As a young actor he received a big build-up when cast as Benito Juárez in El joven Juárez (1954) -- immediately after appearing in Luis Buñuel's _Río y la muerte, El (1954)_. He'd actually been a stage and screen actor for several years; under the name Juan Pérez, Almazán worked in European films directed by Roberto Rossellini and Jean Renoir, among others. However, these auspicious beginnings didn't do much for his career, and Almazán eventually became a priest in the 1960s.