Born José Antonio Domínguez Bandera on August 10, 1960 in Málaga, Antonio Banderas is a Spanish actor, director, producer and singer with an international career. Trained at the School of Dramatic Art in Malaga, he joined the troupe of the National Theater of Spain. It was there that he was spotted by filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, who offered him his first film roles. Their collaboration, which began with The Labyrinth of Passions (1982), continued with such landmark films as The Law of Desire (1987), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and Tie Me Up! (1989), which made him famous in Europe. Banderas's Hollywood breakthrough came in the 1990s with Mambo Kings (1992), in which he played a Cuban musician - a role that showcased his vocal talents and musical charisma. His next film was Philadelphia (1993), alongside Tom Hanks, followed by hits such as Interview with the Vampire (1994) and Robert Rodriguez's Desperado (1995), in which he sang the song "Cancion del Mariachi " with the group Los Lobos, after having sung it solo. In 1996, he played the character of Che Guevara opposite Madonna in Evita, in which he sang all his parts himself, confirming his qualities as a singer and his ability to carry a musical film. In 2003, he triumphed on Broadway in the musical Nine, earning him a Tony Award nomination. After playing the character of Zorro and lending his voice to animated films, Banderas returned to the Spanish stage for the musical A Chorus Line (2019), which he staged in his Málaga theater, Teatro del Soho Caixabank. In 2022, he performs Latin versions of Stephen Sondheim classics in the musical Company: El Musical.
