ANTONIO BANDERAS (Luis Antonio Vargas) is one of the leading international actors of his generation. He earned critical praise and a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination for his acting and vocal talents as Che opposite Madonna in Alan Parker's big-screen adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical Evita. He also received outstanding reviews playing the title role in The Mask of Zorro opposite Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta Jones, receiving his second Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor and winning an Alma Award. He was also honored with an EFA (European Film Award) for European Achievement in World Cinema.
Born in Malaga, Spain, Banderas attended the School of Dramatic Art in his hometown and, upon graduation, began his acting career in a small theatre company based there. He moved to Madrid in 1981 and became an ensemble member of the prestigious National Theater of Spain, where he remained through 1986.
In 1982, Banderas was cast by writer/director Pedro Almodovar in Labyrinth of Passion. It was the first of five such collaborations with Almodovar, the others being Matador, Law of Desire, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! During this time Banderas also acted in other Spanish films, including The Snits, The Pleasure of Killing and Baton Rouge.
The international success of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! brought Banderas to the attention of American audiences. He made his U.S. film debut in 1992 as a young Cuban musician in The Mambo Kings. At the time he was cast in the film, Banderas spoke no English and had to learn all of his dialogue phonetically.
The Mambo Kings provided Banderas with a springboard to significant supporting roles in four major productions in two years: Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia, Bille August's The House of the Spirits, Neil Jordan's Interview With the Vampire and Miami Rhapsody.
His first starring role in an American film came in 1995 with Robert Rodriguez's Desperado. He has since appeared in Never Talk to Strangers, Assassins, Four Rooms, Two Much, The 13th Warrior, and Play It to the Bone opposite Woody Harrelson. He reteamed with writer/director Robert Rodriquez on the recent blockbuster hit Spy Kids, and will next be seen starring opposite Johnny Depp in Rodriquez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the long-awaited sequel to Desperado. He'll also be seen starring in Brian De Palma's upcoming Femme Fatale.
Banderas made his debut as director with Crazy in Alabama starring his wife, Melanie Griffith.
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