HOLLYWOOD actor Antonio Banderas is set to receive an honorary Goya Award at the forthcoming edition of the star-studded ceremony, having been nominated four times in his career but never walked away with the coveted trophy.
The Málaga-born silver-screen veteran, known to his English-speaking fans for his roles in Shrek and The Mask of Zorro, has been Best Actor candidate at the Goyas for La piel que habito, ¡Átame!, Matador – all films by cult director Pedro Almodóvar – and Two much.
During his early years in cinema at home in Spain, Banderas did not speak a word of English, but from the 1980s onwards began to work his way into the world of international performing arts, attending fashionable parties and making contacts.
Madonna was one of his early fans, and convinced him to audition for the role of a Hollywood production about Cuban musicians alongside Andy García, The Mambo kings dance to love songs.
This was in 1992, when it was unheard of for a Spanish actor to get a part in a foreign film and even less so in Tinseltown.
As well as paving the way for the next generation of Spanish film stars to take on the world, Banderas' first Hollywood box-office smasher was the start of his own successful career which included parts in Interview with a vampire and Philadelphia, and saw him fleshing out historical characters such as Diego Rivera and Mussolini.
Despite his success on the other side of the pond, Banderas has continued to take roles in Spanish films and to promote them heavily, attending all the San Sebastián, Málaga and Sitges film festivals, acting as mentor for future Spaniards in Hollywood and working as voice-over for mainstream US productions dubbed into Spanish.
