Spanish film actor and director Antonio Banderas, born in 1960, Málaga, Spain.
As a child Banderas wanted to become a football player, but a foot injury made it hard for him to continue. It wasn’t long until Antonio started getting interested in acting. After being cast in the Spanish National Theatre during the post-cultural movement ‘La Movida’, Banderas was spotted by Pedro Almodóvar who was interested in his talents and offered him different roles, the first was Labyrinth of Passion, Laberinto de pasiones in 1982
At that time Banderas didn’t speak English, but he found his way to Hollywood. His first role there was in The Mambo Kings, and with no English he had to memorized his lines entirely by listening to them through headphones. He even used to go through his early audition meetings by nodding and smiling until he learned to say, “I can do that”
After that he took intensive English courses which helped him get more important roles like his role in Philadelphia, The Mask of Zorro and many others.
In 1999, Banderas made his debut as a director with the comedy film Crazy in Alabama, then in 2005 he starred in The Legend of Zorro, a sequel to The Mask of Zorro. The following year he directed his second film, El camino de los ingleses (Summer Rain).
In 2017 a heart attack changed Banderas’ life and motivated to make some big changes. He quit smoking and moved back to his hometown of Málaga, Spain.
“My heart attack was the best thing that ever happened in my life. It was like somebody put glasses on me so I could see the reality that I didn’t see before.”
Banderas said in an interview with People magazine.
Two years after the heart attack Banderas opened his local theater, the Teatro del Soho CaixaBank in Málaga. He has also created a television production company, a symphony orchestra, and opened four restaurants all in Spain, primarily centered around his hometown of Málaga.
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