Antonio Banderas Biography
Summary
"José Antonio Domínguez Banderas" (born August 10, 1960), better known as "Antonio Banderas", is a Spanish film actor and singer who has starred in high-profile Hollywood films including "Assassins", "Interview with the Vampire", "Mariachi" sequels, "Philadelphia", "The Mask of Zorro", and the "Shrek" sequels.
Biography
Early life
Banderas was born in Málaga, Andalucia, southern Spain to José Domínguez, a policeman in the Guardia Civil, and Ana Banderas, a school teacher. He also has a brother, Francisco. Banderas was raised a Roman Catholic, but no longer follows the religion.
He initially wanted to play futbol professionally, but his dream ended when he broke his foot at age 14. As a young man, he traveled to Madrid, in order to make a career in the Spanish film industry.
Early work
His acting career began at the age of 19, when he worked in small theaters during the Movida period. He first gained wide attention through a series of films by director Pedro Almodóvar, between 1982 and 1990. These included "Laberinto de pasiones" (1982), "Matador" (1986), "La ley del deseo" (1987), "Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios" (1988), and "¡Átame!" (1989). His breakthrough role was as the character 'Ricky' in "¡Átame!" (English-language title: "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!"), which was a minor success in the United States.
Career in Hollywood
He subsequently moved to the U.S. and began appearing in American films; some of his earlier roles there included the 1992 film, "The Mambo Kings", as well as a supporting role in the Oscar-winning 1993 film, "Philadelphia". He appeared in several major Hollywood releases in 1995, including a starring role in the Robert Rodriguez-directed film, "Desperado". In 1996, Banderas starred alongside Madonna in Evita, an adaptation of the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in which he played the narrator, Che, a role originally played on Broadway by Mandy Patinkin.
Banderas has also frequently collaborated with his "Desperado" director, Rodriguez, who cast Banderas in the "Spy Kids" film trilogy and the final installment in the 'Mariachi' trilogy (which he appeared in with Johnny Depp), "Once Upon A Time In Mexico". Banderas' sole credit as a director was the poorly-received "Crazy in Alabama" (1999), starring his wife Melanie Griffith. He also has received praise for being the first Spanish actor to portray the legendary Spanish masked swordsman, Zorro in The Mask of Zorro (1998) and its sequel, The Legend of Zorro (2005).
In 2003, Banderas 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 Raul Julia. Banderas won both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards, and was nominated for the Tony Award for best actor in a musical. His performance is preserved on the Broadway cast recording released by PS Classics.
Banderas' voice role as Puss in Boots in "Shrek 2" made the character popular on the family film circuit, and a spin-off movie starring his character is scheduled for release in 2008. His latest film, "Take the Lead", a high-school movie in which he plays a real-life ballroom dancing teacher, opened on 7 April 2006. He received the L.A. Latino International Film Festival's 'Gabi' Lifetime Achievement Award on October 14, 2006.
Banderas also hosted Saturday Night Live's 600th episode (in season 31). The musical guest was Mary J. Blige.
Banderas' upcoming projects include starring as the title character in a new Broadway production of the 1995 film, "Don Juan DeMarco", as well as in the films "Conquistador", a historical epic in which he will play Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés (filming begun in September 2006 in Spain, Mexico, and South America), and "Shrek the Third", as the voice of Puss In Boots.
He performed a voice-over for a computer-animated bee which can be seen in the United States in television commercials for Nasonex, an allergy medication, and can currently be seen in the Christmas advertising campaign for Marks & Spencer, a British retailer.
Personal life
In 1996, Banderas divorced his first wife, Ana Leza, and married actress Melanie Griffith during the shooting of "Two Much". They have a daughter, Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith (also simply Stella Banderas), who appeared in the film "Crazy in Alabama", in which Griffith starred and which Banderas directed.
Banderas has invested his movie earnings in business marketing Andalusian products, which he promotes in Spain and the USA. He is a long time supporter of the Málaga CF and Real Madrid Football Club. While he speaks in his native Andalusian Spanish with his family and Spanish press, he switches to the Castilian pronunciation when playing non-Andalusian roles or when dubbing his Hollywood performances.
Filmography
Puss in Boots: The Story of an Ogre Killer (2011) (TBA) - Puss In Boots
Shrek 4 (Expected For 2010) - Puss In Boots
My Mom's New Boyfriend (2008) .... Tommy
Memoirs of Hadrian (2007) (in talks) - Hadrian
Shrek the Third (2007) - Puss in Boots
Bordertown (2007) .... Diaz
Take the Lead (2006) .... Pierre Dulaine
The Legend of Zorro (2005) .... Don Alejandro de la Vega/Zorro
Shrek 2 (2004) - Puss In Boots
*Far Far Away Idol (2004) - Puss In Boots
Imagining Argentina (film) (2003) - Carlos Rueda
And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003) (TV) - Pancho Villa
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) - El Mariachi
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) - Gregorio Cortez
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) - Agent Jeremiah Ecks
Frida (2002) - David Alfaro Siqueiros
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) .... Gregorio Cortez
Femme Fatale (2002 film) (2002) - Nicolas Bardo
Original Sin (film) (2001) - Luis Vargas
Spy Kids (2001) - Gregorio Cortez
The Body (2001) - Father Matt Gutierrez
Play It to the Bone (1999) .... Cesar Dominguez
The White River Kid (1999) .... Morales Pittman
The 13th Warrior (1999) .... Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan Ibn Al Abbas Ibn Rashid Ibn Hamad
The Mask of Zorro (1998) .... Alejandro Murrieta/Zorro
Evita (1996) .... Che Guevara
Two Much (1995) .... Art Dodge
Never Talk to Strangers (1995) .... Tony Ramirez
Assassins (1995) .... Miguel Bain
Four Rooms (1995) - Man (segment 'The Misbehavers')
Desperado (1995) .... El Mariachi
Miami Rhapsody (1995) .... Antonio
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) .... Armand
Of Love and Shadows (1994) .... Francisco
Philadelphia (1993) .... Miguel Alvarez
The House of the Spirits (1993) .... Pedro Tercero García
¡Dispara! (1993) .... Marcos
Il Giovane Mussolini (1993) (TV) .... Benito Mussolini
The Mambo Kings (1992) .... Nestor Castillo
Mujer bajo la lluvia, Una (1992) .... Miguel
Terra Nova (1991) .... Antonio
Contra el viento (1990) .... Juan
¡Átame!(1990) .... Ricky
La otra historia de Rosendo Juárez (1990) (TV) .... Rosendo Juárez
Acto, El (1989) .... Carlos
Blanca Paloma, La (1989) .... Mario
Si te dicen que caí (1989) .... Marcos
Bajarse al moro (1989) .... Alberto
Bâton rouge (1988) .... Antonio
El placer de matar (1988) .... Luis
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988) .... Carlos
La Mujer de tu vida: La mujer feliz (1988) (TV) .... Antonio
Así como habían sido (1987) .... Damián
La ley del deseo (1987) .... Antonio Benítez
Delirios de amor (1986)
27 horas (1986) .... Rafa
Puzzle (1986)
Matador (1986) .... Ángel
Caso cerrado (1985) .... Preso
La corte de Faraón , (1985) .... Fray José
Réquiem por un campesino español (1985) .... Paco
Los zancos(1984) .... Alberto
Fragmentos de interior (1984) TV Series .... Joaquín
El señor Galíndez (1984) .... Eduardo
El caso Almería (1984)
Y del seguro... líbranos Señor! (1983)
Laberinto de pasiones (1982) .... Sadec
Pestañas postizas (1982) .... Antonio Juan
External links
(Antonio Banderas - The Latin Lover)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Antonio Banderas.
