ANTONIO BANDERAS

'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.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career in Spain

Career in Hollywood

Personal life

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Banderas was born in Málaga, Andalucia, southern Spain to José Domínguez, a policeman in the Guardia Civil, and Doña Ana Banderas, a teacher. He also has a brother, Francisco. Banderas was raised a Roman Catholic, but no longer follows the religion.^[1]
Banderas initially wanted to play football 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.

Career in Spain

Banderas' career began at the age of 19, when he worked in small theaters during the Movida period. Banderas 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

Banderas 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.^[2] 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.^[3]
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'',² 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),^[4] 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.

Personal life

Banderas divorced his first wife, Ana Leza, and in 1996 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 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.
In Rancho Santa Margarita, California, the street Antonio Parkway coincidentally intersects with Avenida de las Banderas.^[5]

Filmography

★ (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

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★ Far Far Away Idol (2004) - Puss In Boots

★ Imagining Argentina (2003) - Carlos Rueda

★ And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003) (TV) - Pancho Villa

★ Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) - El Mariachi

★ (2003) - Gregorio Cortez

★ (2002) - Agent Jeremiah Ecks

★ Frida (2002) - David Alfaro Siqueiros

★ (2002) .... Gregorio Cortez

★ Femme Fatale (2002 film) (2002) - Nicolas Bardo

★ Original Sin (film) (2001) - Luis Antonio 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

★ (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

★ Nuzleaf in Blaziken The Fighter 2 & Blaziken The Fighter 3

References

1. Yehey.com
2. United Press International
3. http://www.variety.com/vstory/VR1117952390.html?categoryid=38&cs=1
4. IGN.com
5. mapquest.com link showing intersection

External links

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