Banderas Uncensored

Once upon a time...Well once upon a time there was Once Upon a Time in the West (the spaghetti western, remember?) and Once Upon a Time in America and Once Upon a Time in China.

And now comes Once Upon a Time in Mexico (a production of Columbia Pictures and Dimension Films, released locally by Buena Vista International), the third and last installment in flambouyant director Robert Rodriguez’s trilogy kicked off by El Mariachi (1993, done on a shoestring budget of – hold your breath – $7,000!) and followed by Desperado (1995) which are, according to Rodriguez, his tribute to Sergio Leone (director of, among other spaghetti westerns, the Clint Eastwood starrers The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars) who inspired him to become a filmmaker.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico is the Rodriguez opus (which placed No. 1 at the tills with a $24-million gross during its opening weekend last week across the US) that brought me to New York a month ago and face-to-face with, aside from Rodriguez, Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek who have been part and parcel of the El Mariachi trilogy. Banderas fits the El Mariachi persona to a T, what with his smoldering personality and fiery-sexy Latino looks punctuated with penetrating eyes that could melt anybody who as much as stare into them unblinking.

I actually, so to speak, "killed three birds" with one stone during that press junket at The Big Apple, attended mostly by journalists from Spanish-speaking countries (understandable, isn’t it?). In barely 48 hours, I watched the advance screening (a "must" in every press junket – you know, no preview, no interview ) of Once Upon a Time in Mexico Thursday night, had a one-on-one (for TV, telecast this afternoon on The Buzz) with Banderas (along with Hayek and Rodriguez) Friday morning, followed by the round-table interview (for print) in the afternoon, and watched (with my friend Raoul Tidalgo, entertainment editor and columnist of the New York-based The Filipino Reporter) Banderas "live" in the hit musical Nine (inspired by the life of Italian director Federico Fellini...about a film director who is such a Mama’s Boy, and a womanizer, that he stops growing at age nine, thus the musical’s title, no doubt also influenced by 81/2, one of Fellini’s classic works) at the full-house Eugene O’Neill Theater on Broadway, right across the street from Ambassador Theater where Melanie Griffith, Banderas’ wife, was also drawing SRO crowds with her performance as Roxy Hart in the musical Chicago.

Jackpot!!!

Surprisingly, Banderas in the flesh didn’t seem to be as drop-dead sexy as he is on screen and on the stage. Maybe he sees to it that, as he himself would admit, his reel persona doesn’t eat up his real, self-effacing persona. Nothing about him gave away his being a sex symbol. He didn’t wear tight-fitting pants, only simple denims, nor a body-hugging T-shirt, only a white, long-sleeved untucked-in shirt. Very low-key. He didn’t act "vain" at all, unlike most goodlooking people, and even when he passed by a mirror on the way to and out of the interview venue, he didn’t pause to check himself. Very confident.

El Mariachi can be said to be the role that "made" Banderas, even if his reputation as a versatile actor was cemented by a series of memorable performances in later movies – as Che Guevarra (opposite Madonna as Eva Peron) in the movied version of Evita, for which Banderas was nominated as Best Actor by Golden Globe; as title role in The Mask of Zorro (with the ravishing Catherine Zeta-Jones); as a young Cuban musician in The Mambo Kings (his American film debut in 1992); as the lover of AIDS-stricken Tom Hanks in Philadelphia; and many other films (Interview with the Vampire, House of Spirits and Original Sin with Angelina Jolie, etc.)

Born in Malaga, Spain, Banderas attended the School of Dramatic Art in his hometown, beginning his acting career right after graduation at a small theater company based in Malaga. In 1981, he moved to Madrid. A year later, he was discovered by Pedro Almodovar who cast him in Labyrinth of Passion, Matador, Law of Desire, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! which brought Banderas to the attention of American audiences.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico continues the saga of the guitar-slinging El Mariachi. It’s set against a backdrop of revolution, greed and revenge. Haunted and scarred by tragedy, El Mariachi has retreated into a life of isolation, forced out of it when Sands (impressively played by Johnny Depp), a corrupt CIA agent who hires him to sabotage an assassination plot against the president of Mexico. Playing Banderas’ trusted sidekicks are Mario Leonardi and Enrique Iglesias (who can wield a gun as sexily as he does a guitar).

Here now is Banderas (a dream interviewee because he loves to talk and talk)...Uncensored!

Let’s talk about your movie first. How was it working with Robert Rodriguez again?

"Not much difference. Actually, the only difference between El Mariachi and Once Upon a Time in Mexico is the technical aspect. El Mariachi was done on a very small budget while Mexico has a huge budget. It’s not just the final result that you see on the screen but the method that was used. Mexico was done in digital, so basically we heard ‘Action!’ but we never heard ‘Cut!’ And that’s very good for the type of movies that Robert does and for the way that he likes to direct. Very free and without having all the usual rituals of doing a movie."

I saw the movie. It’s entertaining. Fun. Where are you most comfortable in – action, drama or musical?

"In everything that I do. I think one is complementary to the other. Actually, when I am doing drama, my body is asking for comedy. When I’m doing comedy, my body is asking for a musical. And when I’m doing a musical, my body is asking for action. As an actor, I think I’m very eclectic. And I like the position. I don’t like to find myself in a very specific type of character. Or very specific type of movies. I like to jump from one genre to another."

Yes, you’re very "adjustable."

"You’re right."

You’ve done all kinds of roles (he even had a kissing scene with Tom Hanks in Philadelphia). What kind of role would you not play?

"None. I’d play any kind of role. I don’t have any personal attachment to any role that I play. I like any role from the dramatic point of view. After playing El Mariachi in Mexico, I played (the title role in the telemovie about) Pancho Villa. I love that role from a dramatic point of view. Pancho Villa is a very interesting character but I wouldn’t like to be him."

Any do’s and don’t’s before you accept a role? Any restrictions?

"No restrictions. Robert Rodriguez, for example. I’ve done about six movies with him. I enjoy doing movies with him. He’s not only my director; he’s my friend. I’m comfortable working with him in the same way that I’m comfortable working with Almodovar. He tells me to do this thing, I will do this thing; he tells me to do that thing, I will do that thing. If Robert calls me and says, ‘Antonio, I need you!,’ I will be there even if there’s no script."

What about as far as nudity is concerned?

"No problem with me as long as it’s justified by the story. What I wouldn’t do is something, you know, stupid. I wouldn’t do frontal nudity, but if the story is good and it’s justified, maybe I’d do it. But not if it would make me look stupid."

Speaking of nudity, a nude photo supposed to be yours came out in Playgirl. Was it really you?

"It was my head, all right, but it wasn’t my body. It was an image created on the Internet. We went to the magazine and I said, ‘I’m going to sue you!’ They said, ‘No, you can’t because we took the photo from a source of information (the Internet); we didn’t create the photo.’ You see, the media has become so complex that it can create illusions; you’re fighting against a monster that is far more powerful than you. I’ve never sued anyone in my life and I don’t think I ever will because if I do they’re going to hit me even more."

And how do Melanie (Griffith, his wife) and you deal with gossip?

"We used to tack up the tabloid stories on the wall. Melanie was never affected by gossip but I used to be. She would roll on the floor laughing at gossip about us in the media; she never paid any attention to it. But me, I was hurting. That was before. Now, I’m like Melanie. I’ve learned not to be affected."

Being such an attractive man, you could have any other woman if you wanted to – you know. Doesn’t Melanie have any reason to, well, be worried about you straying?

"No, Melanie has absolutely nothing to worry about. I’m not saying that she isn’t jealous. But I can tell you that I’m much, much more jealous of her than the other way around. Melanie never asks me, ‘Who are you going to shoot with?’ It’s me who sometimes ask her, ‘Who’s in the movie with you? How does he look?’ You see, I’m the more jealous type."

How does it feel being considered a sex symbol?

"I don’t know. It just comes with the type of characters that I play. They appeal very much to a certain type of audience – girls, women, the young. And I accept it, you know, because it’s part of my work as an actor."

How do you maintain your body? What sort of diet do you have? What sort of workout do you do?

"Not too much diet. But now, I guess I have to watch my diet because I’m doing theater. I have to do several performances every week I have to feel light...to be light. My role (inspired by Italian director Federico Fellini) requires me to dance and sing and to move a lot. Normally, I’m not the type of guy who goes to the gym regularly. But I like to do intense sports that are fun, like playing tennis. Maybe it’s more a game for me than a workout."

Speaking of theater, do you still get stage fright before going onstage? (Nine is his Broadway debut.)

"There are moments that I do, especially on opening nights. Remember, it’s my first time to do theater in English. I thought, ‘Oh, I have to talk for two hours in English!’ And remember, I have to sing 12 songs. And don’t forget, we’re talking here of Broadway! If you panic, it doesn’t get you anywhere. So, forget stage fright and let the play just take over, just think of what you’re doing. The moment I go onstage, I pay attention only to what I’m supposed to do. I don’t let stage fright take over."

You’ve been in America for more than 13 years. In what way have you been, well, "Americanized"?

"Not in any way. Everytime I go back to Spain, the biggest compliment I get from my friends is, ‘Man you’re the f_____g same as you were years ago. You haven’t changed!’ I’ve always been the same guy. If I lose that, I think that will be the end for me."

You sang in El Mariachi and in Evita and now you’re singing in Nine. Obviously, you love music very much.

"I’m a very musical person. I play the piano and I play the guitar. I love to do them as a hobby."

How would like to record an album and pursue a career as a singer?

"And be the next Enrique Iglesias or Ricky Martin? No, I don’t think so."

Has Spain finally accepted Melanie? Initially, the Spanish press was hostile to her.

"Everything is okay now. At first, Melanie was not accepted, I must admit, but now she is. Once my countrymen realized that ours was a serious relationship and not just an affair, then they respected our decision. I will never tell the real story why I got divorced (from his first wife, a Spanish actress) but it was not because of Melanie, I assure you. It’s not uncommon these days for a relationship to end and for a new one to begin. We are not an exceptional case."

What’s the secret, if it’s a secret of your stable/happy marriage?

"The secret is very simple – that is, to love and to respect each other. You have to keep the flame alive."

No professional jealousy between you and Melanie?

"None at all. We help each other; we support each other."

Her musical, Chicago, is playing right across the street from your musical...

"...This is the ideal frame of work for us. We work at the same time, for two hours and a half every night, and for matinees for five or six hours on the stage, but the rest of the time we can see each other, we spend together because we have the same schedule. We are actually spending more time together, at work and at home."

How do you usually spend your time away from work?

"I read. I love to play music. I do sketches of my impressions of New York. Things like that. I also do some documentaries on New York with my video camera."

What do you and Melanie have in common?

"I think the main thing is perseverance. I persevere, I keep fighting. Melanie is like that, too. We are both Leos, born one day apart, Aug. 9 and l0. Being both ‘lions,’ we have some sparks going on and that makes the relationship exciting, isn’t it?"

But the important thing is you’re happy now, aren’t you?

"Yes, happy. That’s the right word to describe my life – our life – now. Happy. I’m the type of person who loves to be alive; I love to interact with people. I’m a very fortunate person, a very happy person, and I’m very thankful for that."

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