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El actor recibió la estatuilla por interpretar al personaje.

El actor recibió la estatuilla por interpretar al personaje.
The actor received the statuette for playing the character.
From Lesson 378:Causal actions (por + infinitive)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El actor recibió la estatuilla por interpretar al personaje.

Why do we use por interpretar here instead of por interpretando?
In Spanish, when you want to say "for doing something" to express a reason or cause, you use por followed by the infinitive (interpretar). English uses the "-ing" form for this, but Spanish never uses the gerund (the -ando or -iendo form) directly after prepositions.
Could we use the perfect infinitive (por haber interpretado) in this sentence instead?
Yes, you could say por haber interpretado (for having played). Both work perfectly! Using the simple infinitive (por interpretar) is just a slightly shorter, very common way to express a past cause when the surrounding context (like the past tense verb recibió) already makes the timeline clear.
Why is there an al before personaje? Is a fictional character considered a person?
Exactly! This is the "personal a" (a + el = al). Even though a character is fictional, they are treated as a specific, personified individual in the context of a story. Since the character is the specific direct object being played, the personal a is required.
Doesn't interpretar usually mean "to interpret"?
It does, but in the context of theater, film, and music, it is the standard verb for "to play" a role, "to perform" a song, or "to portray" a character. You cannot use jugar (to play a game) or tocar (to play an instrument) for acting.
Is estatuilla just the diminutive of estatua?
Yes, it literally means "little statue" or "statuette." However, in the entertainment industry, estatuilla is the standard, everyday word used to refer to award trophies, like an Oscar or a Golden Globe, rather than just a cute way of describing a statue.

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