It was Javier Bardem’s wife Penélope Cruz who revealed to her husband that he had received his seventh Golden Globe nomination for playing Jose Menendez in the Netflix series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez. The couple was with their children in Abu Dhabi, where Bardem is filming F1 alongside Brad Pitt, Kerry Condon and Tobias Menzies as she announced the good news.

“The family came here to visit and I asked my wife to search for the nominations on Google,” Bardem tells Deadline. “And she said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, “Well, the Golden Globe nominations are today.” She said, “Why didn’t you tell me before?” I said, why should I? Let’s see what happens. Then she looked at me and said, ‘You’re nominated.’ It was nice and easy.”

If Bardem wins the Globe, it would be his second win for playing a monster; The first time came after the portrayal of the murderer Anton Chigurh No country for old menwhich also earned Bardem his first Oscar.

Here, Bardem talks about the challenges of working with such dark and heavy material, whether he liked Jose, and what it was like appearing in his first limited series. “I expected it to be more hectic, more unstable and artistically poor,” Bardem tells Deadline. “What I found was exactly the opposite.”

DEADLINE: Josh Brolin recently spoke with Joe Rogan for his podcast and he pointed out that you were very depressed No country because of your hairstyle and more importantly because you didn’t like the violence. Does this feeling still last?

BARDEM I’m not particularly into violence myself and I’m not a viewer of particularly violent films. I don’t like it. Funnily enough, I did some of these when I was younger too. Also, I don’t feel comfortable watching very explicit sex scenes in any movie. I guess I’m getting older. I say, “Listen, guys, unless it’s absolutely necessary for the story to be told and the story to move forward, fine.” But most of the time it’s just free. So yeah, I was kind of depressed in No Country for a number of reasons, some personal reasons. It was a moment in my life in which, like many other moments, I experienced a crisis. But I was kidnapped from the middle of America to play this very dark role within an American cast and crew for the first time in my life. This made me feel somehow alone and completely detached from the entire surroundings. I think some of that carried over into the character as well because he was someone who was emotionally distant from others. He doesn’t care. Josh Brolin was my lifesaver. I mean, he was so kind and helpful and loving, and he really saved me and showed me the light. We had a great time. I consider him to be a great person and good friend.

DEADLINE Monster isn’t necessarily violent on that level, but it’s definitely dark. Have you ever had periods where you felt this level of depression or sadness?

BARDEM No. When I made No Country I was 37. Now I’m 55. 18 years is a lot of time, both personally and professionally, and I was very aware of the sensitivity of the subject and the things we’re dealing with. I met with Ryan Murphy, who I adore and have great respect for as an artist and as a man. We spoke openly about my fears about playing a man like that who could have done something like that. I mean, I don’t know myself whether these sexual abuse allegations are true or not. We don’t know yet. But you have to play it from the sons’ perspective. And in that sense he would be responsible for committing these (crimes). You have to play that. I wouldn’t say I was scared or unsure, but I was very receptive to stepping into a role that had such resonance and what she could bring to the conversation. Will it help to openly discuss and shed light on victims of sexual abuse and give them the space they need? It’s proven because of the response this show has created for these two brothers and how they may have another chance to get their case in front of a jury, hopefully with new evidence.

DEADLINE You obviously have certain tools to play a monster like Jose. Did any of these tools have to find a way to like him?

BARDEM I don’t have to like Jose at all to play him. I also played Pablo Escobar, and I don’t necessarily like him. But I think our job is to understand their flaws, their fears, their pain and their violence. We are all human. Jose wasn’t born that way. He was educated. He was marked by trauma. That’s the most exciting thing about my job. It’s not about saying the text in front of the camera. It’s about surrendering to this moment, in a time when we are always in a hurry, trying to get to the next place as quickly as possible. Take time to explore, sit and reflect. It’s a gift. My verdict on Jose? I don’t necessarily like the guy. I think he represents a lot of the things I despise about men and masculinity. And I’m not talking about sexual abuse. I don’t even want to go in there. I’m talking about what we call toxic masculinity. But it doesn’t matter what I think of him. They hired me to try to defend him as a character, just as he will defend himself.

DEADLINE I read that because you were in Spain you didn’t hear about the Menendez case in 1989. How did Ryan explain the story to you? Was he clearly convinced that Jose did this to his sons?

BARDEM He explained it very accurately as shown in the show. Could it be? Or could it not be? We know things for sure. He was a bad father. He abused his children emotionally and psychologically. He put enormous pressure on them to be the people he wanted them to be. But when it comes to sexual abuse, that is not proven. It could be and it could also not be. Ryan told me that as an actor I would have the challenge of playing a character who could be responsible or innocent of such accusations, which is a great task. But at the same time, I have to give this person a dimension so that we can relate to him and understand where his pain comes from, namely his own trauma, his own abuse as a child. I really liked the fact that I wasn’t playing someone who was a whole person. Playing the ambiguity was the most challenging and fun part of the show.

DEADLINE The reaction to Monster was huge, not to mention what it could mean for the brothers and their hopes of getting out of prison. Can you compare it to anything you’ve done before?

BARDEM No, never. Well, there could be one case, namely a film called “The Sea Inside” that I made with Alejandro Amenábar in 2004, about euthanasia. This film really caused a huge response in society, so much so that a law was passed in Spain a few years ago. That was 17 years after the film premiered. But the discussion in society up to the highest political level in Spain started when this film started because of the case that we showed, which was a real case. It conveyed to the audience the right to a dignified death. I would say the film had that effect, but not as quickly and as strongly and as universally as Monsters. The Menendez case is spread all over the world and in all media. All the attention paid to the case is absolutely outstanding. And I think it’s a good thing. Why? Because it brings with it a lot of discussion about sexual abuse, about machismo and male dominance.

DEADLINE This was your first limited series. What surprised you most about the process?

BARDEM I think I expected it to be more hectic, unstable and artistically poor. What I found was exactly the opposite. First of all, the teams at Ryan Murphy and Netflix were top notch. Everything was there for you to use to your own advantage. Secondly, the fact that I worked with four different directors. I asked myself: How do I do this? I’m not used to that. But it was so smooth. It was so brilliant. They each brought their own thing, but they were absolutely connected by the same desire to bring the same colors. They didn’t contradict each other at all. Plus, I never felt for a second that I had to be in a hurry. It was the opposite of what I expected. I felt the joy of being part of this journey that takes you further and deeper. And now I’m going to do Cape Fear because I’ve discovered how much joy it is to be part of this journey.

DEADLINE: When do you expect to start Cape Fear?

BARDEM I think it will be in the first half of next year. I guess a little after spring.