Javier Bardem, who once popped out of a birthday cake for Daniel Craig, was also a stripper for a night

Javier Bardem, perhaps seeding a career switch from one of our best working actors to celebrity exotic dancer, wants the world to know that he once worked as a stripper for a single night in his youth.

He shared this news during a recent appearance on Ellen, which is currently completing its final season death spiral, when a conversation about he and wife Penélope Cruz both being nominated for an Academy Award segued into an actually important life event: The time he worked as a stripper for a night.

Bardem says that back when he was in his 20s, he came out of a birthday cake for a friend’s wife (which, it seems, is one of Bardem’s favorite things to do) and then did his stripper routine again at a disco later on. Apparently captivated by his moves, the club’s owner approached him to ask if he’d like to do his dance again every Friday.

“And I said, ‘yeah, of course!’ Because I was drunk,” Bardem recalls. “Then they hired me and I had to perform the next Friday.”

Bardem says he was so nervous that he had his mom and sister come along to watch him dance for what turned out to be a tiny audience. “It was very embarrassing but I did it,” he continues. “I’m a performer and I gave my word.”

Taking a cue from 9 1/2 Weeks, Bardem danced to Joe Cocker’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On” and stripped down from a tuxedo to “my little thing,” which, after laughing a bit, he clarifies is a reference to a thong, not his dick.

Earlier this year, Bardem also shared the story of him popping out of a birthday cake dressed as a Bond girl for Daniel Craig. With this more recent news, we have to wonder how many other stories in this vein he has saved up for future promo tours and when, exactly, he plans to put aside acting once and for all to embrace his true calling.

[via Uproxx]

Send Great Job, Internet tips to gji@theonion.com