Banderas, Antonio

▪ 1996

      With 43 movies under his belt, Antonio Banderas in 1995 was on his way to becoming America's next "Latin lover." His undeniable sexuality and European flair made this Spanish actor a full-fledged Hollywood film star.

      Banderas was born on Aug. 10, 1960, in Málaga, Spain. After seeing a performance of Hair at the age of 15, he said of acting, "I want to be part of this ritual; I want to do this forever." In 1981 he embarked on a five-year acting stint with the Spanish national theatre in Madrid. There he was discovered by movie director Pedro Almodóvar, who offered him roles in films. In his first movie with Almodóvar, Banderas played the first of several roles as a homosexual. Under Almodóvar's direction the young actor was able to express his talent fully through unconventional roles such as rapist, mental patient, and kidnapper.

      This experience proved valuable for Banderas after he moved to Hollywood in 1989. There in 1992 he landed a role in The Mambo Kings, playing a young Cuban musician living in New York City. Although he spoke almost no English, Banderas was able to learn his lines phonetically and later took intensive English courses, which helped him land the role of Tom Hanks's lover in the box-office hit Philadelphia in 1993. Wanting to take the U.S. by storm, Banderas then embarked on a whirlwind acting spree. His movies include The House of the Spirits (1993), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Miami Rhapsody (1995), Desperado (1995), Assassins (1995), and Never Talk to Strangers (1995). There also were plans for the release of the big-screen musical version of Evita starring singer-actress Madonna as Eva Perón and Banderas as the Latin-American revolutionary Che Guevara. Banderas conceded to being ambitious but said that in Spain actors prove their success by making one film after another.

      Success for Banderas came with a price. His personal life recently became public when he fell in love with costar Melanie Griffith from the film Two Much, which was expected to be released in early 1996. Gossip columns across the country were filled with news about the breakup of his eight-year marriage to a Spanish actress. Banderas insisted that his marriage had been unstable for some time and said of Griffith, "I love this woman, and I want to make her happy—that is my only purpose." (MARIA OTTOLINO RENGERS)

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▪ Spanish actor

in full  José Antonio Domínguez Banderas 

born Oct. 10, 1960, Malaga, Spain

 

 Spanish-born film actor whose good looks, sensuality, and emotional range made him a leading international star.

      Banderas, the son of a police officer and a teacher, was a soccer protégé as a youth, but a serious foot injury at age 14 dashed his hopes of making the sport his profession. The following year he developed an interest in acting after seeing a stage performance of the rock musical Hair. In 1981 he embarked on a five-year acting stint with the Spanish National Theatre in Madrid. There he was discovered by movie director Pedro Almodóvar, who began offering him roles. In his first movie with Almodóvar, Laberinto de pasiones (1982; Labyrinth of Passion), Banderas received good notices for his role as a gay Islamic terrorist. Under Almodóvar's direction, the young actor was able to express his talent fully through such unconventional roles as rapist, mental patient, and kidnapper.

      Banderas moved to Hollywood in 1989 and three years later appeared in the cult favourite The Mambo Kings, playing a young Cuban musician living in New York City. Although he spoke almost no English, Banderas was able to learn his lines phonetically and later took intensive English courses, which helped him land the role of Tom Hanks (Hanks, Tom)'s lover in the box-office hit Philadelphia (1993). Banderas subsequently appeared in a series of English-language films, including The House of the Spirits (1993); Interview with the Vampire (1994), an adaptation of Anne Rice's novel that also featured Tom Cruise (Cruise, Tom) and Brad Pitt; Miami Rhapsody (1995); Robert Rodriguez's Desperado (1995), in which Banderas played El Mariachi, a gun-toting musician; and Assassins (1995). In 1996 he costarred with Madonna in the musical Evita (1996), playing the role of Ché, the film's narrator. Accused by some critics of overexposure, Banderas conceded that he was ambitious but said that in Spain actors prove their success in this manner.

      Banderas's unique screen persona, equal parts machismo and sensitivity, was further showcased in the successful The Mask of Zorro (1998), which costarred Catherine Zeta-Jones (Zeta-Jones, Catherine), The 13th Warrior (1999), and Play It to the Bone (1999). He made his directorial debut with the comedy Crazy in Alabama (1999), which starred his second wife, actress Melanie Griffith. In 2001 Banderas reteamed with Rodriguez on Spy Kids, playing a family man who is forced to return to his former career as a secret agent. The movie was a hit and led to several sequels. Banderas later reprised the role of El Mariachi in Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), and he provided the voice of Puss in Boots in the popular Shrek sequels (2003, 2008). In 2005 he starred in The Legend of Zorro, a sequel to The Mask of Zorro. The following year Banderas directed his second film, El camino de los ingleses (Summer Rain), an adaptation of an Antonio Soler novel about a group of teenage boys who have a memorable summer vacation.

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