Antonio Banderas
I wake up every morning, look in the mirror and ask, 'Am I a sex symbol?' Then I go back to bed again. It's stupid to think that way.Collection: Morning
Cats are very independent animals. They're very sexy, if you want. Dogs are different. They're familiar. They're obedient. You call a cat, you go, 'Cat, come here.' He doesn't come to you unless you have something in your hand that he thinks might be food. They're very free animals, and I like that.Collection: Pet
It was an honor and privilege to arrive to this country 16 years ago with almost no money in my pocket. A lot has happened since then.Collection: Money
I love the diversity of America. I love the plain, normal sense of humor Americans have. It is not wicked, like in some countries. And I also love how new America is.Collection: Humor
I think I'm a romantic person, yeah.Collection: Romantic
I do yoga every morning, then I run for half an hour and take a sauna.Collection: Morning
Expectation is the mother of all frustration.
Everything changes as you get older - your mind, your body, the way you view the world.
The man who doesn't want anything is invincible.
I don't think there is a guy that played more gay characters than I have done in my life.
The recycling in my house was imposed by my kids.
I've done many different movies in many different contexts.
I used to be scared of women. When I was very young they terrified me, but discovering the female universe was incredible and still is to this day, as you never stop learning about them.
I don't like to over-intellectualize scenes that are working. I tend to think when you do that you may lose it.
I cry a lot, you know. Which is very difficult for a man to recognise, but I do. I cry in movies, you know, just watching movies.
I think Shrek makes an effect in older people. And there are many things in the movie that you saw that are not for kids. Kids would not understand certain things.
Picasso is a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected. He deserves a lot of respect because I am from Malaga, and I was born four blocks from where he was born.
I'm not such a big star. I am just a little planet. In Spain, people don't put so much attention on the star system. But here in America, I can feel it. Mostly, people are very, very nice. But there are also a bunch of fanatics behind the stars.
I did my first movie, 'The Mambo Kings,' in America without speaking the language. I learned the lines phonetically. I had an interpreter actually just to understand directions from my director.
Up until the time I was 31 years old, in Spain, I still didn't know how I was going to pay the rent.
I love my country. And I would have to renounce my Spanish citizenship to become a U.S. Citizen.
If you call a cat, he may not come. Which doesn't happen with dogs. They're different types of animals. Cats are very sexy I think too in the way they move.
There are some movies that I would like to forget, for the rest of my life. But even those movies teach me things.
We are now integrated into American society and I don't like the word fashionable, because fashionable means that it's going to pass. It's not like that anymore.
Melanie is more of a disciplinarian with the little girl than me, probably because it's my first baby. She gets everything easy from Papa. I am more weak. She takes advantage of me.
I mean, the Constitution of this country was written 200 years ago. The house I was living in in Madrid is 350 years old! America is still a project, and you guys are working on it and bringing new things to it every day. That is beautiful to watch.
I've never worried about what audiences would accept or had a game plan regarding the career. I never had an idea of how I should look to my fans or anybody else.
I like going everywhere. And I love starting new things.
It's a character that I always found really likable. I'm fond of Zorro because he was a popular figure who worked for the people.
I completely take on the risk, the poker game, which being an artist means, and I'm going to try to make a film which honestly reflects what I have in my head.
When you're feeling very comfortable with an actor, you are doing nothing.
You have to work with people you really love.
I get caught up in my bubble of reading, writing, or music.
Listen, I think movies serve many different purposes, from those movies that are frivolous and just an entertainment, to movies that just go to exploring the complexities of the human soul. Everything is valid if it's done with honesty and dignity, and I actually do both of those types of movies in my career.
People are not patient anymore.
I often feel very guilty because of the time that I spend outside of my home and the little time that sometimes I have for my kids.
When you go to the movie theater and the opening of this movie and you see the kids just cracking up with a character you are giving your voice to, you get goose bumps. It's so beautiful.
I couldn't be with someone who is depressed all the time.
I think we are realising that governments can't govern us any more.
There's something happening in the world that didn't happen before. We are acting like one big brain.
Sometimes I have wrinkles, in the morning. It depends on what kind of night that I had. I accept myself and the way that I am growing older. I have eye bags and some people have proposed to me to take them out but I said no.
I long to get back into theater.
Films should be for everybody.
Characters don't belong to anyone, not even the person who plays them.
The only time you actually are a spectator of your own work is the day you read the script.
I drink a bucket of white tea in the morning. I read about this tea of the Emperor of China, which is supposedly the tea of eternal youth. It's called Silver Needle. It's unbelievably expensive, but I get it on the Web.
I'm still a promising actor. It's better to be climbing even if you have a lot of falls than to be descending. Maybe that's kept me young. I haven't gotten to any peak yet.
If bad things are going to be said about me, I have to bear that. If I don't understand that it's part of being in show business, then I'd better go work in a bank.
I am lucky, that is all. Lucky because there are a lot of people - producers, directors, people who buy tickets - who put confidence in me.
I always feel that art in general and acting in particular should make the audience a little uncomfortable, to slap them and wake them up.