Eusebio Poncela
Eusebio Poncela Aprea (15 September 1945 – 27 August 2025) was a Spanish actor known for his work in film, television and theatre in Spain and Argentina. Born in Madrid and raised in Vallecas, he was expelled from eight schools as a boy. He trained at the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático and graduated in the same class as Marisa Paredes and Juan Diego. He began his stage career in 1967 with Mariana Pineda and soon appeared in plays such as Marat/Sade, Romeo and Juliet, and A Taste of Honey.
Poncela’s film career in the 1970s included Pastel de sangre, The Cannibal Man, A House Without Boundaries, Larga noche de julio, La muerte del escorpión and In memoriam. He gained cult status as the lead in the experimental film Rapture (1979) and acted in Ogro, which relates to the Carrero Blanco assassination. He achieved mainstream recognition in 1982 with the TV series Los gozos y las sombras, and he continued to act in films like El arreglo (1983), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1984) and, in 1986, in Pedro Almodóvar’s Matador and Pilar Miró’s Werther. He also played detective Pepe Carvalho in Las aventuras de Pepe Carvalho.
In 1987 he co-starred with Antonio Banderas in Law of Desire. During the 1990s he lived in Argentina, appearing in A Shadow You Soon Will Be, Martín (Hache) and La sonámbula, and he featured in the music video for Los Fabulosos Cadillacs’ “Matador” and worked with Fito Páez. His 2001 film Intact earned him a Goya nomination for Best Actor; he also appeared in Black Serenade and 800 Bullets. He received the Nacho Martínez Award at the 2004 Gijón International Film Festival and later focused on television, playing Cardinal Morcillo in Tarancón, and Cardinal Cisneros in Isabel and Carlos, Rey Emperador; he appeared in El ministerio del tiempo and The Broken Crown. In 2017 he received the Sant Jordi Special Award for Lifetime Achievements.
Later roles included Merlí: Sapere Aude (2021) and Matices (2025). In 2022 he starred in Kiss of the Spider Woman on stage and received LesGaiCineMad’s honorary award. The Last Rapture, a documentary about his film Rapture, was slated for release in September 2025 at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Poncela was a former heroin addict who said he became more solitary over time and moved to El Escorial to escape his past. He described himself as trisexual and gay.
Poncela died in El Escorial on 27 August 2025, aged 79, from cancer. His wake was held in Madrid and was attended by colleagues including Luis Tosar and Luisa Mayol.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:22 (CET).