Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Bandera, known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor, director, and producer. He began his acting career with a series of films by director Pedro Almodóvar and then appeared in high-profile Hollywood movies, especially in the 1990s, including Assassins, Evita, Interview with the Vampire, Philadelphia, Desperado, The Mask of Zorro and Spy Kids. Banderas also portrayed the voice of "Puss in Boots" in the Shrek sequels and Puss in Boots as well as the bee in...
NationalitySpanish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth10 August 1960
CityMalaga, Spain
CountrySpain
Sometimes I have wrinkles, in the morning. It depends on what kind of night that I had. I accept myself and the way that I am growing older. I have eye bags and some people have proposed to me to take them out but I said no.
Cinema has opened a world of possibilities up for me.
Characters don't belong to anyone, not even the person who plays them.
I always feel that art in general and acting in particular should make the audience a little uncomfortable, to slap them and wake them up.
I am lucky, that is all. Lucky because there are a lot of people - producers, directors, people who buy tickets - who put confidence in me.
I cry a lot, you know. Which is very difficult for a man to recognise, but I do. I cry in movies, you know, just watching movies.
I do yoga every morning, then I run for half an hour and take a sauna.
Films should be for everybody.
Sometimes I am just playing the character. I will move out of the way of the microphone, and they will have to tell me. Because I am moving around a lot. I am performing the cat. The animators look for that material, to see if they can put it back into the movie.
Up until the time I was 31 years old, in Spain, I still didn't know how I was going to pay the rent.
When you work in a different language you are not so attached to the words.
I get caught up in my bubble of reading, writing, or music.
Movies serve many purposes, and I've visited many of those genres, from the most light, frivolous comedy that is just trying to make you laugh, to movies that explore the most complicated side of the human soul. As an actor, I play all of those things, and I still like it.
I don't think there is a guy that played more gay characters than I have done in my life.