Antonio Banderas stars in the new Spongebob Squarepants movie. Photo / Mathieu Young
Antonio Banderas stars in the new Spongebob Squarepants movie. Photo / Mathieu Young
He was Zorro, he was Puss in Boots, now he’s a pirate in SpongeBob — and the best is still to come, Antonio Banderas tells Leena Tailor
Two giant movie posters staring back at him side-by-side in 2011 depicted Antonio Banderas' career perfectly.
"I remember walking the streets of New York and there was [horror thriller] The Skin I Live In and right next to it was Puss in Boots.
"I said, 'Yes. That's it. That's me.'
"As an actor I like to play anything. I don't have that feeling of taking care of a 'career'. My agents say, 'You shouldn't do that because it will damage your career', or, 'You should do this because audiences identify you with Zorro.'
"I don't care. I have one life and want to do what I love. The word I've heard most in the last year about my acting [is] 'versatile'. That gives me a nice feeling."
Today that variance is again on show as he prepares to unveil a "completely out-there, crazy pirate character" in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, followed by a leading role in Chilean miners' tale The 33, out this year.
The opportunity to visit such contrasting worlds drives the 54-year-old Spanish actor, yet many will always associate him with The Mask of Zorro. Even he was surprised to be invited into the world of children's films.
His first foray - in the Spy Kids movies - was a natural choice given his longstanding relationship with director Robert Rodriguez, but the call for Puss in Boots came as a shock for someone who once learned their lines phonetically.
"I came to this country without speaking the language, so the fact they called me just for the use of my voice was extraordinary to me. Then it became a very successful character and now we [have] the second Puss in Boots movie."
As for SpongeBob, he admits he wasn't familiar with the Nickelodeon series, apart from 18-year-old daughter Stella (with ex-wife Melanie Griffith) watching when she was younger. "At some point she was watching it, but now she's growing up and going to see movies like Interstellar."
The animated/live-action comedy adventure follows SpongeBob as he teams up with his nemesis Plankton to recover the stolen Krabby Patty recipe from pirate Burger Beard (Banderas).
Antonio Banderas in the new Spongebob Squarepants movie - Sponge out of Water. Photo / Supplied
The actor was attracted to the surrealism of the film and the fun of "becoming somebody else".
"Kids' movies give you the possibility to go out of the box. I'm not recognisable in this film. It's very satisfying to completely be somebody I am not, never was and never will be. "And the character is three-dimensional because he's a narrator, he's part of the film as the villain and he's a pirate, which is always fun because they represent liberty and freedom, and he's a cook!"
At this, Banderas' eyes light up and he starts dishing on his own culinary specialties. "I cook the best paella in America.
"I'm humble about my professional world, but not my paella."
As the only human character in SpongeBob, the challenge of working in isolation with a cross marking SpongeBob's position on one side and his voice coming from the other was "rare and weird".
Yet, the hardest part was the pirate's beard - a wig that he estimates weighed 3kg and caused substantial neck pain. Likening wearing the prop to "a raccoon attacking you in the morning", he adds that hot, humid Georgia weather plus a sleep-inducing component found in the glue used to secure the beard only added to the hairy nightmare.
"The happiest moment of the day was taking off that thing."
The perils of bringing children's characters to life aside, Banderas is proud of the path to diversity that his acting career has taken him since his breakthrough role alongside Madonna in 1991's Truth or Dare.
He once considered moving back to Spain, but he is now embracing the Hollywood stature he has earned over the years.
"Hollywood is not what it used to be. It used to be a place people came to make movies.
"Hollywood became a brand and now people around the world associate me with 'Hollywood' movies.
"I've considered myself an international actor for 25 years, so I shouldn't close any doors. If I get a good offer here, I'll do it.
"But in terms of producing and directing, Spain is the place I want to do it from."
He is now turning his attention to behind the camera. Last year he produced (and co-starred alongside Griffith) sci-fi flick Automata and he's now writing multiple scripts.
He says his writing is inspired by life, politics and relationships and, that despite being in "the middle of the death of movies as
we know them", film remains an important vehicle for communication.
It's here where his greatest accomplishment may yet come.
"I haven't yet done the thing that I will be remembered for. That could be an illusion in my mind, but if I didn't think that way then it would probably be time for retirement.
