Name: Antonio Banderas
Birth Name: José Antonio Domínguez Bandera
Birthdate: Aug. 10, 1960
Birthplace: Málaga, Spain
1-MINUTE RESUME FOR ANTONIO BANDERAS
He received notice in Pedro Almodovar's
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown but was an unknown in America until making his U.S. debut in 1992's
Mambo Kings. It was 1994's
Philadelphia,
in which he played Tom Hanks' gay lover, that audiences began to sit up
and recognize the handsome Latin heartthrob, who really broke out with
Robert Rodriguez's
Desperado. Roles in
Evita,
The Mask of Zorro, the
Spy Kids and
Shrek franchises have cemented him as an A-list star.
5 Things:
1. Wanted to be a pro soccer player, but he broke his foot at 14;
the same year he decided he wanted to be an actor after seeing the
movie Hair
2. Took an 8 hour a day total immersion program giving him a crash
course of the language to the point he spoke it fluently to make his
American debut
3. Last name means "flags" en espanol
4. His father was part of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco's Secret Police
5. When he took future wife Melanie Griffith home to Spain, they
were confronted by his family's anger and tabloid furor over his split
with then wife Ana Leza
Quote:
"I don't feel freaked-out. I don't feel fear. I've been in this
profession 20 years, and I believe exactly when they say 'Action' and
'Cut.' That's where I still want to focus my energy, in that moment.
That's what I've looked for my whole life. But I'm like any other actor
… I just don't want to grow up."
—
Cosmopolitan, Nov. 1, 1996
Family:
Wife: Melanie Griffith, actress, born Aug. 9, 1957; met on the set of
Two Much, married May 14, 1996
Wife: Ana Leza, actress; married July 27,1987, divorced 1996
Daughter: (with Griffith) Stella, born Sept. 24, 1994
Stepdaughter: Dakota Johnson, born Oct. 4, 1989
Stepson: Alexander Bauer
Awards:
2004: Nominated, Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, … And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself
1999: Nominated, Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy/Musical, The Mask of Zorro
1997: Nominated, Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy/Musical, Evita
FILMS
Shrek the Third - (2007) - Voice
Bordertown - (2007) - Actor
Take the Lead - (2006) - Actor
The Legend of Zorro - (2005) - Actor
Shrek 2 - (2004) - Actor
Once Upon a Time in Mexico - (2003) - Actor
And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself - (2003) - Actor
Imagining Argentina - (2003) - Actor
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over - (2003) - Actor, Producer
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams - (2002) - Actor
I Love Lucy - 50th Anniversay Special - (2002) - Featured
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever - (2002) - Actor
Femme Fatale - (2002) - Actor
The White River Kid - (2001) - Actor, Executive Producer
Spy Kids - (2001) - Actor
The Body - (2001) - Actor
Original Sin - (2001) - Actor
Gun Shy/Miami Rhapsody - (2000) - Actor
The 13th Warrior - (1999) - Actor
Play It to the Bone - (1999) - Actor
Crazy in Alabama - (1999) - Director
13th Warrior, The/ Instinct - (1999) - Actor
The Mask of Zorro - (1998) - Actor
Outrage! - (1996) - Actor
Two Much - (1996) - Actor
Of Love and Shadows - (1996) - Actor
Evita - (1996) - Actor
Miami Rhapsody - (1995) - Actor
Desperado - (1995) - Actor
Assassins - (1995) - Actor
Never Talk to Strangers - (1995) - Actor
Four Rooms - (1995) - Actor
The House of the Spirits - (1994) - Actor
Interview With the Vampire - (1994) - Actor
Philadelphia - (1993) - Actor
The Mambo Kings - (1992) - Actor
Aventis - (1992) - Actor
Terranova - (1991) - Actor
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - (1990) - Actor
Against the Wind - (1990) - Actor
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - (1989) - Actor
Baton Rouge - (1988) - Actor
Law of Desire - (1987) - Actor
Matador - (1986) - Actor
The Stilts - (1984) - Actor
Labyrinth of Passion - (1982) - Actor
Pedro Almodovar Classics Collection - () - Actor