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
I don't like to over-intellectualize scenes that are working. I tend to think when you do that you may lose it.
I divide my time badly.
I wouldn't want my daughters to date a guy like me. I was dangerous around women in my twenties. I'm terrified that they might end up with someone like me.
It's about paying attention to the little things, the details... Constantly rediscovering your partner, knowing there's a way out of any crisis.
Im now projecting my career in a totally different direction. I am going to work less-way less. And I want to work better. I want to direct again, I want to do more theatre, and I want to do exactly those movies that I want to do.
It is very difficult to follow your own method all the time because you may crash against some directors who want from you something different. Trying to understand the material, who you're working with, and how can you fit in there. That is my approach.
If they had offered me James Bond, I probably couldn't have gone to England anymore in my life. James Bond with an accent? That would have been something.
No, obviously, the time goes by, the English gets better. Ever since I met Melanie, that was almost nine years ago now, you have to just speak the language continuously, hone every word. So, and the proof for me of that, was actually in theater. It has to be two hours and 45 minutes on the stage speaking a language that is not your language, and singing.
This girl said "Yes" when I wasn't ready. I kissed her lightly and got so dizzy I had to sit down.
I discovered very soon, especially for movies, because I started in theater, that every director has his own universe. You have to be free enough to try to understand what he wants from you. Especially when that director has a tremendous personality. And I'm talking about people like Pedro Almodovar and Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino and Woody Allen. And you have to adapt. If you don't adapt to them, you are off the thing.
My Spanish is getting a little bit loose. Sometimes I go to Spain and after I've been talking with my folks for a while... you start changing the verb for the adjective, for example, which is a common thing between Spanish and English. I change that sometimes but after a couple days there, boom, I'm back.
Always when you go to a new country and they teach you bad words, you just say them without knowing the value and people look at you because you didn't know that value of them.
It was an honor and privilege to arrive to this country 16 years ago with almost no money in my pocket. A lot has happened since then.
If you become very self-conscious about what you are doing, you kill. You kill the character. Then it doesn't work. You have to come from a sincere place. And you don't think too much. I don't go to the hotel and I start thinking what am I going to say tomorrow and start writing things down.