body of Christ) Gaspar Daza
[47]
2016
 La corona partida (The Broken Crown) Cardenal Cisneros
[48]

Notes

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  1. ^ "And regarding his addictions, he said that they had forced him to flee Madrid for El Escorial, where he died: 'I fled the city center. They wouldn't give me a break; when people get obsessed with drugs, they will not leave you alone. My house looked like Keith Richards'".[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b Mena, Fran (27 August 2025). "La mejor colección de Eusebio Poncela: RTVE Play rescata del archivo sus trabajos más recordados". rtve.es.
  2. ^ Boix, Arnau (27 August 2025). "Mor als 79 anys l'actor madrileny Eusebio Poncela". El Punt Avui.
  3. ^ "Fallece el actor Eusebio Poncela a los 79 años". La Voz de Galicia. 27 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Muere el actor Eusebio Poncela a los 79 años". Cadena SER. 27 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Eusebio Poncela, Premio Especial RNE Sant Jordi de Cinematografía a la Trayectoria". rtve.es. 29 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Bellvís, Patricia (27 August 2025). "La solitaria vida de Eusebio Poncela, fallecido a los 79 años: "Siempre estamos solos"". Divinity.
  7. ^ Gómez, Carlos (2017). "Efectos subversivos de la perversión: sexualidad y construcción social en La semana del asesino". L'Atalante (23): 86–90. ISSN 1885-3730.
  8. ^ Souquet 2022, p. 28.
  9. ^ Casas, Quim (27 August 2025). "Adiós a Eusebio Poncela, el actor al límite de 'Arrebato' y 'La ley del deseo'". El Periódico de Cataluña. Prensa Ibérica.
  10. ^ "Muere el actor Eusebio Poncela ('Arrebato', 'La ley del deseo') a los 79 años". Cinemanía. 27 August 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Corroto, Paula (27 August 2025). "Muere Eusebio Poncela a los 79 años, actor fetiche de Almodóvar e Iván Zulueta". El Confidencial.
  12. ^ Jarque, Fietta (28 August 1986). "España lleva a Venecia películas sobre amor y guerra". El País.
  13. ^ a b c Pizarro, Miguel Ángel (27 August 2025). "De 'Los gozos y las sombras' a 'Isabel': las series más importantes de Eusebio Poncela en televisión". Bluper – via El Español.
  14. ^ Souquet, Lionel (2022). "La loi du désir. Du cinéma franquiste hétéronormatif à l'univers « anomal » de Pedro Almodóvar". Motifs. 5: 38. doi:10.56078/motifs.772. ISSN 2726-0399.
  15. ^ Rocha 2010, p. 8.
  16. ^ a b M.P (24 September 1998). "Lo mejor: la labor de Poncela". Página/12.
  17. ^ Mingo Lorente, Adolfo de; Hernández Carriba, Vega (2017). "Cuatro miradas al cardenal Cisneros a través del cine". V Congreso Internacional de Historia y Cine. Getafe: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. p. 729. ISBN 978-84-617-7948-2.
  18. ^ Doncel, Diego (8 September 2022). "'El beso de la mujer araña': un puñado de verdades humanas". ABC.
  19. ^ "El enigmático doctor Marlow en la serie 'Matices', el último trabajo de Eusebio Poncela". Heraldo de Aragón. 27 August 2025.
  20. ^ a b c Belinchón, Gregorio (27 August 2025). "Muere a los 79 años el actor Eusebio Poncela, rostro icónico de 'Arrebato' y 'La ley del deseo'". El País.
  21. ^ "Muere el actor Eusebio Poncela a los 79 años". eldiario.es. 27 August 2025.
  22. ^ Rivera, Alfonso (19 August 2025). "The Last Rapture by Enrique López Lavigne and Marta Medina to premiere at San Sebastián". Cineuropa.
  23. ^ Meseguer, Astrid (27 August 2025). "Muere el actor Eusebio Poncela a los 79 años". La Vanguardia.
  24. ^ a b Ander, Álex (15 September 2022). "Eusebio Poncela: "Como soy una persona buena, soy un perdedor. Eso lo he tenido clarísimo toda la vida"". Vanity Fair.
  25. ^ Gómez 2017, p. 82.
  26. ^ Marimón, Joan (2 October 2018). Muertes creativas en el cine Portada. Barcelona: Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona. p. 461. ISBN 978-84-9168-117-5.
  27. ^ Martínez Álvarez, Josefina (2022). "La representación cinematográfica de las mujeres víctimas del terrorismo durante los años de la lucha armada (1968-2001)". Mujeres víctimas del terrorismo y mujeres contra el terrorismo. Historia, memoria, labor y legado. Editorial Dykinson. p. 143. ISBN 978-84-1122-182-5.
  28. ^ Jordan, Barry; Morgan-Tamosunas, Rikki (1998). "Cultural reinscription: popular genre film in post-Franco Spain". Contemporary Spanish cinema. Manchester University Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-7190-4413-7.
  29. ^ Strauss, Fréderic (2001) [2000]. Conversaciones con Pedro Almodóvar. Akal Ediciones. p. 189. ISBN 84-460-1611-7.
  30. ^ Méjean, Jean-Max (2007). Pedro Almodóvar. Translated by Berthelot, Caterina. Barcelona: Ediciones Robinbook. p. 194. ISBN 978-84-96222-91-5.
  31. ^ Rocamora Montenegro, Raquel (2019). "El Dorado (1988), de Carlos Saura: fusión de mito utópico y de realidad". Quaderns. 14. San Vicente del Raspeig: Universidad de Alicante: 50. ISSN 1888-4571.
  32. ^ Benavent, Francisco María (2000). Cine español de los 90. Diccionario de películas, directores y temático. Bilbao: Ediciones Mensajero. p. 168. ISBN 84-271-2326-4.
  33. ^ a b Benavent 2000, p. 311.
  34. ^ Benavent 2000, p. 318.
  35. ^ Benavent 2000, p. 325.
  36. ^ Rocha, Carolina (2010). "Middle Class Rebellin in Two River Plate Movies: Una sombra ya pronto serás y El último tren" (PDF). Chasqui. Revista de Literatura Latinoamericana. 31 (1): 8.
  37. ^ Benavent 2000, p. 372.
  38. ^ Benavent 2000, p. 541.
  39. ^ "Un borrador bastante provocativo". Clarín. 22 February 2001.
  40. ^ Young, Deborah (25 March 2001). "Lost Horizon". Variety.
  41. ^ "Sagitario". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
  42. ^ Pérez Millán, Juan Antoni; Pérez Morán, Ernesto (2015). Cien profesores universitarios en el cine de ayer y de hoy. Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca. p. 242. ISBN 978-84-9012-503-8.
  43. ^ Buse, Peter; Triana Toribio, Núria; Willis, Andy (2007). The cinema of Álex de la Iglesia. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press. p. 186. ISBN 9780719071362.
  44. ^ "Está protagonizada por Valeria Bertuccelli y Pedro Pascal y es una de las películas más emocionantes de Netflix". La Nación. 27 February 2025.
  45. ^ "'Los Borgia', poder, ambición y traición en la curia romana". Europa Press. 6 October 2006.
  46. ^ ""REMAKE" al 33". TV3. 27 July 2011 – via 3Cat.
  47. ^ Ortega Alcántara, Leonor (2015–2016). "Visiones de Santa Teresa de Jesús: tres representaciones cinematográficas" (PDF). Isla de Arriarán: revista cultural y científica (42–43): 679. ISSN 1133-6293.
  48. ^ "TVE estrena 'La corona partida', protagonizada por Rodolfo Sancho, Irene Escolar y Raúl Mérida". rtve. 25 November 2016.
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