Born in Mexico City in 1925 as Ignacio López López (he changed his second surname when he started acting), Ignacio López Tarso can thank a serious injury for igniting his acting career. López Tarso attended a seminary and spent time in the military before moving to the United States to work as a migrant worker; a few days in, he fell from a tree, injured his back and spent a year recovering. During this time, he read the works of Xavier Villaurrutia, and, once healed, approached the playwright for an autograph and ended up enrolling in drama classes taught by Villaurrutia.
He made his acting debut in the play Born Yesterday in 1951 and spent the next several years on stage. In 1954, López Tarso made his film debut with a bit part in La desconocida. One of his first major roles was with director/artist Luis Buñuel in Nazarin (1959), playing El sacrilege. López Tarso played the title role in Macario (1960), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and first paired him with director Roberto Gavaldón, who he later worked with on several film, including Rosa blanca (1961), which earned him an Ariel Award for Best Actor.
López Tarso continued to work in films, but eventually began appearing on television shows, acting in over two dozen telenovelas, and earning several TVyNovelas Awards for his work. His grandson is Mexican drummer Antonio Sánchez, who composed the score for the Oscar-winning film Birdman.
