MSN.uk reports that Javier Bardem considers the role of Uxbal in BIUTIFUL his toughest role yet.

“This is the heaviest movie I’ve done in my life and one of the heaviest I will ever do,” Bardem said.

“It’s not the kind of film where you deliver the lines and go back to your hotel to sleep. This is a personal journey. You give yourself up in the name of the role and pray to survive.”

The No Country For Old Men star, who has been tipped for another Academy Award for Biutiful, said he knew the role would be all-encompassing as soon as he read the script.

He added: “When you have this kind of material, you know you’re going to jump into an ocean of doubts and fears. You want to do it right, to do it justice. You want to give yourself completely over to it.”

Playing such an intense role was part of the reason Bardem jumped at the chance to do Eat Pray Love opposite Julia Roberts, which was released last year but shot after Biutiful.

He explained: “I needed to do Eat Pray Love. I was like, ‘It’s time to go to Bali, wear nylon shirts and play golf’.”