Colombians asked Bardem not to play Escobar with ‘glamour’ or coolness. “They don’t want their kids to repeat their story,\u201d said the acclaimed actor.<\/p>\n
Many filmmakers and TV producers have taken on the legend that has become Pablo Escobar. The man who became synonymous with the Colombian drug wars of the \u201880s remains a polarizing figure who stirred up conflict wherever his business went, ultimately landing him in the crosshairs of the United States\u2019 anti-drug efforts. Escobar created a new kind of class system in his country, one where poor men trafficked their way to riches and most likely an early, violent death.<\/p>\n
But the legend of Escobar is not what captured\u00a0Javier Bardem\u2019s<\/a>attention. It was his friend, director\u00a0Fernando Le\u00f3n de Aranoa<\/a>, who approached the actor with the idea of adapting the memoir of one of the people closest to Escobar, journalist\u00a0Virginia Vallejo<\/a>, the woman who became his lover and eventually led the U.S. feds to him.<\/p>\n Their project would eventually become\u00a0\u201cLoving Pablo,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0which opens in theaters Friday with Bardem playing the role of the infamous cartel leader and Bardem’s wife, acclaimed actress\u00a0Pen\u00e9lope Cruz<\/a>, playing Vallejo.<\/p>\n Bardem told NBC News over the phone that he was intrigued by the way Vallejo\u2019s book deconstructed the myth surrounding the man.<\/p>\n