Celso Bugallo

Bugallo was born on 1 January 1947 in Vilalonga, Sanxenxo, where he was raised until he was 10.^[2][3] Upon the liberation of his father from the Francoist regime in the 1950s, he moved with his family to Bilbao, and then to Logroño.^[3] In Logroño, he began to develop an acting career on stage.^[4] He returned to his native Galicia in 1978.^[3]

In 1999, he made his big screen debut at age 52 in Butterfly's Tongue, playing a priest in the time of the Second Spanish Republic.^[2][5] Demonstrating a knack for "dry and bitter" characters, Bugallo continued his film career with supporting roles in titles such as Lena (2001), Mondays in the Sun (2002), The Carpenter's Pencil (2003), and Your Next Life (2004).^[3] In Mondays in the Sun, he played an alcoholic former shipbuilding worker suffering from social isolation, winning a Mestre Mateo award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.^[6][5]

He won the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of José Sampedro (Ramón Sampedro's brother) in The Sea Inside (2004).^[5] He played a Guardia Civil corporal in The Night of the Sunflowers (2006).^[7] He also appeared as the father of Salvador Puig Antich in Salvador (2006).^[8] In Wrap Up, he featured as a Galician immigrant to Argentina coming back home.^[9]

Bugallo landed leading roles in Cenizas del cielo [es] (2008) and Amador (2010).^[10] In the former, he starred as a villager in a struggle against a thermal power station polluting a valley,^[11] inhabiting a character "full of life, energy, and purpose".^[12] In the latter, he played an old man taken care of by an immigrant woman.^[13]

His film career also included performances in 53 Days of Winter (2006), Modesty (2007), Guts (2009), Palm Trees in the Snow (2015), and The Art of Return (2020).^[4] For his small role as a loyal employee in the social satire The Good Boss (2021), he earned a nomination for a Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor.^[5]

Bugallo died in Pontevedra on 20 December 2025 at the age of 78.^[3]