Cole Sinanian
FOR those who’ve swapped a life in their home countries for one in Spain, the benefits of living among this sunny Iberian country’s rich culture aren’t hard to see.
The cuisine, lifestyle, and warmth of its people have attracted expats and immigrants from around the globe, including some of Hollywood’s most famous actors.
They keep low-profiles, secluding themselves in exclusive luxury estates or hiding among their star-studded Spanish friend groups.
Here are the Hollywood film icons rumoured to either live or own property in Spain.
And of course, this list will not include the obvious ones — Spanish actors like Antonio Banderas or Penelope Cruz.
Josh Hutcherson
The American heartthrob blasted to international fame for his role as Peeta Mellark in the hugely popular dystopian sci-fi Hunger Games series, and has since acted in numerous indie films, finding recent success in the 2023 video game horror film Five Nights at Freddy’s.
It was while shooting his 2015 film Escobar: Paradise Lost he met Madrid-born actress Claudia Traisac, with whom he promptly fell in love.
Now, after years of long distance, the two live together in Madrid, though Hutcherson still works in the US.
It is no wonder then, that the 31-year-old actor speaks near-flawless Castilian, which he surely refines during his nights out in Madrid with Traisac and her famous Spanish friends, who include the filmmaking duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, creators of the hit Spanish series Paquita Salas.
His relationship with “los Javis” must be close, as they’ve not only been photographed playing rowdy bingo together at Madrid’s Bingo Las Vegas club, but Hutcherson has also made a cameo on Paquita Salas.
Amber Heard
Another ultra-famous American actor and competent Spanish speaker who lives in the capital is Amber Heard, where she’s swapped the unwanted limelight brought on by her high-profile defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp for a quieter one in Madrid.
“I love Spain so much,” she told Spanish media outside her home.
From what’s emerged so far her new life seems peaceful enough, taking trips to the Sorolla Museum and buying fruit from local vendors, one of whom told Spanish newspaper El Mundo, who said she spoke Spanish with a Mexican accent.
She lives with her two-year-old daughter, Oonagh Paige, in a reportedly €1.5 million renovated five-bedroom apartment in Madrid’s outskirts.
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen was born in Lower Manhattan, though he’s American only by birth.
His mom is American and his dad is Danish, but the family spent the actor’s early years living in Venezuela, Denmark, and in Argentina, where they lived in the regions of Cordoba, Chaco, and Buenos Aires, before returning to the US when Mortensen was 11.
Thus Mortensen, best known for playing Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings film series and appearing in critically acclaimed indie films like 2016’s Captain Fantastic and 2020’s Falling, speaks fluent Spanish, albeit with a thick Argentine accent.
Nowadays, the three-time Oscar-nominated actor lives with his partner and Catalan actress Ariadna Gil in Madrid’s trendy Chueca neighbourhood.
The couple is often spotted in the city centre strolling hand-in-hand, shamelessly displaying their affection for each other.
Property owners
Much longer than the list of actors residing permanently in Spain is that of actors who own property in the country.
Brad Pitt, for example, reportedly owns a €3.5 million mansion in Port d’Andratx on the island of Mallorca, though when the Hollywood superstar visits he is reclusive and sightings are rare.
Fellow American actress and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria reportedly owns a house in Marbella, while British actor Hugh Grant is rumoured to have a home in Malaga’s hyper-exclusive La Zagaleta community, where his neighbours have been reported to include Vladimir Putin and Rod Stewart.
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