Spanish actor Antonio Banderas is a stylish leading man of stage and screen, best known for his role in The Mask of Zorro and, as the voice of Puss in Boots, the Shrek movies. Before making his Hollywood debut in in 1992's The Mambo Kings, Banderas appeared in dozens of Spanish movies, including director Pedro Almodovar's Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990). He received critical praise in the U.S. for Philadelphia (1993, starring Tom Hanks), then proved himself an able action hero in the Robert Rodriguez film Desperado (1995). The Mask of Zorro (1998, with Catherine Zeta-Jones) made him a box office star. One of the busiest actors in filmdom, his movies include Spy Kids and its sequels (2001-03), Shrek 2 (2004) and Shrek the Third (2007), The Legend of Zorro (2005) ,Take the Lead (2006), The Other Man (2008) and The Code (2009, with Morgan Freeman).
In 1999 he directed his wife, actress Melanie Griffith, in the movie Crazy in Alabama, and in 2006 he took another turn behind the camera for Summer Rain.
Internationally known for his charisma and smoldering good looks, Antonio Banderas is the ultimate manifestation of the Latin heartthrob. Born in Málaga, Spain on August 10, 1960, Banderas wanted to become a professional soccer player until a broken foot sidelined his dreams at the age of fourteen. He went on to enroll in some drama classes, eventually joining a theatre troupe that toured all over Spain. His work in the theatre, and his performances on the streets, eventually landed him a spot with the National Theatre of Spain.
While performing with the theatre, Banderas caught the attention of director Pedro Almodóvar, who cast the young actor in his film debut, Laberinto de Pasione (Labyrinth of Passion) (1982). He went on to appear in the director's La Ley del Deseo (Law of Desire) (1984), making headlines with his performance as a gay man, which required him to engage in his first male-to-male onscreen kiss. After Banderas appeared in Almodóvar's Matador (1986), the director cast him in his internationally acclaimed Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) (1988). The recognition Banderas gained for his role increased two years later when he starred in Almodóvar's controversial Atame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!) as a mental patient who kidnaps a porn star (Victoria Abril) and keeps her tied up until she returns his love.
Banderas made his first stateside appearance as an unwitting object of Madonna's affections in Truth or Dare (1991). The following year, still speaking next to no English, he starred in his first American film, The Mambo Kings. It was a testament to his acting abilities that, despite having to learn all of his lines phonetically, Banderas still managed to turn in a critically praised performance as a struggling musician. He broke through to mainstream American audiences as the gay lover of AIDS-afflicted lawyer Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) in Philadelphia (1993). The film's success earned Banderas wide recognition, and the following year he was given a substantial role in Neil Jordan's high-profile adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, which allowed him to share the screen with the likes of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
Banderas subsequently appeared in a number of films of widely varying quality, doing particularly strong work in Desperado (1995), Evita (1998), and The Mask of Zorro (1998). In 1999, he made his first foray into directing with Crazy in Alabama, a black comedy starring Melanie Griffith, to whom he had been married since 1996. The following year he starred as an aspiring boxer opposite Woody Harrelson in Play It to the Bone, portrayed a Cuban tycoon with a bad seed bride (Angelina Jolie) in Original Sin, and starred alongside Bob Hoskins and Wes Bentley in The White River Kid. Well established as a hearthrob and a talented dramatic actor by the end of the 1990s, the fact that Desperato director Robert Rodriguez was the only director to have expolored Banderas' comic potential (Banderas provided one of the few memorable performances in Rodriguez's segment of the otherwise abysmal Four Rooms (1995)) hinted at a heretofore unexplored but potentially lucrative territory for the actor. Later approached by Rodriguez to portray the super-spy patriarch in the family oriented adventurecomedySpy Kids (2001), Banderas charmed children and adults alike with his role as a kidnapped agent whose children must discover their inner stregnth in order to rescue their mother and father. After reprising his role in the following year's Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Banderas would next return to more adult oriented roles in both Brian DePalma's Femme Fatale and the ill-fated Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (both 2002). After essaying a more historic role in the dramatic biopic Frida (also 2002), the remarkably diverse actor would one again team with Rodriguez for the sprawling Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
Banderas was born in Málaga, Andalucía, Spain, in 1960, to Ana Banderas, a school teacher, and José Domínguez, a police officer in the Guardia Civil.[1][2] He has a younger sister, Chloe. Although the family name is Domínguez, he took his mother's surname as his stage name.[3] He initially wanted to become a professional football player until a broken foot sidelined his dreams at the age of fifteen. He went on to enroll in some drama classes, eventually joining a theatertroupe that toured all over Spain. His work in the theater, and his performances on the streets, eventually landed him a spot with the National Theatre of Spain.[4]
Career
Early work, 1982–90
His acting career began at the age of 19,[citation needed] when he worked in small theatres during Spain’s post-dictatorial cultural movement known as the 'Movida'.[5] While performing with the theatre, Banderas caught the attention of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, who cast the young actor in his 1982 film debut, Labyrinth of Passion. Five years later he went on to appear in the director's Law of Desire, making headlines with his performance as a gay man, which required him to engage in his first male-to-male onscreen kiss. After Banderas appeared in Almodóvar's 1986 Matador, the director cast him in his internationally acclaimed 1988 film, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. The recognition Banderas gained for his role increased two years later when he starred in Almodóvar's controversial Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! as a mental patient who kidnaps a porn star (Victoria Abril) and keeps her tied up until she returns his love.[4] It was his breakthrough role in Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, that helped spur him on to Hollywood.[6] Banderas' having become a regular feature of Almodóvar's movies all throughout the 1980s, Almodóvar is credited for helping launch Banderas's international career.[7]
Breakthrough, 1991–94
Banderas was first introduced to in the documentary film Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991). In the film, Madonna says she wants to seduce Banderas even though she knows he was married.
The following year, still speaking minimal English, he began acting in U.S. films. Despite having to learn all his lines phonetically, Banderas still managed to turn in a critically praised performance as a struggling musician in his first American drama film, The Mambo Kings (1992).
Banderas then broke through to mainstream American audiences in the film, Philadelphia (1993), as the gay lover of AIDS-afflicted lawyer Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks). The film's success earned Banderas wide recognition, and the following year was given a role in Neil Jordan's high-profile adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, which allowed him to share the screen with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.[4]
Worldwide recognition, 1995–present
He appeared in several major Hollywood releases in 1995, including a starring role in the Robert Rodriguez-directed film Desperado and the antagonist on the action film Assassins, co-starred with Sylvester Stallone. In 1996, he starred alongside Madonna in Evita, an adaptation of the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and in Tim Rice in which he played the narrator, Che, a role played by David Essex in the original 1978 West End production. He also made success with his role as the legendary masked swordsman Zorro in the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro.
In 2003, he returned to the musical genre, appearing to great acclaim in the Broadway revival of Maury Yeston's musical Nine, based on the film 8½, playing the prime role originated by the late Raúl Juliá. Banderas won both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards, and was nominated for the Tony Award for best actor in a musical.[9] His performance is preserved on the Broadway cast recording released by PS Classics. The following year (2004), he received the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA).
Banderas in June 2007
His voice role as Puss in Boots in Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and the last film in the Shrek franchise, Shrek Forever After, helped make the character popular on the family film circuit. In 2005, he reprised his role as Zorro in The Legend of Zorro, though this was not as successful as The Mask of Zorro. In 2006, he starred in Take the Lead, a high-set movie in which he played a ballroom dancing teacher. That year, he directed his second film El camino de los ingleses (English title: Summer Rain), and also received the L.A. Latino International Film Festival's "Gabi" Lifetime Achievement Award on 14 October.[10] He hosted the 600th episode of Saturday Night Live (during season 31).
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 6801 Hollywood Blvd. in 2005.
In 2011, the horror thriller The Skin I Live In marked the return of Banderas to Pedro Almodóvar, the Spanish director who launched his international career. The two had not worked together since 1990 (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!). In The Skin I Live In he breaks out of the Latin Lover mold from his Hollywood work and stars as a calculating revenge-seeking plastic surgeon following the rape of his daughter. According to the Associated Press Banderas' performance is among his strongest in recent memory.[7] He again lent his voice to Puss in Boots, this time as the protagonist of the Shrek spin-off family film, Puss in Boots. This film reunited Banderas with Salma Hayek for the sixth time.[11]
Business activities
He has invested some of his film earnings in Andalusian products, which he promotes in Spain and the US.[12] He owns 50% of a winery in Villalba de Duero, Burgos, Spain, called Anta Banderas, which produces red and rosé wines.[13]
He performed a voice-over for a computer-animated bee which can be seen in the United States in television commercials for Nasonex,[14] an allergy medication, and was seen in the 2007 Christmas advertising campaign for Marks & Spencer, a British retailer.[15]
He has been a veteran of the perfume industry. The actor has been working with fragrance and beauty multinational company Puig for over ten years becoming one of the brand's most successful representatives. Banderas and Puig have successfully promoted a number of fragrances so far – Diavolo, Diavolo for Women, Mediterraneo, Spirit, Spirit for Women, and following the success of Antonio and Blue Seduction for men in 2007, launched his latest Blue Seduction for Women the following year.[16]
Banderas divorced his first wife, Ana Leza, and on May 14, 1996, married American actress Melanie Griffith in a private, low-key ceremony in London.[5][17] They had met a year earlier while shooting Two Much.[18] Both Griffith and Banderas were married to other people when they first met.[5] They have a daughter, Stella Banderas, who appeared with her parents in the 1999 film Crazy in Alabama, in which Griffith starred and which Banderas directed.[12] In 2002, the couple's dedication to philanthropy was recognized when they received the 'Stella Adler Angel Award' for their extensive charity work.[5]
He is an officer (mayordomo de trono) of a Roman Catholic religious brotherhood in Málaga and travels, with his wife and daughter, during Holy Week to take part in the processions,[21] although in an interview with People magazine Banderas had once described himself as an agnostic.[22] In May 2010, Banderas received his honorary doctorate from the University of Málaga in the city where he was born.[6]
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