Biography of Antonio Banderas

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Jose Antonio Dominguez Bandera was born on August 10, 1960 in Malaga, Spain. He is the son of Civil Guard police officer José Dominguez Prieto, and schoolteacher Ana Bandera Gallego. He has a brother named Francisco. As a child, he wanted to become a professional football player until a broken foot sidelined his dreams at the age of 14. He showed a strong interest in the performing arts and formed part of the ARA Theatre-School run by Ãngeles Rubio-Argaelles y Alessandri and the College of Dramatic Art, both in Malaga. His work in the theater and his performances on the streets eventually landed him a spot with the Spanish National Theatre.

José Antonio Dominguez Bandera, known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor, film producer and director. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Cannes Best Actor Award and nominations for a Tony Award, an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.

Banderas began his acting career with a series of films by director Pedro Almodavar in the 1980s and then appeared in several Hollywood films, such as Philadelphia , Interview with the Vampire, Desperado, Assassins, Evita, and The Mask of Zorro. He also appeared in the Spy Kids series and provided the voice of Puss in Boots in the Shrek franchise as well as its spin-off film Puss in Boots.

In 2003, Banderas made his US theatre debut as Guido Contini in Nine, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award and won a Drama Desk Award. He received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his roles in the television film And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself and the second season of Genius ; his portrayal of Pablo Picasso in the latter garnered him critical praise.

For the 2019 film Pain and Glory, he earned the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, and received nominations for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.