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| Actor, born August 10, 1960 in Málaga, Spain, to a State Department worker and a teacher. He has one younger brother, Francisco. At age 14, Banderas began acting with a small theater company in Málaga, although his real dream was to play professional soccer. After breaking his foot, he turned to the stage as his primary interest, studying at the School of Dramatic Art in Málaga. At 19 in 1981, Banderas moved to Madrid and joined the ensemble of the National Theater of Spain. Banderas made numerous Spanish-language films starting in 1982 and was a favorite of filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, but it wasn't until The Mambo Kings (1992) that Banderas made his U.S. film debut -- although many American women first noticed his sensual Latin good looks in the U.S. run of Almodóvar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down! (1990). Because Banderas did not speak English, his dialogue for The Mambo Kings was taught to him phonetically. Often compared with Rudolph Valentino for his Latin looks and heavy accent, Banderas is considered one of Hollywood's most attractive leading men. His more notable film roles have included a turn in Interview With the Vampire (1994), opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt; a sensitive performance as the lover of Tom Hanks' AIDS-stricken lawyer in Philadelphia (1993); and an impressive singing performance as Ché, the voice of the people, in Evita (1996), costarring the pop goddess (and longtime Banderas fan) Madonna in the title role. In 1998, Banderas won critical and popular acclaim for his portrayal of Zorro in the swashbuckling hit The Mask of Zorro (1998), with Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. His 1999 projects included the disappointing Michael Crichton thriller The 13th Warrior and Play it to the Bone, costarring Woody Harrelson and Lucy Liu. In late 2000, he stars opposite Angelina Jolie in the steamy romance Original Sin. Banderas' first wife was the actress Ana Leza, who appeared with him in Philadelphia (1993). After eight years of marriage, they separated in 1995 and divorced in 1996. Banderas met his second wife, actress Melanie Griffith, on the set of Two Much in January, 1995. They married in London on May 14, 1996 and had a daughter, Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith, on September 24, 1996. The two reunited for Crazy in Alabama (1999), which marked Banderas' directorial debut. Well established as a hearthrob and a talented dramatic actor by the end of the 1990s, the fact that Desperato director Robert Rodriguez was the only director to have expolored Banderas' comic potential (Banderas provided one of the few memorable performances in Rodriguez's segment of the otherwise abysmal Four Rooms (1995)) hinted at a heretofore unexplored but potentially lucrative territory for the actor. Later approached by Rodriguez to portray the super-spy patriarch in the /family oriented adventure /comedy Spy Kids (2001), Banderas charmed children and adults alike with his role as a kidnapped agent whose children must discover their inner stregnth in order to rescue their mother and father. After reprising his role in the following year's Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Banderas would next return to more adult oriented roles in both Brian DePalma's Femme Fatale and the ill-fated Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (both 2002). After essaying a more historic role in the dramatic biopic Frida (also 2002), the remarkably diverse actor would one again team with Rodriguez for the sprawling Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). |
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