With 43 movies under his 0 Antonio Banderas in 1995 was on his way to becoming America's next "Latin lover". His 1 sexuality and European flair made this Spanish actor a fully-fledged Hollywood film star.
Banderas was born on August 10, 1960, in Malaga, Spain. After seeing a performance of Hair at the age of 15, he said of acting, "I want to be part of this ritual; I want to do this forever." In 1981 he 2 on a five-year acting stint with the Spanish national theatre in Madrid. There he was 3 by movie director Pedro Almodovar, who offered him roles in films. In his first movie with Almodovar, Banderas played the first of several roles as a homosexual. Under Almodovar's direction the young actor was able to 4 his talent fully through unconventional roles such as rapist, mental patient, and kidnapper.
This experience 5 valuable for Banderas after he moved to Hollywood in 1989. There in 1992 he landed a role in The Mambo Kings, playing a young Cuban musician living in New York City. Although he spoke almost no English, Banderas was able to learn his 6 phonetically and later took intensive English courses, which helped him land the role of Tom Hanks's lover in the box-office 7 Philadelphia in 1993. Wanting to take the U.S. by 8, Banderas then enjoyed a whirlwind acting spree. His movies include The House of the Spirits (1993), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Miami Rhapsody (1995), Desperado (1995), Assassins (1995), and Never Talk to Strangers (1995). Banderas conceded to being ambitious but said that in Spain actors prove their success by making one film after another.