Antonio Banderas said in a recent interview with The Times of London (via The Independent) that he was warned upon arriving in Hollywood that Latinos and Blacks could only play villain roles, a stereotype he would later shatter by playing the swashbuckler Zorro in 1998’s “The Mask of Zorro.”
“They said, ‘You are here, like the Blacks and the Hispanics, to play the bad guys,’” Banderas told the publication about pivoting from Spanish movies to Hollywood productions. “The problem was a few years later I had a mask, hat, sword and cape and the bad guy was Captain Love, who was blond and had blue eyes.”
“Even more important is ‘Puss in Boots,’ because it’s for young kids,” Banderas added about stepping into hero roles. “They see a cat that has a Spanish, even an Andalusian accent and he’s a good guy.”
After a decade making movies in his home country of Spain, which included several collaborations with Pedro Almodóvar, Banderas made the jump to Hollywood starting in 1992 with the Warner Bros. release “The Mambo Kings,” starring alongside Armand Assante as brother musicians who flee Cuba for the New York City. The ’90s saw Banderas’ profile rise in Hollywood, from Oscar-nominated films like “Philadelphia” to bigger budget tentpoles like “Interview With a Vampire” to indie sensations like “Depserado.” He starred as Che opposite Madonna in 1996’s “Evita” before landing the role of Zorro.
“The Mask of Zorro,” starring Banderas opposite Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones, was a bonafide blockbuster with $250 million grossed at the worldwide box office on a production budget under $100 million. Banderas and Zeta-Jones returned for the 2005 sequel “The Legend of Zorro.” Both movies were helmed by director Martin Campbell.
“‘The Mask of Zorro’ stands as a pointed riposte to those who say they don’t make ’em like that anymore. The return of the legendary swordsman is well served by a grandly mounted production in the classical style,” reads Variety’s review of Banderas’ first Zorro movie, with particular praise given to its leading man: “Darkly handsome, self-confident, physically agile and sensitive with his lady love, Banderas is everything one could want as Zorro.”
