Antonio Banderas

Born in Málaga, Spain in 1960, a rich thread of musical expression runs through the multi-decade career of Antonio Banderas. A prolific performer, he is primarily known for his acting and voice work but has also directed for both stage and screen. <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a> left the door to Hollywood open for Banderas when he appeared in her 1991 documentary film, Truth or Dare (aka In Bed with Madonna.) From there, many saw him wield a guitar in both <a href="spotify:artist:49VlDIG7Dw8raSByeCKXF6">Robert Rodriguez</a>'s 1995 film Desperado, and its 2003 sequel, Once Upon a Time in Mexico. He voiced Puss in Boots from 2004's Shrek 2 onwards, often delivering lead vocals to key songs on soundtracks from the franchise. Next, in a mid- to late career move, he realized a dream by opening Teatro del Soho CaixaBank in Málaga. Banderas then starred in and co-directed Spanish-language productions of musicals at the venue, including <a href="spotify:artist:1VN38ZSdtQnHLa8PfTTKZD">Marvin Hamlisch</a>'s A Chorus Line (2019) and <a href="spotify:artist:4TbtUt49IMXEIMmNdifHb1">Stephen Sondheim</a>'s Company (2022).

A broken foot at the age of 15 put an end to Banderas's wish to become a professional footballer. Instead, an equal enthusiasm for the performing arts led him from Málaga's ARA Theatre-School and College of Dramatic Art to the Spanish National Theatre. He made his film debut in 1982 with a small role in Pedro Almodóvar's second feature, a wacky comedy titled Labyrinth of Passion. Almodóvar also cast him in 1988's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and 1989's Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! by which point he'd become a bona fide Spanish film star. A year after his appearance in the <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a> documentary he starred alongside Armand Assante in Arne Glimcher's The Mambo Kings. In the film, set in 1950s Cuba, Banderas' character Nestor is seen to write, and re-write, a piece to his muse titled, "Beautiful Maria of My Soul." Penned by Glimcher and <a href="spotify:artist:3OQ6LmhU59NAsdJfQHQmaa">Robert Kraft</a>, it was nominated for a Grammy award and although Banderas declined to perform it at the ceremony, he later recorded a version with <a href="spotify:artist:2wpr4ILskkRzPBGodmbMs1">Company Segundo</a>.

In 1995, Banderas starred in Desperado, the second part of <a href="spotify:artist:49VlDIG7Dw8raSByeCKXF6">Rodriguez</a>'s Mexico Trilogy. Key to the soundtrack was his performance alongside <a href="spotify:artist:6OWapcJm9xd55ci9CYbAuT">Los Lobos</a> of "Canción del Mariachi" ("Morena de Mi Corazón"), a piece that eventually became his most popular track in the streaming era. 1996 brought a spoken word contribution to the original version of <a href="spotify:artist:1zuJe6b1roixEKMOtyrEak">Tina Turner</a>'s "In Your Wildest Dreams," a song to which <a href="spotify:artist:1zuJe6b1roixEKMOtyrEak">Turner</a> would return with <a href="spotify:artist:3rfgbfpPSfXY40lzRK7Syt">Barry White</a>. A breakthrough moment in Banderas' career in musical theatre came when he was cast alongside <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a> in Alan Parker's 1996 film adaptation of Evita. In 1997, he sang "No Sé Por Qué Te Quiero" as a duet with <a href="spotify:artist:4NOZW7dBOmBMMAG9EGQd4t">Ana Belén</a> -- his then-recently divorced wife of nine years -- for her album, Mirame.

Between 2001 and 2003, he starred in <a href="spotify:artist:49VlDIG7Dw8raSByeCKXF6">Rodriguez</a>'s hugely successful Spy Kids trilogy, which helped pave the way for his involvement in the Shrek films. For his portrayal of Guido in the 2002 Broadway revival of the <a href="spotify:artist:0RSFYUQQWpZg5bOne6OuzD">Maury Yeston</a> play Nine, Banderas received a Tony Award nomination. He debuted as the voice of Puss in Boots in 2004's Shrek 2, in which he performed a version of "Livin' La Vida Loca" alongside <a href="spotify:artist:1Zq8pfBl4ejCMrWdeAdphc">Eddie Murphy</a>. Between that and the pair's interpretation of <a href="spotify:artist:5m8H6zSadhu1j9Yi04VLqD">Sly & the Family Stone</a>'s "Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Again)" in 2007's Shrek the Third, Banderas -- along with his second wife, Melanie Griffith -- recorded spoken word vocals for "Lover," a track on <a href="spotify:artist:5K0RB7IrRGmHxner07mRpw">Suphala</a>'s 2005 tabla-based album The Now. Banderas reprised his role as Puss in Boots in 2010's Shrek Forever After (aka Shrek: The Final Chapter) performing <a href="spotify:artist:2QsynagSdAqZj3U9HgDzjD">Bob Marley</a>'s "One Love." After founding his own theater in Málaga in 2019, a textured and evocative cast recording of his co-production of <a href="spotify:artist:4TbtUt49IMXEIMmNdifHb1">Sondheim</a>'s Company was issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Craft+Recordings%22">Craft Recordings</a> in 2022. Before the year was out, he'd voiced Puss in Boots yet again for The Last Wish and sang its protagonist's theme, "Fearless Hero," a joint composition by <a href="spotify:artist:2RaHCHhZWBXn460JpMaicz">Heitor Pereira</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5irRyGwF9biNvCNBkEIZft">Dan Navarro</a>, and Paul Fisher. ~ James Wilkinson, Rovi