Antonio Banderas has spoken candidly about the ethnic stereotypes he faced when he first arrived in Hollywood, recalling being told bluntly that his Hispanic background limited him to villainous roles, and explaining why stepping outside of that box still means so much to him.
“They said, you’re here, like the blacks and the Hispanics, to play the bad guys,” the Oscar-nominated actor said. The times.
The irony of what came next is something he clearly relishes.
“The problem was that a few years later he had a mask, a hat, a sword and a cape and the bad guy was Captain Love, who was blonde and had blue eyes.”
That role was, of course, Zorro, the brave hero Banderas played in The mask of Zorro in 1998 and The legend of Zorro in 2005.
But it was a cat, not a swordsman, that he considers the most culturally significant step forward.
Face in bootsthe character in which he first voiced shrek 2 in 2004, it reached an audience that nothing else could match.
“Even more important is Puss in bootsbecause it’s for little kids. “They see a cat that has a Spanish accent, even an Andalusian one, and he’s a good guy.”
He has now voiced the character in five films, including the critically acclaimed. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 2022, which earned an Oscar nomination.
However, the 65-year-old confirmed last year that he had yet to be contacted about shrek 5which will hit theaters on June 30, 2027.
“I’m not that far away and they don’t call me for that,” he said. Parade.
“Puss in boots he did it very well. Number two earned an Oscar nomination and the film performed wonderfully at the box office. But I am totally satisfied with all five. Puss in boots that I did it. I don’t know what will happen in the future. maybe they [will] Call me tomorrow.”
