Cruel cupid Antonio Banderas

May 17, 2010, 12:37 GMT

Antonio Banderas hopes his daughter will have her heart broken.

The Spanish actor - who has a teenage daughter, Stella, with his wife of 15 years Melanie Griffith - is happy to be a protective father from a distance because he believes personal pain can only make you wiser.

He said: "My daughter, at 13 years old, is way more mature than me. She's very selective... she knows exactly what she wants. I'm not going to jump in unless there is something that's going to damage her.

"Her heart is going to be broken sometimes, and she has to learn from those things too. It's called life... she has to live that herself."

The 49-year-old star - who also has two stepchildren, Alexander, 24, and 20-year-old Dakota, from his wife's previous relationships - has a great relationship with all his kids because the family has always made time for each other.

He told People: "I have one date night with my daughter every week. I take her for dinner by herself. and we can talk, spend some time together. We just try to be dynamic in our relationship to the family and it's fun too."

Melanie has previously joked her husband is protective of Stella and is ready to scare off potential boyfriends.

She said: "Stella, well, we don't know where her future lies, and we don't put any pressure on her to decide. But she's doing very well at school and has lots of friends and is just discovering boys. And Antonio's waiting at the door for them with a shotgun!"