Antonio Banderas

Born in Málaga, Spain in 1960, a rich thread of musical expression runs through the multi-decade career of Antonio Banderas. A prolific performer, he is primarily known for his acting and voice work but has also directed for both stage and screen. Madonna left the door to Hollywood open for Banderas when he appeared in her 1991 documentary film, Truth or Dare (aka In Bed with Madonna.) From there, many saw him wield a guitar in both Robert Rodriguez's 1995 film Desperado, and its 2003 sequel, Once Upon a Time in Mexico. He voiced Puss in Boots from 2004's Shrek 2 onwards, often delivering lead vocals to key songs on soundtracks from the franchise. Next, in a mid- to late career move, he realized a dream by opening Teatro del Soho CaixaBank in Málaga. Banderas then starred in and co-directed Spanish-language productions of musicals at the venue, including Marvin Hamlisch's A Chorus Line (2019) and Stephen Sondheim's Company (2022). A broken foot at the age of 15 put an end to Banderas's wish to become a professional footballer. Instead, an equal enthusiasm for the performing arts led him from Málaga's ARA Theatre-School and College of Dramatic Art to the Spanish National Theatre. He made his film debut in 1982 with a small role in Pedro Almodóvar's second feature, a wacky comedy titled Labyrinth of Passion. Almodóvar also cast him in 1988's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and 1989's Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! by which point he'd become a bona fide Spanish film star. A year after his appearance in the Madonna documentary he starred alongside Armand Assante in Arne Glimcher's The Mambo Kings. In the film, set in 1950s Cuba, Banderas' character Nestor is seen to write, and re-write, a piece to his muse titled, "Beautiful Maria of My Soul." Penned by Glimcher and Robert Kraft, it was nominated for a Grammy award and although Banderas declined to perform it at the ceremony, he later recorded a version with Company Segundo. In 1995, Banderas starred in Desperado, the second part of Rodriguez's Mexico Trilogy. Key to the soundtrack was his performance alongside Los Lobos of "Canción del Mariachi" ("Morena de Mi Corazón"), a piece that eventually became his most popular track in the streaming era. 1996 brought a spoken word contribution to the original version of Tina Turner's "In Your Wildest Dreams," a song to which Turner would return with Barry White. A breakthrough moment in Banderas' career in musical theatre came when he was cast alongside Madonna in Alan Parker's 1996 film adaptation of Evita. In 1997, he sang "No Sé Por Qué Te Quiero" as a duet with Ana Belén -- his then-recently divorced wife of nine years -- for her album, Mirame. Between 2001 and 2003, he starred in Rodriguez's hugely successful Spy Kids trilogy, which helped pave the way for his involvement in the Shrek films. For his portrayal of Guido in the 2002 Broadway revival of the Maury Yeston play Nine, Banderas received a Tony Award nomination. He debuted as the voice of Puss in Boots in 2004's Shrek 2, in which he performed a version of "Livin' La Vida Loca" alongside Eddie Murphy. Between that and the pair's interpretation of Sly & the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Again)" in 2007's Shrek the Third, Banderas -- along with his second wife, Melanie Griffith -- recorded spoken word vocals for "Lover," a track on Suphala's 2005 tabla-based album The Now. Banderas reprised his role as Puss in Boots in 2010's Shrek Forever After (aka Shrek: The Final Chapter) performing Bob Marley's "One Love." After founding his own theater in Málaga in 2019, a textured and evocative cast recording of his co-production of Sondheim's Company was issued by Craft Recordings in 2022. Before the year was out, he'd voiced Puss in Boots yet again for The Last Wish and sang its protagonist's theme, "Fearless Hero," a joint composition by Heitor Pereira, Dan Navarro, and Paul Fisher.
© James Wilkinson /TiVo