Academy Award nominee Antonio Banderas has revealed that he was warned that he would only ever play villainous roles in Hollywood as a Spanish actor.
The 65-year-old began his acting career at a small theatre in his home town of Malaga before landing roles in Spanish films like 1982’s Labyrinth of Passion and 1986’s Matador.
He broke out into Hollywood in 1992 after being cast in musical drama Mambo Kings, followed by critically acclaimed dramas Philadelphia, Interview with a Vampire and blockbuster The Mask of Zorro.
Despite becoming a huge star in America, Banderas revealed that he thought Hollywood was “off limits to Spaniards” before kickstarting his career in the States.
Speaking to The Times, Banderas said that he was told that he would only play villains if he tried to make it in Hollywood.
“They said, you are here, like the Blacks and the Hispanics, to play the bad guys,” he said.
However, he ultimately proved them wrong when he was cast as Zorro opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones. “The problem was a few years later I had a mask, hat, sword and cape and the bad guy was Captain Love, who was blond and had blue eyes.”
He added: “Even more important is Puss in Boots, because it’s for young kids. They see a cat that has a Spanish, even an Andalusian accent and he’s a good guy.”
While Banderas’ film career is still going strong – with the actor recently appearing in Paddington in Peru, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – he moved back to Malaga after suffering a near-fatal heart attack in 2017.
He subsequently bought a not-for-profit theatre in Malaga and aims to chip away at Spain’s “huge inferiority complex”.
Speaking to The Independent in 2019, Banderas said that the heart attack was “one of the best things to ever happen” to him.
“I thought I was going to die, and it made me understand life in a deeper, more complex way,” he said. “I detached from things that are not important any more – the car, and this and that – and then I just put my attention in family, friends and in recovering… well, the essence of why I became an actor.”
In the last 30 years, we’ve seen more Spanish actors star in huge Hollywood films – from Penelope Cruz in 2008’sVicky Cristina Barcelona to Javier Bardem as King Triton in The Little Mermaid live action film.
Next month, Catalonia-born singer Rosalía is set to make her TV acting debut on the new series of HBO drama Euphoria alongside Super Bowl winner Marshawn Lynch.
