Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
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high-profile marriage to Melanie Griffith, the houses in Aspen, Los Angeles, and his native Spain. "I didn't really plan any of it. I suppose that's how it works. You set out one way and end up somewhere completely unexpected." "T Navy double- breasted suit, Simon Spurr (price on request). simon-spurr.com. White dress shirt, Gucci ($495). 203 S. Galena St., 970-920-9150; gucci.com. Blue silk tie, Ermenegildo Zegna ($150). 211 S. Galena St., 970-544-4989; zegna.com Something about Banderas's tone makes you believe him, given his enthusiasm and genuine o tell you the truth, it was a total accident," Antonio Banderas says. He laughs as he refers to his remarkable career and, by extension, a surreal life—the movies, the Banderas says. He is also preparing to play Pablo Picasso, a role he has dreamed about since child- hood. Like Picasso, Banderas grew up in the Spanish municipality of Málaga. The drama, 33 Days, which goes into production in Spain and France next summer, is the story behind Picasso's antiwar masterpiece, Guernica. The project is very personal for Banderas. "I remember seeing Picasso walk the streets of Málaga at the end of his life," he says. "If you grew up in Málaga and were even a little creative, you ended up under the enormous shadow of his talent. I know I did. Picasso made everybody in that region think deeply about what BANDERAS HAS PULLED OFF THAT RARE HOLLYWOOD FEAT—HE HAS NEVER REALLY GONE OUT OF STYLE. sense of appreciation. The second he starts talk- ing, it's obvious he is grateful for his enduring run as one of Hollywood's most likable and versatile leading men, and all that goes with the territory. "Even the paparazzi and peo- ple pointing iPhones at you, it's fine, even on a bad-hair day," he says in his self- effacing style. "I'd definitely be more upset if nobody was paying attention." People have been paying attention to Banderas for a long time. Since his breakout role in 1992's The Mambo Kings and on through Philadelphia, The Mask of Zorro, Desperado, and such family classics as Spy Kids, Puss in Boots, and three of the four Shrek films, the actor, now 51, has pulled off that rarest of Hollywood feats—he has never really gone out of style. Whether making intense, critically acclaimed Spanish-language films with six-time collaborator Pedro Almodóvar or cracking up third-graders one hairball joke at a time as the voice of the swashbuckling Puss, Banderas finds an admiring audience for virtu- ally everything he does. In his next film, he will star opposite Annette Bening in the comedy He Loves Me, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris of Little Miss Sunshine fame. "Nothing [Valerie and Jonathan] do in comedy is predictable, which is why I love them," 110 ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM they could contribute, what talent they had inside, whether or not they had the stuff of greatness." It took Banderas a while to figure that out for himself. His father was an officer in Spain's mili- tary police force, the Guardia Civil. His mother was a teacher. Although his parents enjoyed the- ater, they were not pleased when young Antonio, who first thought he would play pro soccer, declared he wanted to become a film actor. "To me movies were what was cool, and they repre- sented America," he says. "We had this little black-and-white TV, and I'd watch the films of Orson Welles and Billy Wilder, and later Woody Allen and Mike Nichols, and think, This is the world I want to be in, even if it turns out to be a lot of weirdness and no money." Fortunately, things have gone significantly bet- ter. Banderas was 21 and serving coffee at the National Madrid Theater when Almodóvar spot- ted him and said, "You should be in movies." The actor already had something of a cult following from his first feature, Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap. But through Almodóvar's odd, smart, sexy films—Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! —Banderas gained a wider following. His first English-language movie was The Mambo Kings, although Banderas did not actually speak English during the filming. "I