Mask of Zorro cover

Antonio Banderas (born August 10, 1960), born José Antonio Domínguez Bandera, is a Spanish actor born in Málaga. As a young man, he went penniless to Madrid to make a career in the Spanish film industry. He first gained wide attention through a series of films with director Pedro Almodóvar between 1982 and 1990, and is one of the stars of the three Spy Kids movies (2001-2003). He divorced his Spanish wife and, in 1996, married Melanie Griffith, whom he had met during the shooting of Two Much . They have a daughter, Stella del Carmen. The Banderas-Griffith family established themselves at Hollywood, where Antonio usually plays Latinos. He is probably the most famous Spanish actor. He invested his movie earnings in businesses marketing Andalusian products, which he promotes in Spain and the USA. He has shown sympathies for the Spanish Socialist Party.

He has tried his hand at directing with a film featuring his wife.

When speaking Spanish, he has an Andalusian accent, but he usually substitutes it with a standard Castilian one when acting.

Filmography

• Pestanas postizas (1982)
• Labyrinth of Passion (1982)
• Y del seguro... libranos senor! (1983)
• El Casa Almeria (1984)
• El Senor Galindez (1984)
• The Stilts (1984)
• Reqiuem by a Spanish Farmer (1985)
• The Court of the Pharaoh (1985)
• Closed Case (1985)
• Matador (1986)
• Puzzle (1986)
• 27 Hours (1986)
• Deilriums of Love (1986)
• Law of Desire (1987)
• The Way They Were (1987)
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
• The Pleasure of Killing (1988)
• Baton Rouge (1988)
• Going South Shopping (1989)
• If They Tell You I Fell (1989)
• The White Dove (1989)
• The Act (1989)
• Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)
• Against the Wind (1990)
• Terra Nova (1991)
• (1991) (documentary)
• A Woman in the Rain (1992)
• The Mambo Kings (1992)
• Shoot! (1993)
• The House of the Spirits (1993)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• Of Love and Shadows (1994)
• Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• Miami Rhapsody (1995)
• Desperado (1995)
• Four Rooms (1995)
• Assassins (1995)
• Never Talk to Strangers (1995)
• Two Much (1995)
• Evita (1996)
• The Mask of Zorro (1998)
• Junket Whore (1998) (documentary)
• The 13th Warrior (1999)
• The White River Kid (1999) (also producer)
• Play It to the Bone (1999)
• The Body (2001)
• Spy Kids (2001)
• Original Sin (2001)
• Femme Fatale (2002)
• Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
• Frida (2002)
• (2002)
• Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
• Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
• Imagining Argentina (2003)
• Shrek 2 (2004) (voice)
• Champion (2005) (documentary)
• Legend of Zorro (2005) (currently in post-production)
• Take the Lead (2006) (currently in pre-production)
• Shrek 3 (2007) (voice) (currently in pre-production)
• Puss in Boots (2008) (voice) (currently announced start of production)

External links