14/03/2006 - From his El Deseo office, situated in one of Madrid’s most popular neighbourhoods, Agustín Almodóvar ensures that all of his brother’s films are developed with the utmost creative freedom

Cineuropa: In your brother's films you have already played a plumber, a nurse, and now an ironmonger… What is the next step of your acting career?
Agustín Almodóvar: First of all, I’m not just an extra, I’m supporting actor. Before, Pedro used to tell "You must say this", and that was it. In Volver, he directed me. He told me "Look at her breasts as she is buying the shovel". As we were watching the film with the Americans, we realised once again how brilliant my brother is. It’s hilarious for them, who buy everything in packages full of instructions and rules, to watch an ironmonger looking at a client’s cleavage. They have a lot of fun, and so do we, along with them.

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May we call you your brother’s bodyguard?
I don’t feel like a bodyguard, I’m simply a real producer. Every day I try to ease him from all the management issues that might distract him from his creative process and take away his energy. I am referring to materialistic matters that can jeopardize his creative tranquillity. One of the secrets of Pedro's success is that he has always been able o make his films with the utmost freedom, knowing, above all, that I will do everything possible to satisfy his artistic demands. My task as a producer isn't merely to find financial resources for a film but mainly to invest those resources in what the director, my brother, considers most appropriate for his work.On the other hand, thanks to the recent success, we have created a network of international contacts that allow us to release a film in several territories simultaneously. The film will soon open in France and Italy, then in the US, and in October it will open in South America. Our relationship is based on trust, built up after years of working together. Pedro trusts that everything I manage in his name is well done so that he can focus entirely on his work.