Born in Lugo, Galicia, Spain on 13 October 1971. He began his career playing theater and shorts, but he became famous in Galicia by his performance in 1998 TV Series Mareas Vivas (Galicia Television). Critically acclaimed for his supporting role in the unemployment drama Mondays in the Sun, abusive husband in Take My Eyes, an executive Producer in Even the Rain, and doorman in Sleep Tight, his most acclaimed performance has to be from his 2009 hit Cell 211 which stars Tosar as Malamadre, a prisoner that instigates a riot and befriends an undercover prison guard in the process. His only major role in an American film was Michael Mann's Miami Vice (2006), starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. Besides that he has appeared in other English films The Limits of Control and Mr. Nice.