Javier Calvo

Francisco Javier Calvo Guirao (born January 21, 1991) known professionally as Javier Calvo is a Spanish actor, stage, film, and television director and writer.

Calvo began acting in theatre at age 11, eventually appearing in 2007 in film Doctor Infierno.

He is best known for his role of Fernando "Fer" Redondo in the Antena 3 series Física o Química (2008-2011).

Beginning in 2008, he starred in the Antena 3 television series Física o Química, portraying gay teenager Fernando "Fer" Redondo.

Early into his career, he would also appear in the comedy web series Are you APP? (2012) portraying the character Samuel.

On 5 May 2012 a fan-conference with Calvo took place in Moscow, Russia.

Since 2013, Calvo co-directs La llamada at the Teatro Lara in Madrid, a musical he created alongside Javier Ambrossi.

The musical follows two teenagers María and Susana who are attending an annual Christian summer camp run by nuns, dealing with themes of faith, music, and love.

The play has found great success, growing from an underground show to surpass 1.5 million attendants in 2022.

The musical's cast has included Macarena García, Anna Castillo, Gracia Olaya, Belén Cuesta, Richard Collins-Moore, Andrea Ros, and Claudia Traisac, many of whom would get their start with the play.

The production has won several awards including 13 BroadwayWorld Spain awards, a Premio del Teatro Musical, and a Fotograma de Plata.

In 2014, he would return to acting with supporting role appearances in the Spanish soap opera Amar es para siempre and the Spanish television series Los misterios de Laura.

A year later, in August 2015, the Mexican production of La llamada opened at the López Tarso theatre in Mexico City, with a Mexican cast including star Laura Zapata.

In 2015, Calvo participated in the filming of Russian movie Koridor Bessmertiya (in English, Convoy 48; 2019), in which Calvo would portray a young Spaniard exiled to Russia due to Civil War.

Continuing their work together, Calvo and Ambrossi would develop the television series Paquita Salas (2016–present), Veneno (2020-2023) and its upcoming sequel Vestidas de Azul (2023-2024), and La Mesías (2023).

The director pair are also romantic partners commonly referred to as 'Los Javis'.

He has received several awards including a pair of wins in both the Feroz Awards and Fotogramas de Plata, and has received nominations for two Goya Awards.

In July 2016 the web television series Paquita Salas, created by Calvo and Ambrossi, premiered on Flooxer.

The series would star Brays Efe, portraying the talent agent Paquita Salas, representing the mundane behind-the-scenes work to many actors' success.

Although fictional, the show takes inspiration from real-life events including the industry experiences of Calvo.

Due to the success of the series, Netflix acquired the rights to air the second season.

The series currently has three seasons, and will return for a fourth according to actress Belén Cuesta, though Calvo stated in a 2023 interview that he and Ambrossi "are in a different moment" and are choosing to focus their efforts on other projects.

Calvo created and directed the musical La llamada together with Javier Ambrossi, with its success leading to a film adaptation (2017).

In September 2017, the film adaptation of La llamada, directed by Calvo and Ambrossi, premiered in Spain.

The film crew included many of the original creators, directors, and the musical's popular actresses Macarena García, Ana Castillo, Belén Cuesta, and Gracía Olayo.

New characters were also added in the film version, and were portrayed by María Isabel Días and Secun de la Rosa.

The film garnered several award nominations, most notably winning two Feroz Awards and a Goya Award.

Along with Ambrossi, Calvo was listed 47th in El Mundo's list of most important LGBT people in Spain in 2017.

From October 2017 to January 2018, Calvo and Ambrossi appeared on reality television talent competition Operación Triunfo as acting teachers in the program's "Academy".

In 2017, they would meet and mentor that year's winner Amaia Romero, who would later join the cast of Calvo and Ambrossi's La Mesías (2023).

After the firing of acting teacher Itziar Castro in 2018, 'Los Javis' would return to their original position as teachers for the remainder of the season.

He participated in the show for four years, totaling seven seasons due to the show's popularity which would motivate a 2020 reunion in the form of a two-part miniseries.

Focusing on problems such as drugs, addictions, anorexia and sexual orientation, the series attracted much controversy.

Calvo considers the themes of the series "problems that are also present in reality".

He, however, received critical acclaim for portraying a gay male in his debut role.

In 2020, the Calvo and Ambrossi-created biographical television limited series Veneno aired on Atresplayer Premium and HBO Max.

Calvo collaborated as writer, director, and producer to create the miniseries inspired by the life of Cristina Ortiz, popularly known as La Veneno, a famous transgender woman, actress, singer, sex worker, and model from Madrid, Spain.

The directing duo were inspired by ''¡Digo!

Ni puta ni santa: Las memorias de La Veneno,'' a biography written by Valeria Vega on the life of Cristina Ortiz.

Portrayed by Jedet Sánchez, Daniela Santiago, and Isabel Torres at different points in her life, La Veneno's legacy of giving visibility to LGBTQ community was reinvigorated by the show.