A shared star imagery : The Argentine actor Ricardo Darín through Spanish posters

From the early days of cinematography to the present, images have been at the center of its star system. A host of pictures are involved in the production, distribution and exhibition of films and they contribute not only to a film’s commercial success, but also to the construction of the personas that strengthen the foundations of the film industry. Among these images, billboards have played a crucial role and have become cult objects inhabited by the stars’ auras. The composition and strategic locations of these posters have contributed to the promotion of specific actors/actresses within local cultural arenas. This is the case of the Argentine actor Ricardo Darín in Spain. Since the release of the film Nueve Reinas (Bielinsky 2000) and, shortly after, of El hijo de la novia (2001) -by the Oscar winning director Juan José Campanella-, Darín has risen to stardom in Spanish film culture. Accordingly, this article aims to analyze how the billboards of the films starred in by Darín and released in Spain have slowly changed their focus from images of landscapes with allegorical connotations to the plot of the film and ultimately to close-ups of Darín’s face, and how this change reflects his rising star status in the peninsula as well as a shared star imagery between Spain and Argentina.