by Paul Fischer
The person most surprised that he steals the
new Shrek from the likes of
Mike Myers and Eddie 
Murphy, is the actor responsible for some scene-stealing:
fast-talking Spaniard Antonio Banderas. "Really? Do you think
so? When I saw
the movie, the character that made me laugh the most was donkey," says
a
modest Banderas, laughingly. But the actor does get the most laughs in
his
unique take as Puss 'n' Boots, who begins as an assassin-for-hire and
ends
up joining Shrek and Donkey on an adventure to save Princess Fiona from
marrying a dastardly Prince Charming [Rupert Everett]. In naturally
high spirits as we chat in a Beverly Hills hotel, Banderas says that
he didn't
quite discover his hidden feline. "At the beginning, when I first
got on
this film two years ago, they said to me that the guy was thought to
be
French, kind of a D'Artagnan, from Three Musketeers but obviously,
once I
jumped in there with my accent, he became Zorro," the actor
recalls. The
actor's Zorro character became a template for his purring feline, and
Banderas recalls being surprised that he was able to inject as much of
his
own input as was allowed. . "I didn't know that the movie is so
related to
the actors. I thought it was going to be more a process like just repeat
this line until the line got totally perfect. I probably did because
it's so
technologically based that I thought it was going to be almost like being
in
a tube without any kind of creativity but it was not like that at all."
One wonders whether Banderas' attraction
to Shrek 2 was based on an innate desire to make a film for
his daughter, 8-year Stella. "No, actually.
I have
to say that I am a fanatic of the first Shrek. My daughter may
have seen the movie
two times but I saw it like six. I just love it and thought it was beautiful,
but I wouldn't base my whole entire career in my daughter. I mean, three
Spy Kids, now this cat, it would be kind of weird," Banderas
says with a laugh. Two years after first laying down his voice tracks
and now having seen the
final Shrek 2, Banderas says he was surprised by the film. "What
surprised me the most is that we were working in solitude and didn't have other
actors working with us. Even when I sung La Vida Loca, I sung my part totally
independently of Eddie, so it is nice just to see it all together.
Not only is the animation fabulous, but just the interaction among all the actors
sometimes even stepping on the lines of each other is something that we
didn't do when we were recording it. How they edit it, was masterful."
Jose Antonio Dominguez Banderas, who
was born and grew up in the Spanish city of Malaga, says that he, too,
was brought up on some of the classic fairy tales that inspired the Shrek films. "In
Spain, Puss 'n Boots is called El Gato Con Botas and he's a very, very
famous character for kids.
Many of the characters that appear in this movie are fairy tales in Spain.
Everybody recognizes those characters. If there is a word that defines these
movies, and not just the second one, it is wit."
Banderas may not have made Shrek to appease his daughter, but fatherhood
is enabling the 44-year old actor "just to work in a totally different
way," he says. "Since October, I rejected a bunch of movies and I've
been basically writing and preparing things that I would like to do in the
future." Banderas adds that he yearns to direct, not in Hollywood but
in his native Spain. Banderas says that he has reached a point in his life
when it is important to return to Spain and his roots. "There are the
possibilities of going back as a director. Pedro Almodóvar and I have
been in discussions for a year and a half now, of doing a movie that's an adaptation
of a French novel."
It's been 15 years since Banderas and Almodóvar last worked together on Tie
Me Up, Tie Me Down, and 13 years since he shot his last all-Spanish film.
Returning with an Almodóvar film, says Banderas, may prove to be very daunting. "I'm
pretty scared, actually, to go back to Pedro. He's a tough director and not
an easy guy. He's very creative, but because he's the leader of the whole bunch
and controls practically everything from cinematography to costumes and makeup.
He is one of the directors that actually doesn't allow you to create very much.
In fact, I remember the times that I was working with him I used to say, 'I
have an idea' and he'd say 'No, no, you don't have ideas. I have the ideas.
You just come here very fresh in the morning, very happy and I will direct
you.' When you have a director that has the talent that he has, you immediately
jump into that pot and you don't care. If a director that I don't trust comes
without a story, I will say no way. If it's Pedro Almodóvar, I'll allow him
to do it"
Before returning to where it all began, Banderas is set to star in Zorro
2. Anthony Hopkins will not return but Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose
Hollywood career was truly cemented with the first Zorro, is back as is original
director Martin Campbell. "Last night I had dinner with Martin
and they're putting together the whole thing now." Comparing the sequel
to its predecessor Banderas says the new film "is a little bit more mature.
It still keeps the adventure feeling and it keeps us with a hero, which I think
is fundamental for Zorro. But this one is based on jealousy and concepts that
are more for us than for kids."
Also of interest to gossip minded adults is Banderas' nearly 10-year old marriage to Melanie Griffith which, according to the happy groom, is still running stronger than ever. "To be married in our profession is not an easy thing, as there are too many beautiful people around, very interesting people. It's just a matter of really being patient and probably having the capacity and the faith of falling in love with your own wife again, which happened to me," Banderas confesses. "It's almost like a fire that you just feed with little pieces of wood, little by little, and then if you cross a certain line around the sixth, seventh, eighth year, everything becomes easier. We are now actually living a beautiful time together rediscovering amounts of things that are not probably related to passion, but to some things that are more mature, that start driving us to maturity in a nice way. I don't know how to explain it actually, but it's a feeling and more a sense that goes to family, which is cool."