Carlos Iglesias was born in Quintanar de la Orden (Toledo, Spain). His parents migrated to Switzerland until he was 13 years of age and then to Madrid and Alicante, both in Spain. He became an actor by accident while playing the part of an actor who had fallen ill in an independent theater group. He then went on to study at the RESAD (Real Academia de Arte Dramático, or Royal Academy for Dramatic Art). He became first known for his role as Pepelu in Pepe Navarro's TV show "Esta noche cruzamos el Mississippi" ('Tonight We'll Be Crossing the Mississippi', 1995-97). Later on he played Benito, a thick-brush, sloppy painter in the TV series "Manos a la obra" ('Let's Get To It', 1997-2001). It was in this series that he finally became widely popular, as ratings were usually quite high, topping 6 million viewers in a population of 42m. He directed his first big-screen movie, "Un franco, catorce pesetas", in 2006 ('Crossing Borders'). The movie plot (about the life of a Spanish immigrant in Switzerland in the late 1960s) is based on his parents' as well as his own experience as an immigrant. Having received his diploma from the Real Escuela de Arte Dramático de Madrid (Madrid's Royal School for Dramatic Art), in the 1980s Carlos Iglesias acted mainly in both classic and contemporary theatrical venues. Among others, in 1982 he played a part in Carlo Goldoni's "Arlequín, servidor de dos amos", under Ángel Gutiérrez's direction and, with the same director, in Chejov's "Polinka". He worked in 1983 under director Luis Balaguer in Lauro Olmo's play "Pablo Iglesias"; in Valle-Inclán's "Los cuernos de Don Friolera", directed by José Estruch and Juan José Granda; in 1986 in Sergi Belbel's "Caleidoscopios y faros de hoy", directed by Juan José Granda; in 1987 in Federico García Lorca's "El público", produced by Lluís Pasqual for the Centro Dramático Nacional; in 1990-91 in Jean Genet's "Ella", directed by Ángel Facio; and in 1992 in Valle-Inclán's "Las galas del difunto", directed by Francisco Muñoz, among many other theater plays. From the early 90s onwards, Carlos Iglesias opted mainly for television shows of all different kinds: drama productions (in José Ramón Larraz's "Goya"; in Mario Camus's "La forja de un rebelde"; in Luis García Berlanga's "Blasco Ibáñez"); TV series (in Vicente Escrivá's "Éste es mi barrio" and "Manos a la obra"; also in "Siete vidas" and Sergio Cabrera's "Cuéntame cómo pasó"); and as main actor in various TV shows, such as in the above-mentioned "Esta noche cruzamos el Mississippi". For the big screen, he was cast for Pedro Costa's movie "El caso Almería" (1983); for Jaime Camino's "Dragón Rapide" (1986); or Pedro Pinzola's "Siempre felices" (1991). Recently, he has acted as SanchoPanza in Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón's "El caballero don Quijote" (2002) and in José Luis Garci's "Ninette" (2005), alongside Elsa Pataky. Carlos Iglesias's first big-screen full-length movie as director, "Un franco, catorce pesetas" (Crossing Borders, 2006), was a hit among viewers, as well as a success in the various film festivals it took part in. "Ispansi!" (literally 'Spaniards!' in Russian, 2010) is his second movie as director.
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Biography from IMDb.
- July 15, 1955 (71)
- Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Actor, director and writer
- 10 on MovieCove · 32 credits in all
Known for
What are Carlos Iglesias' films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 5 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 3 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
A split, not a type: Steady 3 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 3
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1
Casual 5 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 0
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Mentor: 2 of 3 analyzed roles.
- Mentoras Álex in Endless, the Rock Return (2005)
- Mentoras Martín in 2 Francs, 40 Pesetas (2014)
- Heroas Fidel in The Honeymoon Suite (2020)
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Carlos Iglesias' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Carlos Iglesias' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
32 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
La bala(2025)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
One Year and One Day(2025)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
¿Quién es quién? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Si todas las puertas se cierran (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
The Kids Are Alright 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Acto reflejo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
The Honeymoon Suite(2020)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Grandfathers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
2 Francs, 40 Pesetas(2014)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
B&b, de boca en boca (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
La venta del paraíso (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Los muertos no se tocan, nene (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Ispansi (¡Españoles!) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
La Hora de José Mota (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Manolo y Benito Corporeision (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Crossing Borders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Endless, the Rock Return(2005)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Torrente 3: El protector(2005)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Ninette (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Don Quixote, Knight Errant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Cuéntame cómo pasó (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
El Club de la Comedia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Manos a la obra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Blasco Ibáñez (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Kety Won't Stop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Te lo mereces (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Dragon Rapide (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Las Locas del Obelisco (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 92nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 32 titles, 31 of them dated from 1986 to 2025; peak year 2025.
Film career
Peak 2025 · at the high point of their film career. Top draw in 1 MovieCove title. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2006Screen debut· Crossing Borders
- 2006First top-billed film· Crossing Borders
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Carlos Iglesias' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 30th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 46th percentile for acclaim.
- 25th to 49th6
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 10 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Panned1
- Cult Classic2
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed5
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Carlos Iglesias work with?
People who share at least 2 of Carlos Iglesias' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Santiago Segura shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Santiago SeguraShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022), The Honeymoon Suite (2020)See all 3 shared titles with Santiago Segura
Writers
- Juan VeraShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Juan Vera
- Mariano VeraShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Mariano Vera
- Marta González de VegaShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Marta González de Vega
Actors
- Roberto ÁlvarezShared titles: La bala (2025), The Honeymoon Suite (2020), 2 Francs, 40 Pesetas (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Roberto Álvarez
- Adrián ExpósitoShared titles: La bala (2025), 2 Francs, 40 Pesetas (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Adrián Expósito
- Esther ReginaShared titles: La bala (2025), The Honeymoon Suite (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Esther Regina
- Calma SeguraShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Calma Segura
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Fran AmaroShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Fran Amaro
- Roque BañosShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Roque Baños
- Mario de BenitoShared titles: The Honeymoon Suite (2020), 2 Francs, 40 Pesetas (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Mario de Benito
- Paco Sánchez PoloShared titles: The Honeymoon Suite (2020), 2 Francs, 40 Pesetas (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Paco Sánchez Polo
Producers
- Juan GonaShared titles: La bala (2025), 2 Francs, 40 Pesetas (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Juan Gona
- Axier PérezShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Axier Pérez
- Guido RudShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Guido Rud
- Ignacio Salazar-SimpsonShared titles: Father There is Only One 4 (2024), Father There Is Only One 3 (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Ignacio Salazar-Simpson
