Berlin (Money Heist)

The police find out that his real name is Andrés de Fonollosa and that he is terminally ill during part 1. Meanwhile, Berlin starts a coercive relationship with Ariadna, a hostage who works in the Mint. In the final minutes of part 2, Berlin decides to sacrifice himself so that the gang can escape, and dies under police fire. Despite his death, Berlin appears in a main role in part 3 through flashbacks to several years earlier, showing his original plannings of the Bank of Spain heist and being in love with a woman named Tatiana.

After the premiere, La Voz de Galicia characterised Berlin as a "cold, hypnotic, sophisticated and disturbing character, an inveterate macho with serious empathy problems, a white-collar thief who despises his colleagues and considers them inferior."[3] Joana Oliveira of El País described Berlin as "obnoxious", "a snob, a misogynist and a bit sadistic",[4] which La Vanguardia contrasted with the character's portrayal in the flashbacks in part 3, where the character appeared "much more in love and cuddly".[5] Actor Pedro Alonso described Berlin as "cruel, heroic and funny at the same time",[6] and saw high observation skills and an unusual understanding of his surroundings in Berlin, resulting in unconventional and unpredictable character behaviour.[3] Although capable of empathy, Berlin was "deeply human and deeply ardent" and unleashed chaos in his interactions with others, according to Alonso,[7] who attributed Berlin's popularity to the character's desire to live and "enjoy everything at the moment intensely",[8] living "life as a fantastic dream [...] with great honesty, without abiding by conventions and morals".[4]

Alonso's portrayal of the character was inspired by a chance encounter Alonso had the day before receiving his audition script, with "an intelligent person" who was "provocative or even manipulative" to him.[6] Writer Esther Lobato Martinez said Berlin was designed like all the characters, "with shades of light and dark applied to each so they are both relatable and immoral" as the story unfolds, so that Berlin could be perceived as likeable despite being oppressive to the hostages early on.[9] Similarities between Berlin and Najwa Nimri's character Zulema in Pina's TV series Locked Up were unintentional.[10] The family connections between the Professor and Berlin were not in the original script, but were built into the characters' backstory at the end of part 1 after Morte and Alonso had repeatedly proposed to do so.[11] The writers decided to bring Berlin back for part 3, as they felt the character had gone through a sufficient redemption arc and was popular with the audience.[12] According to writer Javier Gómez Santander, Berlin might not have been killed off at the end of part 2 if the writers had known of the series' renewal.[12]

Despite or even because of his questionable personality, Berlin was noted as a fan favorite by the producers and critics alike.[12][13][9][4] Netflix's announcement that Berlin would be in part 3 raised media speculation about his role in part 3.[14] For the role of Berlin, Alonso won the Premios de la Unión de Actores (es) in 2018 in the category "Best supporting television actor".[15]

• Berlin on IMDb