There was a day when everything went dark for the Argentine Javier Kussrow (47), today a theater and film actor, director, teacher and clown.
He was 4 years old when
the bus he was traveling on crossed red
, he flew and ended up hurting his right eye on the old ticket cutting machine.
He lost vision in that eye immediately.
Pain and surprise passed through him.
His world had changed forever in an instant.
There was another day, last February 11, when that same world lit up with neon lights and took a powerful turn in its favor.
Kussrow
appeared on the Super Bowl screens
starring in one of the most praised advertisements for the American football mega-event.
Spectators, television viewers and specialized journalists applauded his leading performance in the short that bears his name:
Javier in frame (Javier in focus)
.
Through it, Google presented the Pixel 8, a device that allows
people with visual disabilities to take photos
through an auditory guide created with artificial intelligence.
There the Argentine plays a blind man who, thanks to this new technology, can record in images the most important moments of his life.
Thus, while the Kansas City Chief defeated the San Francisco 49ers by 25 to 22 at the Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, Javier sneaked into the advertising round with
Lionel Messi
himself promoting a beer between masterful dribbles.
More than 120 million people
saw it on TV – and were moved – in the US alone
.
Also more than 50 million users on YouTube.
He, in Buenos Aires, could not see himself live (the transmission did not arrive in real time) but he immediately began to receive messages from abroad from acquaintances who had done so.
Javier during the filming of the Pixel 8 advertisement that aired during the Super Bowl.
“I was looking forward to the presentation of the commercial at the Super Bowl with great joy and anxiety.
The repercussions really shook me.
I still can't believe it.
I fulfilled a huge dream after so many years of working in my profession.
I am very happy and grateful to life
,” Kussrow shares with
Clarín
.
“It is the most important short film I have made so far due to the magnitude of the brand, the professionalism of the team, the locations and the event where it appeared.
It had premiered on YouTube on February 2 and we knew that
it was going to hit the heart directly
wherever it arrived,” he adds.
A unique opportunity
Playing in the big leagues required a long process that Kussrow describes as “a great adventure.”
After a casting, the actor was chosen and met in Buenos Aires who would be the director of the commercial: the Englishman Adam Morse,
a practically blind creative
who since the age of 19 has suffered from Leber's disease, a hereditary and incurable neuropathy.
The filming of
Javier in frame
was recorded at the beginning of January in London, where Morse lives.
There were five days of filming, one for costume testing and another half day of voice recording in which Kussrow brought his light blue and white imprint.
One of the advertising scenes that Javier starred in for Google.
In front of and behind the camera, the empathy and chemistry between director Morse and Javier – whom the Englishman calls “
My Bro
” in a simplification of “my brother” in Spanish – was magical and crucial.
They joined forces to put the world on its feet and break down stigmas.
Monocular vision
,
in the case of Kussrow and almost blindness in that of Morse, were not limitations but doors to inclusion, sensitivity and creativity.
“Adam is a great guy, a very professional and detailed artist.
Together with his partner Julia and a luxury team, he was able to work with a lot of freedom and respect.
They laughed at my improvisations and my jokes, something very much ours.
I hope to film with him again in fiction,” he wishes.
Projects
Trained at the Metropolitan School of Dramatic Art (EMAD) and with a vast career as a film actor (
1985
,
Nieve Negra
,
The Last Man
,
La Sonámbula
,
Propios y Extraños
), theater, TV, series (
Jostel
,
El Buen Retiro
,
We are
) and advertisements, being the face of a Google product – he admits – placed him well on top of a springboard to jump into other projects at a national and international level.
Maybe that's what he's been preparing for, since the day
he decided to be an actor without complexes
.
Therapy through and with his humor always in front, he chose to show himself, “not cover up” and cross the border of impossible assumptions.
The commercial was directed by English director Adam Morse.
“I accept myself more and more.
Luckily the world is going or seems to be going in that direction too.
What was
an aesthetic obstacle at times is now a unique feature that is
super usable for certain characters,” she emphasizes.
How does the story continue after the Super Bowl accolade?
For now, Kussrow presented the clown and dance work
Bailando in Pinamar, an adventure around the world
created by several artists in the midst of a pandemic.
And he is waiting for the premiere of the film
Don't Want to Forget Me
, which he stars in and which is in the editing and post-production process.
One of his wishes is to return to Europe looking for new horizons.
“I have Italian citizenship and that is an advantage.
“Adam told me that other opportunities may open up for me in the Old Continent,” the actor confides.
Upside down with happiness for the latest achievement, his world continues to spin.
It is always dazzling to be able to shine in every lap.
It's like having the sun in your eyes.
MG/AS