José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August, 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor, singer, and producer. He began his acting career with a series of films by director Pedro Almodóvar and then appeared in high-profile Hollywood films, especially in the 1990s, including Assassins, Evita, Interview with the Vampire, Philadelphia, Desperado, The Mask of Zorro, Take the Lead, The Expendables 3 and the Spy Kids series. Banderas also portrayed the voice of Puss in Boots in the Shrek sequels and Puss in Boots as well as the bee in the US Nasonex commercials.
He portrayed Gregorio Cortez in Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. He was originally going to reprise his role in Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in a vocal cameo but that scene was deleted.
Early life[]
Banderas was born on 10 August 1960, in the Andalusian city of Málaga, to José Domínguez Prieto (1920-2008), a police officer in the Civil Guard, and Ana Bandera Gallego (1933-2017), a school teacher.[1][2] He has a brother, Francisco Javier.[2] Although his father's family name is Domínguez, he took his mother's last name as his stage name.[3] As a child, he wanted to become a professional soccer player until a broken foot sidelined his dreams at the age of fourteen. He showed a strong interest in the performing arts and formed part of the ARA Theatre-School run by Ángeles Rubio-Argüelles y Alessandri (wife of diplomat, writer and film director Edgar Neville) and the College of Dramatic Art, both in Málaga. His work in the theater, and his performances on the streets, eventually landed him a spot with the Spanish National Theatre.[4]
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