In this weekend's Puss in Boots, Antonio Banderas voices the swashbuckling title cat -- a peripheral Shrek character who became so popular that he earned his own $130 million DreamWorks prequel. So just how did Antonio Banderas transform himself from Madonna's sexual prey in Truth or Dare to a sword-wielding predator in both live-action and animated formats?
You can always trace a direct line through a few important roles to illustrate what led to an actor's current success. As such, let's look at nine pivotal performances that track the evolution of Antonio Banderas.
Labyrinth of Passion (1982)
After an injury curbed his dreams of becoming a professional soccer player, a teenage Banderas enrolled in drama classes in Spain and started performing onstage. It was during a theatre production that the young actor caught the eye of future auteur Pedro Almodóvar, who cast the 22-year-old actor in his second film (and Banderas's first) Laberinto de Pasiones. The Madrid-set screwball comedy features the up-and-comer as a gay terrorist who uses his enhanced sense of smell to track down a Prince with whom he had fallen in love.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)
After three more collaborations with Almodóvar -- in Law of Desire, Matador and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown -- Banderas joined the filmmaker again for the controversial ¡Átame! that would give Banderas his first international exposure. The actor stars as a recently-released psychiatric patient who kidnaps a porn actress (Victoria Abril) in order to make her fall in love with him. Although the film was a success with critics and viewers in Spain, its release in the United States was fraught with controversy and initially garnered an X rating for scenes involving sex, urination and the main female character masturbating with a scuba diver toy.
Truth or Dare (1991)
After boosting his international profile with the racy Tie Me Up!, Madonna introduced Banderas to the world, quite literally, in her documentary Truth or Dare. Via voiceover, the pop icon tells her audience, "Antonio Banderas is this Spanish actor that I've had a crush on for two years. He's been in all of Pedro Almodóvar's movies. I love Pedro's movies. I've seen every movie that Antonio has ever done. I have to say he is one of the few actors that I was really dying to meet." Formal American introduction: Check!
Philadelphia (1993)
Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia was a landmark for Hollywood: The first major studio film devoted to the subject of AIDS and, to a lesser degree, a mainstream breakthrough for Antonio Banderas. The actor plays Tom Hanks's onscreen partner (Fun fact: This is the third gay character he had played following Labyrinth of Passion and Law of Desire) who helps nurse him through his sickness and remains supportive as he battles one of the first AIDS discrimination cases. This was also a milestone in that Banderas had now mastered the English language enough to learn his lines by reading the script -- rather than being taught them phonetically, as he had reportedly done for Truth or Dare and The Mambo Kings.
Desperado (1995)
After switching gears to slightly lighter Hollywood fare in Interview with the Vampire and his first U.S. comedy, the long-forgotten Miami Rhapsody with Sarah Jessica Parker and Mia Farrow, Banderas was ready for his first leading role. As a former mariachi who seeks revenge on the drug runner who murdered his lover, Banderas conveyed a cocky action star quality that he would eventually be able mine into a successful movie-star career. Desperado also marks his first collaboration with director Robert Rodriguez.
The Mask of Zorro (1998)
Three years, one Madonna reunion (Evita) and one failed comedy that introduced him to his future wife Melanie Griffith (Two Much) later, Banderas returned to the box office as a handsome action hero in the Steven Spielberg-produced film The Mask of Zorro. Banderas -- who is the first Spanish actor to play the sword-fighting Johnston McCulley character -- practiced with the Olympic fencing team for four months in preparation for the role. The grueling 10-hour training sessions paid off though and The Mask of Zorro grossed over $250 million worldwide, establishing Banderas as a full-blown movie star. Although the actor did not get to work with Robert Rodriguez on Zorro (a salary dispute caused the filmmaker to abandon the project), Banderas would reteam with Rodriguez three years later for the hugely popular Spy Kids franchise.
Crazy in Alabama (1999)
After the success of Zorro, Banderas used his newfound power in Hollywood to direct his first feature, a comedy-drama which stars his wife Melanie Griffith as a nutcase who moves to California after decapitating her husband -- all while her nephew in Alabama has to deal with a racially-motivated murder involving a corrupt sheriff. Sounds... fun? OK, it wasn't that fun. Although critics agreed that the project was a technically proficient directorial debut, the film was overall a dud. Banderas would not direct again until 2006's Spanish romance Summer Rain.
Shrek 2 (2004)
The next 10 years would be a franchise bonanza for Banderas. The first franchise that took off was Rodriguez's four-part Spy Kids series, which stars Banderas as a kid-friendly father/retired spy. But then came the DreamWorks smash Shrek. Although Banderas had no part in the first installment, his character of Puss -- who recalls a furry, G-rated Zorro -- was so popular in Shrek 2, that he was called upon for parts in Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After as well as associated TV shorts and his own video games. Somewhere in the middle of all of those moneymakers, Banderas also found time to reprise his Zorro character for the sequel The Legend of Zorro, which grossed over $140 million.
Puss in Boots (2011)
After amassing a giant pile of money for his franchise work last decade, Banderas kicked off the year by re-teaming with old friend Almodóvar for the haunting thriller The Skin I Live In. He returns to theaters this week as Puss in the DreamWorks spin-off opposite his Desperado co-star Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis and Billy Bob Thornton. If it works out, Puss could have his very own blockbuster series, making Banderas the most well-compensated hairball spitter in cinema history. And if not, the actor will certainly come up with many more milestones to add to his illustrious, intercontinental career.
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