Summary
Antonio Banderas was born Jose Antonio Dominguez Banderas on August 10, 1960 in Malaga, Andalusia, Spain. Initially, Banderas wanted to play professional football but was forced to give up that dream when he broke his foot at the age of 14. He began acting at the age of 19 when he traveled to Madrid to work in the Spanish film industry. His early work consisted of many films with director Pedro Almodovar, who he worked with from 1982 to 1990.
Eventually focusing on a career in Hollywood, his early American film work included The Mambo Kings, Philadelphia, and Desperado. His work on Desperado with director Robert Rodriguez led to a longstanding working relationship as he later appeared in the final film in the trilogy (Once Upon A Time In Mexico) and starred in the director's Spy Kids trilogy of films. Other notable films for the actor include the Zorro films and his work in the Shrek movies playing the character Puss In Boots.