Antonio Banderas is a Spanish actor and filmmaker who has appeared in various film, television, and theatre productions.
Banderas is known for his numerous collaborations with director Pedro Almodóvar acting in Labyrinth of Passion (1982), Matador (1986), Law of Desire (1987), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989), The Skin I Live In (2011), and Pain and Glory (2019), the later of which earned him the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
In 1992, Banderas made his American film debut with the musical drama The Mambo Kings (1992), followed by roles in Philadelphia (1993), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Assassins (1995), and Evita (1996). He portrayed Zorro in The Mask of Zorro (1998), and The Legend of Zorro (2005). He has starred in the franchise films, including as the patriarch in the Spy Kids series (2001–2003) and as the voice of Puss in Boots in the Shrek films (2004–present).
On stage, Banderas made Broadway debut as Guido Contini in Nine (2003), for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He has also starred and directed productions of the musicals A Chorus Line (2019) and Company (2021). On television he portrayed Benito Mussolini in the miniseries Benito (1993) and received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his roles as Pancho Villa in the HBO film And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2004) and Pablo Picasso in the anthology series Genius (2018).
Year | Title |
---|---|
1999 | Crazy in Alabama |
2006 | Summer Rain |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | Fragmentos de interior | Joaquín | 4 episodes | |
1990 | La Mujer de tu vida | Antonio | Episode: "La mujer feliz" | |
La otra historia de Rosendo Juárez | Rosendo Juárez | Television film | ||
1993 | Benito | Benito Mussolini | RTVE Miniseries; 3 episodes | [38] |
2003 | And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself | Pancho Villa | HBO Television film | [39] |
2006 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Antonio Banderas/Mary J. Blige" | [40] |
2007 | Shrek the Halls | Puss in Boots | Voice; Television special | [41] |
2010 | Scared Shrekless | [42] | ||
2018 | Genius | Pablo Picasso | Lead role; Season 2 | [43] |
TBA | The Monster of Florence | Mario Spezi | [44] | |
Year | Title | Role | Director | Venue | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Nine | Guido Contini | David Leveaux | Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway | [45] |
2019 | A Chorus Line | Zach | Antonio Banderas | Teatro del Soho, Spain | [46] |
2021 | Company | Bobby | Antonio Banderas | [47] | |
José Antonio Domínguez Bandera, better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received numerous accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Goya Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! is a 1989 Spanish black romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Victoria Abril and Antonio Banderas alongside Loles León, Francisco Rabal, Julieta Serrano, María Barranco, and Rossy de Palma. The plot follows a recently released psychiatric patient who kidnaps an actress in order to make her fall in love with him. He believes his destiny is to marry her and father her children.
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book Shrek! by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Stillman, and the writing team of J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, it is the sequel to Shrek (2001) and the second installment in the Shrek film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, who reprise their respective voice roles of Shrek, Donkey, and Princess Fiona. They are joined by new characters voiced by Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders. Shrek 2 takes place following the events of the first film, with Shrek and Donkey meeting Fiona's parents as the zealous Fairy Godmother, who wants Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming, plots to destroy Shrek and Fiona's marriage. Shrek and Donkey team up with a sword-wielding cat named Puss in Boots to foil her plans.
The Mask of Zorro is a 1998 American Western swashbuckler film based on the fictional character Zorro by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stuart Wilson. The film features the original Zorro, Don Diego de la Vega (Hopkins), escaping from prison to find his long-lost daughter (Zeta-Jones) and avenge the death of his wife at the hands of the corrupt governor Rafael Montero (Wilson). He is aided by his successor (Banderas), who is pursuing his own vendetta against the governor's right-hand man while falling in love with de la Vega's daughter.
Shrek the Third is a 2007 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book Shrek! by William Steig. Directed by Chris Miller and co-directed by Raman Hui from a screenplay by Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman, Miller, and producer Aron Warner, and a story conceived by Andrew Adamson, co-director of the previous two installments, it is the sequel to Shrek 2 (2004) and the third installment in the Shrek film series. The film features Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Julie Andrews, and John Cleese reprising their voice roles from the previous films, along with new additions Justin Timberlake as Arthur Pendragon and Eric Idle as Merlin. In the film, Prince Charming is plotting to overthrow Shrek and Fiona, who have inherited the throne following King Harold's death. Shrek has no interest in ruling the kingdom and attempts to convince Fiona's underachieving 16-year-old cousin Artie to reign instead.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a 1988 Spanish black comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas and Julieta Serrano. The plot follows actress Pepa, who, after her lover Iván leaves without explanation, sets out to find the reason, and comes across an array of eccentric characters, including Iván's son from a previous relationship and her best friend Candela, who has been held captive by a Shiite terrorist cell.
The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 American Western swashbuckler film directed by Martin Campbell, produced by Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Lloyd Phillips, with music by James Horner, and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It is the sequel to 1998's The Mask of Zorro; Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, Elena, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain, Count Armand. The film takes place in San Mateo County, California and was shot in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with second-unit photography in Wellington, New Zealand. The film was theatrically released on October 28, 2005, by Columbia Pictures
Puss in Boots is a main character in the Shrek franchise. He made his first appearance in the film Shrek 2 (2004). He is portrayed as the title character and protagonist in the 2011 spin-off film Puss in Boots and its 2022 sequel, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Puss also appears in the Netflix television series centered on him, The Adventures of Puss in Boots (2015–2018).
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narratives. Desire, LGBTQ issues, passion, family, motherhood, and identity are among Almodóvar's most frequently explored subjects. As one of the most internationally successful Spanish filmmakers, Almodóvar and his films have developed a cult following.
Matador is a 1986 Spanish erotic thriller film co-written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar about a student matador, Ángel Giménez, who confesses to murders he did not commit.
Shrek is an American media franchise of DreamWorks Animation. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 picture book Shrek!, the series primarily focuses on Shrek, a bad-tempered but good-hearted ogre, who begrudgingly accepts a quest to rescue a princess, resulting in him finding friends and going on many subsequent adventures in a fairy tale world. It includes four animated films: Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), with a fifth film, Shrek 5, currently in production for a 2026 release. A short 4-D film, Shrek 4-D, which originally was a theme park ride, was released in 2003. Two television specials, the Christmas television special Shrek the Halls (2007) and the Halloween television special Scared Shrekless (2010), have also been produced. Two spin-off films were made centered around the character Puss in Boots: 2011's Puss in Boots and its sequel, 2022's The Last Wish. Additionally, a stage musical adaptation was made and premiered at Broadway for more than a year (2008–2010).
Shrek Forever After is a 2010 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book Shrek! by William Steig. Directed by Mike Mitchell and written by Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke, it is the sequel to Shrek the Third (2007) and the fourth installment in the Shrek franchise. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, and John Cleese reprising their voice roles from the previous films, with Walt Dohrn joining the cast.
Puss in Boots is a 2011 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is a spin-off of the Shrek film series and its fifth installment, rather than an adaptation of the fairytale "Puss in Boots". The film was directed by Chris Miller from a screenplay by Tom Wheeler and a story by Brian Lynch, Will Davies, and Wheeler, based on the character from Shrek 2 (2004) and inspired from the Puss in Boots fairy tale. It stars Antonio Banderas, alongside Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Amy Sedaris. The film follows the origin story of Puss in Boots (Banderas) during his adventure years before the events of Shrek 2. Accompanied by his friends, Humpty Dumpty (Galifianakis) and Kitty Softpaws (Hayek), Puss is pitted against Jack and Jill, two murderous outlaws, for ownership of three legendary magical beans that lead to a great fortune of Golden Eggs from the Great Terror, a gigantic Goose.
The Skin I Live In is a 2011 Spanish thriller and melodrama hybrid film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet and Roberto Álamo. It is based on Thierry Jonquet's 1984 novel Mygale, first published in French and then in English under the title Tarantula.
Pain and Glory is a 2019 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. It stars Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, and Penélope Cruz.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a 2022 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to the spin-off film Puss in Boots (2011) and the sixth installment of the Shrek film series, the film was directed by Joel Crawford, co-directed by Januel Mercado, and written by Paul Fisher, Tommy Swerdlow, and Tom Wheeler. Based on the character introduced in Shrek 2 (2004) and inspired by the fairy tale of the same name, the voice cast includes Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek reprising their respective roles as the titular character and Kitty Softpaws, with new additions to the cast including Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, and Wagner Moura. The story follows Puss in Boots, who teams up with Kitty Softpaws and Perrito to find the Last Wish of the fallen Wishing Star to restore eight of his nine lives. They race against other fairy tale characters seeking the same treasure, while a sinister wolf hunts Puss himself.