Antonio Banderas
The star on why he would never direct in America, the criticism received for his films, playing the role of Puss in Boots and the most dramatic moment in his career.

Simply put, Antonio Banderas is one of the most eclectic actors in the world. He has not only played a diverse range of roles but has also crossed genres. He has appeared in horrors such as Interview with the Vampire, musicals like Evita, Action movies like Desperado, Adventures like The Mask of Zorro and, of course, has conquered animation. To celebrate the release of Shrek the Third, Antonio Banderas talks to Pure Movies about why he would never direct in America, the criticism received for his films, playing the role of Puss in Boots and the most dramatic moment in his career.

Antonio, you are one of the diverse actors in Hollywood. Why do you choose to play such a variety of roles?

Antonio Banderas: Well, some actors get stuck in one way of performing and are advised that if they get out of that one way then they will destroy their careers. So, I enjoy being a very eclectic actor by doing many different genres and characters. All of the roles I have played put together with Puss in Boots and the situation I have Hollywood allow me to picture myself very much like those comedians of the old days. In the afternoon they would do comedy and at night they would do Shakespeare. I love the possibility of just changing and playing many different turfs.

Two of your more recent films, Bordertown and El Camino de los ingleses, the latter which you directed, both didn’t open to good reviews. How do you feel about the criticism? And are you looking to direct more films in the future?

AB: Directing, for me, is a very personal issue. It is something that probably I will never do in America. I will do it in the South of Spain, my own country, because I have this theory that less money, more freedom to create whatever is in my mind and in my heart. So, I consider directing to be very personal.

Bordertown is one of those movies that, it’s true, was very highly criticised, as you said, in the Berlin Film Festival. However, I would love to do it again. Not because of the movie itself but because of the issue we were treating there. For me, it was very important to put a spotlight on the issues going on in the North of Mexico. Initially, I said no because I was in preparation for my own movie. Jennifer [Lopez] called me and, believe me, she can be very persuasive but I said no again. The reason I ended up doing the movie was because I received a parcel from the mothers of some of the disappeared girls with pieces of clothes they were wearing, photos from the night they disappeared, poems and letters asking me to just put my name to their cause and so I did and postponed the work I was doing.

El Camino de los ingleses was also not very well treated at the Venice Film Festival but they are movies that are very social. Even though the cinematic results of the movie was not well received, I would definitely do it again.

Now onto your new film Shrek the Third in which you reprise your role as Puss in Boots. What pressure do you feel under for the standards that the Shrek franchise has set itself and how long can you keep the series going? Do you feel under any pressure whatsoever?

AB: I think it is the audience that decides that. As long as they are demanding more stories from Shrek, we will be more than happy to do them. Nobody in his right mind would reject to do something like that. In my particular case, what happened was that I was a fan of the first one. I thought it was a fantastic counter-cultural movie that was invited to Cannes and put the whole entire intellectuality of Europe upside down in an auteur festival. So, when they called me I almost unconditionally said yes. Only Shrek has the room for so many issues and still has space for the farts and the burps.

How much input do you have in the character of Puss in Boots?

AB: Actually, the important point for the character was at the beginning when the concept of the character was born. When I met the studio for the first time and I saw the first drawings that they showed me of Puss in Boots, I had the same reaction as audiences have had and later on I saw him with his little face and said the same thing as everyone: “Oh my God, he’s so cute, I wanna be him”. I think a good decision at the beginning was to go for a voice that doesn’t necessarily fit the body. We provided him with the voice of a Casanova and the character, in a way, is very irreverent with the others but, at the same time, very cute. So, in that contrast I think is the source of comedy for the character and we just tried to go in that direction. At the beginning when they called me, I thought that Puss wouldn’t be a recurring character but he connected very well with audiences and here we are now.

In the film, Puss and Donkey change bodies. Did this change your performance in any way?

AB: No, not at all. I consciously try not to change except when they have lines that comment on the change. What was a little bit interesting and more difficult was the fact that I am watching the movie in Spanish and Italian and, when I was looking at the screen, I was waiting for my mouth to move in the cat when actually Donkey was talking. We try to keep our voices in the same way and that was one of the most dramatic moments of my career (laughs).

Rumour has it that Puss in Boots is getting his own spin-off movie. If that is the case, where would you like to see the character going? And what would Donkey have to say about it?

AB: Yeah (in the voice of Puss in Boots) doesn’t have his own movie. That was coming from the cat actually (laughs). It is going to happen. I have the script already but I haven’t had the opportunity of reading it yet. I will do it probably when we finish all this promotion and craziness I am in the middle of right now. The things that I heard are actually what I would like the movie to be. We will actually see his story since the time he was very little until he becomes probably a no-good killer and to unplug all the mystery of the character. We will probably see why he became what he became. I heard that, not only it is funny, but it is emotional too at the same time. So, it will be fun and will give a bit more colour to the whole entire story. It’ll be made by the same team which is fabulous because I love to be in this family. They work fantastic and probably Chris will be the director. So, it is definitely going to happen.