Although he was born in Tarazona, he was only five when his family moved to Barcelona, where he went to school. He worked as a clerk and then as a salesperson. At the same time he participated in performances of local theatre groups in Gràcia.

During the Spanish Civil War he left his work and focused on theatre as an amateur actor. In 1938 he debuted in Teatro Fontalba with the theatre company of Rafael López Somoza with the work Antonio pasó el infierno (Antonio goes to hell). Two years later he founded his own theatre company with which he worked during the 1940s from Teatro Urquinaona and in the 1950s from Talía theatre.