# Ernesto Alterio

Ernesto Federico Alterio Bacaicoa (born 25 September 1970) is an Argentine-Spanish film, theatre, and television actor. He is the son of Argentine actor Hector Alterio.

## Early life

Alterio is the son of psychologist Modesta Ángela Bacaicoa Destéfano and actor Héctor Alterio Onorato. His younger sister Malena is also dedicated to acting. He is of Italian descent, his grandparents were originally from Carpinone, a commune in the province of Isernia, in the Molise region. During Isabel Perón's government that took place very shortly after the birth of Malena, his father Héctor Alterio was threatened by Triple A, so the family went into exile and settled in Spain between 1974 and 1975 (where he was working at the time); years later, he obtained Spanish nationality.
Installed with his family in Madrid, when he was four years old, Ernesto suffered the uprooting that exile brings. He remained attached to his Argentine roots through family traditions. He began Biology studies but left to take up History, and continued with those studies for two years. Encouraged to be like his father, Ernesto said that he went "sideways, skirting the edge of the pond so as not to fall into it: music, photography, history..." until he made the decision to accept being an actor.

## Career

In 1996, he founded the theatre group 'Ración de oreja' (seed of 'Animalario') together with Alberto San Juan, Guillermo Toledo, and Nathalie Poza.
He landed some early leading film roles under Fernando Colomo in the late 1990s with performances in The Stolen Years (for which he earned a nomination to the Goya Award for Best New Actor) and Havana Quartet [es].
He has starred in the cult miniseries Vientos del agua along with his father, and has twice worked with director Marcelo Piñeyro, who frequently hires his father in roles. He works both in Spanish and Argentine television.

## Selected filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | Tango Feroz | | |
| 1995 | Tengo una casa | | |
| 1995 | Belmonte | | |
| 1995 | Morirás en Chafarinas (You Shall Die in Chafarinas) | | |
| 1996 | Más que amor, frenesí (Not Love, Just Frenzy) | | |
| 1996 | Mi nombre es sombra | | |
| 1996 | Tengo una casa | Nico | |
| 1997 | Dos por dos | Mateo | |
| 1998 | Los años bárbaros (The Stolen Years) | Jaime | |
| 1998 | Insomnio (Sleepless in Madrid) | Juan | |
| 1999 | Los lobos de Washington (Washington Wolves) | Pablo | |
| 1999 | Cuarteto de La Habana [es] (Havana Quartet) | Walther | |
| 2000 | Kasbah | Mario | |
| 2000 | Yoyes | Joxean Dorronsoro | |
| 2001 | Buñuel y la mesa del rey Salomón [es] | Salvador Dalí | |
| 2001 | Juego de Luna (Luna's Game) | Nano | |
| 2002 | El otro lado de la cama (The Other Side of the Bed) | Javier | |
| 2002 | Deseo (Desire) | Julio | |
| 2003 | Días de fútbol (Football Days) | Antonio | |
| 2004 | Muertos comunes | Fermín | |
| 2004 | Incautos (Swindled) | Ernesto | |
| 2005 | Semen, una historia de amor (Semen, A Love Story) | Serafín | |
| 2005 | El método (The Method) | Enrique | |
| 2006 | Los 2 lados de la cama (The 2 Sides of the Bed) | Javier | Sequel to The Other Side of the Bed |
| 2008 | Rivales (Rivals) | Guillermo | |
| 2009 | Las viudas de los jueves (The Widows of Thursdays) | Martín | |
| 2011 | Infancia clandestina (Clandestine Childhood) | Tío Beto ('uncle Beto') | |
| 2013 | ¿Quién mató a Bambi? (Who Killed Bambi?) | Edu | |
| 2014 | Sexo fácil, películas tristes (Easy Sex, Sad Movies) | Pablo Diuk | |
| 2015 | Incidencias (Stranded) | José María | |
| 2017 | Perfectos desconocidos (Perfect Strangers) | Antonio | |
| 2018 | La sombra de la ley (Gun City) | El Tísico | |
| 2019 | Lo dejo cuando quiera (I Can Quit Whenever I Want) | Tacho | |
| 2019 | Ventajas de viajar en tren (Advantages of Travelling by Train) | Ángel Sanagustín | |
| 2020 | Te quiero, imbécil (I Love You, Stupid) | Sebastian Vennet | |
| 2020 | Orígenes secretos (Unknown Origins) | Bruguera | |
| 2020 | Un mundo normal (The Sea Beyond) | Ernesto | |
| 2021 | Donde caben dos (More the Merrier) | Alberto | |
| 2022 | El cuarto pasajero (Four's a Crowd) | Juan Carlos | |
| 2023 | Moscas (Flies) | Luis Machi | |

### Television

Key :
| † | Denotes series that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2017 | Cable Girls | |
| 2018 | Narcos: Mexico | Salvador Osuna Nava |
| 2020 | Someone Has to Die | Gregorio Falcón |
| 2021 | Todos mienten | Diego |
| 2025 | Su majestad † | Guillermo |