José Antonio Domínguez Bandera[2][3] was born on 10 August 1960, inMálaga, Andalusia,[4] toCivil Guard officer José Domínguez Prieto (1920–2008) and schoolteacher Ana Bandera Gallego (1933–2017).[5] He has a younger brother named Francisco.[5] As a young boy, Banderas wanted to become a professionalfootball player until a broken foot sidelined his dreams at the age of 15. He showed a strong interest in the performing arts and formed part of the ARA Theatre School run by Ángeles Rubio-Argüelles y Alessandri (wife of diplomat and filmmakerEdgar Neville) and the College of Dramatic Art, both in Málaga. His work in the theater and his performances on the streets eventually landed him a spot with the Spanish National Theatre.[6]
Banderas has acted in numerous films directed byPedro Almodóvar (photo)
Banderas began his acting studies at the School of Dramatic Art inMálaga and made his acting debut at a small theater in Málaga. He began working in small shops during Spain's post-dictatorial cultural movement known asLa Movida Madrileña.[7]
While performing with the theater, Banderas caught the attention of Spanish directorPedro Almodóvar, who gave the young actor his film debut in thescrewballsex comedyLabyrinth of Passion (1982). Five years later, he went on to appear in the director's comedic thrillerLaw of Desire (1987), making headlines with his performance as a gay man, which required him to engage in his first male-to-male onscreen kiss. Banderas appeared in Almodóvar'ssurrealistsex comedyMatador, withVincent Canby ofThe New York Times writing, "The movie looks terrific and is acted with absolute, straight-faced conviction by the excellent cast headed by Miss Serna, Mr. Martinez and Mr. Banderas."[8]
The director cast him in his internationally acclaimed 1988 film,Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Rita Kemply ofThe Washington Post described Banderas' performance as "warm" and described the film as a "glossy delight."[9] The recognition Banderas gained for his role increased years later, when he starred in Almodóvar's controversialTie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989) as amental patient who kidnaps a porn star (Victoria Abril) and keeps her tied up until she returns his love.[6] The breakthrough role helped spur him on to Hollywood.[10] Almodóvar is credited with helping launch Banderas's international career, as he became a regular feature in his films throughout the 1980s.[11]
In 1991,Madonna introduced Banderas to Hollywood. (He was an object of her desires in her pseudodocumentary film of one of her concert tours,Madonna: Truth or Dare.)[12] The following year, still speaking minimal English, he began acting in American films. Despite having to learn all his lines phonetically, Banderas still managed to turn in a critically praised performance as a struggling musician in his first American drama film,The Mambo Kings (1992).[13]Kenneth Turan ofThe Los Angeles Times described Banderas as giving a "quietly effective job".[14] David Nansen ofNewsweek declared, "Banderas had to learn English to play this role, but you wouldn't know it: he plumbs all the nuances of charm and self-pity in Nestor's melancholic soul".[15] Owen Gleiberman ofEntertainment Weekly also praised Banderas' performance writing, "he gives a surprisingly confident and subtle performance as the implosive Nestor".[16]
Salma Hayek and Banderas at the premiere ofPuss in Boots (2011)
In 2001, Banderas collaborated withRobert Rodriguez, who cast him in the first three movies of theSpy Kids franchise (2001–2003). He portrayed Gregorio Cortez, a retired OSS agent, alongsideCarla Gugino, who played his wife, Ingrid Cortez.Roger Ebert praised the first film, describing it as "giddy with the joy of its invention. It's an exuberant, colorful extravaganza, wall-to-wall with wildly original sets and visual gimmicks, and smart enough to escape the kids film category and play in the mainstream."[26] He also starred inMichael Cristofer'sOriginal Sin alongsideAngelina Jolie the same year.
Banderas made hisBroadway debut playing Guido Contini in the 2003 revival ofMaury Yeston's musicalNine, based on the film8½, playing the prime role originated byRaul Julia.Ben Brantley, the chief theater critic ofThe New York Times, wrote that Banderas was "a bona fide matinee idol for the 21st century -- a pocket Adonis who suggests a more sensitive, less menacing variation on the Latin lovers of yore," adding that "he has an appealingly easy stage presence and an agreeable singing voice that shifts, a bit abruptly, between pop whisperiness and Broadway belting."[30] He won both theOuter Critics Circle Award and theDrama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Musical and was nominated for theTony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.[31] His performance is preserved on the Broadway cast recording released byPS Classics. Later that year, he received theRita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from theHispanic Organization of Latin Actors.[32]
The following year, Banderas portrayedPuss in Boots in theDreamWorks animated filmShrek 2 (2004). Todd McCarthy ofVariety praised his performance, writing that he is "deliciously sending up hisZorro persona."[36] The film was an immense box office and critical hit.[37][38] It went on to receive a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature.[39] Banderas reprised his role inShrek the Third (2007) and the last film in theShrek franchise,Shrek Forever After (2010), which helped make the character popular on the family film circuit. In all of his mainline appearances as Puss in Boots, he has also voiced him in Spanish; this is also true for the film Assassins. In 2005, he reprised his role asZorro inThe Legend of Zorro. In 2006, he starred inTake the Lead, a high-set movie in which he played aballroom dancing teacher. That year, he directed his second film,El camino de los ingleses, based on the novel byAntonio Soler, and also received the L.A. Latino International Film Festival's "Gabi" Lifetime Achievement Award on 14 October.[40] Banderas received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005, the 2,294th person to do so;[41] his star is located on the north side of the 6800 block of Hollywood Boulevard.[42]
Penélope Cruz, Pedro Almodóvar and Banderas promotingPain and Glory (2019)
Banderas acted in theWoody Allen-directed comedy-dramaYou Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), starringAnthony Hopkins,Josh Brolin, andNaomi Watts. The film premiered at theCannes Film Festival and received mixed reviews.[43] The following year, he starred in the horror thrillerThe Skin I Live In (2011), which marked the return of Banderas toPedro Almodóvar, the Spanish director who launched his international career. The two had not worked together since 1990 (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!). InThe Skin I Live In, he breaks out of the "Latin lover" mold from his Hollywood work and stars as a calculating revenge-seeking plastic surgeon following the rape of his daughter. According to theAssociated Press, Banderas' performance is among his strongest in recent memory.[11] That same year, he reprised his voice role as Puss in Boots, this time as theprotagonist of theShrek spin-off prequel,Puss in Boots. This film reunited Banderas withSalma Hayek for the sixth time.[44] The film received critical acclaim and was a box-office hit.[45][46]
Banderas won the Goya Award for Best Actor for his role inPain and Glory (2019)
In 2019, Banderas starred in the Spanish filmPain and Glory (Dolor y gloria), directed byPedro Almodóvar.[49] The film centers around an aging film director played by Banderas who has a chronic illness and writer's block as he reflects on his life in flashbacks to his childhood. On 25 May 2019, Banderas won theCannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his role in the film.[50] Manohla Dargis ofThe New York Times praised his performance, writing that "Banderas’s melancholic presence and subtle, intricate performance add depth and intensities of feeling... because he draws so flawlessly from Almodóvar."[51] He was later nominated for his first everAcademy Award forBest Actor in a Leading Role forPain and Glory and lost toJoaquin Phoenix for his role inJoker (2019).[52][53]
Antonio Banderas has always declared that what makes him happiest is theater. On 15 November 2019, his theater project, the Teatro del Soho CaixaBank,[63] opened its doors in Malaga. It is a creation center dedicated to the production, exhibition and distribution of shows, and training in the different areas of the performing arts.[64][65]
Beginning in 2024, Banderas has also sponsored a new performing arts school in Malaga, the Sohrlin Andalucía School of Arts. The school is located on an old metallurgical factory and it's objective is to become a centre in which to design, create and export Andalusian talent to the world.[66]
Banderas once described himself as anagnostic in an interview withPeople magazine in 2006: "I have to recognize that I am agnostic. I don’t believe in any kind of fundamentalism. I prefer to take life in a different way, with a sense of humor. I try to teach my kids to be open. Whatever they believe is fine with me."[71] He does describe himself close toCatholicspirituality, especially toHoly Week, which he considers a "metaphor for life".[72] He is an officer (mayordomo de trono) of a religious brotherhood in his hometown ofMálaga and travels during Holy Week to take part in theprocessions.[73] Banderas developed his relationship with Catholicism back in 1994 after a spiritual search.[74][75]
"There was a moment in my life in which I separated a bit from the Church. I was searching for a spiritual connection in other places, until in 1994, after my brother had a surgery we were very afraid of, in which we could lose him, I realized I should have not searched for so much, that I had had always that connection with the transcendental in front of my face. It also happened in a way which followed our own traditions, which we shouldn't look for inthe Buddha, as these characters were right there. In my own neighborhood was that way to connect myself to the trascendental through thePassion of the Christ, until concluding inResurrection."
In 2021, he described his religious beliefs and vision of the Holy Week toEl País:[76]
"I live comfortably in the mystery, I'm very doubting, I don't know if agnostic is exactly the word. But I think yes, there is something, although we don't know what is it. TheBig Bang, yes, and before the Big Bang, what? Holy Week has many colors, it's a very strange poliedrum. It is related to faith, popular religion and Andalusian idiosyncrasy. It's just the RomanIdes of March: winter dies and spring is born. The Andalusian version is so colourful and merry because everybody knows the guy will resurrect on Sunday. And there is a happy ending."
Banderas marriedAna Leza [es] in 1987 and divorced her in 1996. He met and began a relationship with American actressMelanie Griffith in 1995 while shootingTwo Much.[7][77] They married on 14 May 1996, in London. They have a daughter, Stella del Carmen Banderas (born 24 September 1996), who appeared onscreen with Griffith in Banderas' directorial debutCrazy in Alabama (1999). In 2002, the couple received the Stella Adler Angel Award for their extensive philanthropy. Griffith had a tattoo of Banderas' name on her right arm that has since been removed.[78]
In June 2014, Banderas and Griffith announced they were divorcing "in a loving and friendly manner,"[79] despite "irreconcilable differences."[80] The divorce became official in December 2015.[81] Despite their divorce, Banderas and Griffith remain close friends; his former stepdaughterDakota Johnson considers Banderas part of the family, calling him a "bonus dad."[82][83] As of November 2015, Banderas is dating Nicole Kimpel, an investment banker.[84]
In 2009, Banderas underwent surgery for a benign tumor in his back.[85] Speaking at theMálaga Film Festival in March 2017, Banderas revealed he had suffered a heart attack on 26 January 2017, but said it "wasn't serious and hasn't caused any damages." Following that incident, he underwent heart surgery to insert three stents into his arteries.[86] In aFresh Air interview in September 2019, he recalled it as being life-changing. He said, "It just gave me a perspective of who I was, and it just made the important things [go to] the surface. When I say this, people may just think that I'm crazy, but it's one of the best things that ever happened in my life."[87]
Banderas (center right) with members ofThe 33 and Chile government officials in 2015
He has invested some of his film earnings inAndalusian products, which he promotes in Spain and the US. He owns 50% of a winery inVillalba de Duero, Burgos, Spain, called Anta Banderas, which produces red and rosé wines.[88]
He performed a voice-over for an animated bee, which were broadcast in the United States in television commercials forNasonex,[89] an allergy medication, and was seen in the 2007 Christmas advertising campaign forMarks & Spencer, a British retailer.[90]
He is a veteran of the perfume industry. The actor has been working with fragrance and beauty multinational companyPuig for over ten years, becoming one of the brand's most successful representatives. Banderas and Puig have successfully promoted a number of fragrances so far:Diavolo,Diavolo for Women,Mediterraneo,Spirit, andSpirit for Women. After the success ofAntonio for Men andBlue Seduction for Men in 2007, he launched his latest,Blue Seduction for Women, the following year.[91]
^"Antonio Banderas".Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved7 August 2020.
^ab"The mother of ... Antonio Banderas".El Mundo. Spain. n.d.Archived from the original on 18 October 2000. Retrieved26 March 2017.Ana Banderas Gallego [es la madre de] José Antonio Domínguez Banderas.... Ha sido profesora de educación primaria en distintos colegios. Casada con José Domínguez Prieto, es madre de dos hijos: Antonio y Francisco Javier. / Ana Banderas Gallego [is the mother of] José Antonio Domínguez Banderas.... She has been a teacher of primary education in different schools. ... Married to José Domínguez Prieto, she is the mother of two children: Antonio and Francisco Javier.
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