Rafael "Fele" Martínez (born 22 February 1975) is a Spanish actor. He gained notoriety for his performance as Chema in Thesis (1996), his feature film debut and for which he won the Goya Award for Best New Actor.

Early years

Rafael Martínez was born in Alicante on 22 February 1975. He moved to Madrid to study at the RESAD, where he set up a theater and storytelling group, the 'Sex-Peare', along with other school alumni.

Career

His chance at stardom came at the hand of Alejandro Amenábar, who offered him a role in his opera prima Thesis. It was for this work that Fele received the Goya Award for Best New Actor in 1996. It was followed by performances in films such as Open Your Eyes (1997), Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998), The Art of Dying (1999), April Captains (2000), Black Serenade (2001), and Bad Education (2004). He has also participated in several independent film projects including the short films Pasaia (1996), for which he won Best Actor at the Elche Film Festival, Amigos (1997), La cartera (2000), and El castigo del ángel (2002) which he also directed.

Filmography

Theatre

Accolades