Héctor Alterio

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Alterio and the second or maternal family name is Onorato.
Héctor Alterio
Alterio in 2023
Born(1929-09-21)21 September 1929
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died13 December 2025(2025-12-13) (aged 96)
Madrid, Spain
Citizenship
  • Argentina
  • Spain
OccupationActor
Years active1948–2025
Spouse
Ángela Bacaicoa
​
(after 1969)​
Children2 (Ernesto, Malena)

Héctor Benjamín Alterio Onorato (21 September 1929 – 13 December 2025) was an Argentine theatre, film and television actor, well known both in Argentina and Spain. His long filmography includes performances in film such as The Truce (1974), Rebellion in Patagonia (1974) To an Unknown God (1977), Trout (1978), The Crime of Cuenca (1980), The Nest (1980), Camila (1984), The Official Story (1985), Wild Horses (1995), Ashes of Paradise (1997), and Son of the Bride (2001).

Life and career

Héctor Benjamín Alterio Onorato was born in Chacarita, Buenos Aires on 21 September 1929, to parents from Carpinone, Italy.[1][2] Alterio's acting debut came in 1948 in the stage play Cómo suicidarse en primavera ('How to commit suicide in spring').[3] After finishing drama school, he created the Nuevo Teatro ("New Theatre") company in 1950, where he worked until 1968 and helped change the Argentine theatrical scene of the 1960s.

He also worked in Argentine cinema. His debut on the silver screen took place in Alfredo Mathé's Todo sol es amargo (Every sun is bitter) in 1965. He then participated in many of the most important Argentine movies of the 1970s, including La Patagonia rebelde (The Rebel Patagonia), which was awarded a Silver Bear at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival.[4] His voice was used in Ya es tiempo de violencia (1969), an anonymous film about the Cordobazo riots which took place the same year. The film was produced by Enrique Juárez, close to the Grupo Cine Liberación.

While in Spain in 1975, he received death threats from the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (Triple A). He decided not to return to Argentina and remained in exile. He also obtained Spanish citizenship.[1]

Consequently, Alterio began to work in Spanish films, including To an Unknown God (1977) and received the Best Actor award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and The Nest (1980), for which received the Best Actor award from the Association of Latin Entertainment Critics in 1983.

After the restoration of democracy in Argentina in 1982, Alterio worked in films produced in both countries and some co-productions.

In 2004, he received an Honorary Goya Award for his lifetime body of works.[5]

In a 2007 interview, Alterio declared himself an atheist.[6]

For his last screen appearance, Alterio played a minor role in the television series Su majestad, which premiered in 2025.[7]

Alterio died in Madrid on 13 December 2025, at the age of 96.[8] His lying in repose at the M-30 funeral home was attended by family members and colleagues such as Fernando Tejero, Lola Herrera, Natalia Dicenta, Juan Diego Botto, Luisa Martín, Juana Acosta, Gustavo Salmerón, and Mariano Barroso, among others.[9]

Roles in Academy Award-nominated films

Héctor Alterio has been in five pictures that have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film:

The fourth of these films won the award at the 58th Academy Awards, and was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. All of these films, except for The Nest, which was submitted by Spain, have been submitted to the awards by Argentina.

Selected filmography

Awards

Won:

Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b "Homenaje a Héctor Alterio como Personalidad Emérita de la Cultura". Argentina.gob. 10 April 2023.
  2. ^ Jiménez Guerra, Ana (22 July 2021). "Héctor Alterio: "Actúo porque tengo que pagar las facturas"". Noticias de Navarra.
  3. ^ "Héctor Alterio, en el escenario a los 91 años y sin miedo al coronavirus". Clarín. 5 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Berlinale 1974: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  5. ^ "Medallas del CEC a la producción española de 2001". Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos. Madrid. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  6. ^ Arco, Antonio (February 2007). Temo a depender de alguien para moverme y a perder la memoria. «-¿Nunca la perdió? (la fe en el hombre) -No la puedo perder, porque yo no tengo ningún problema de orden metafísico. No soy religioso: soy ateo. Y en el hombre creo porque es lo que me circunda y lo que hace que haga cosas. Trabajo para otros, me relaciono con otros, tengo gracias a ellos a quien me palmee el hombro o a quien palmeárselo yo. Eso hace que yo tenga mi religión en el hombre.»
  7. ^ "La emotiva última escena de Héctor Alterio en la pantalla: "la perla" que emocionó a su hijo Ernesto". Clarín. 13 December 2025.
  8. ^ País, El (2025-12-13). "Muere a los 96 años el actor Héctor Alterio". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  9. ^ Adán Rodríguez, Sergio (13 December 2025). "La capilla ardiente de Héctor Alterio: sus hijos, su nieta y sus compañeros de profesión le dan el último adiós". Telecinco.
  10. ^ "La Palma, plató del rodaje de la película 'Las Consecuencias' de Claudia Pinto, con Juan Acosta y Alfredo Castro". eldiario.es. 8 June 2019.
  11. ^ New York Latin ACE Awards Archived 2007-02-06 at the Wayback Machine web page. Last accessed: 2007-01-28.
  12. ^ "Héctor Alterio recibió un importante premio en España". infobae. 15 March 2005.
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