The eldest of six children, Juan Luis Galiardo Comes was born in San Roque, Cádiz, but spent most of his childhood and youth in Badajoz, where his father had moved following working opportunities. After finishing his secondary education in Seville, Galiardo studied Agricultural Engineering at the University of Madrid. He abandoned his studies in 1961, to enroll the following year at Spain's National Film School (EOC) where he trained as an actor. He began his career working in the theater under the direction of José Luis Alonso de Santos in the theater María Guerrero. With some fellow actors he founded the T.E.I. (Independent Experimental Theatre), directed by Miguel Narros.