Antonio Banderas:His Carier Profile

Banderas was born in Mlaga, Andalusia, Spain in 1960 to Ana Bandera, a school teacher, and Jos Domnguez Prieto, a police officer in the Guardia Civil.12 He has a younger brother, Francisco. He took his mother's surname as his stage name.3 He initially wanted to be a soccer player in his youth, but his dream ended when he broke his foot at the age of 14.

His acting career began at the age of 19, when he worked in small theatres during the Movida period. He first gained wide attention of the Spanish audience through starring on a set of films by director Pedro Almodvar between 1982 and 1990. Labyrinth of Passion (Laberinto de Pasiones, 1982), in which he played a gay man; Matador (1986), in which he played a troubled young man who is confused about his sexuality; Law of Desire (La Ley del Deseo, 1987), in which he played a psychotic gay stalker; Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios 1988); and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (tame!, 1989), in which he played “Ricky”, which was his breakthrough role, garnering him critical attention.

Banderas began acting in U.S. films in the early nineties; some of his earlier roles there included the 1992 film, The Mambo Kings, as well as a supporting role in the Oscar-winning 1993 film, Philadelphia. He appeared in several major Hollywood releases in 1995, including a starring role in the Robert Rodriguez-directed film, Desperado and the antagonist on the action film Assassins co starred with Sylvester Stallone.