Imanol Arias was launched to star status in Spain by his work with Vicente Aranda in "El Lute", a film that was a critical and commercial success. Arias came to see his role in "El Amante Bilingüe" as a turning point in his career, a triumph after two years of relative inactivity. There are similarities between his own life and that of his character: he had a first failed marriage with a rich woman, and was an immigrant from modest background. He recalls that the role in "El Amante Bilingüe" was an exciting challenge in that he had to play a character with dual personalities and different registers.