After being in the game for over 30 years, Antonio Banderas has well and truly cemented himself as Hollywood royalty. Starting his career in his native country of Spain during the 80s working with Pedro Almodóvar, it wasn’t long before Banderas was appearing in a slew of major critical and box office Hollywood hits including Philadelphia (1993), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Desperado (1995) and Evita (1996). Fast-forward 25 years, and he's still riding strong as evidenced by his impressive turn as the villainous Santiago Moncada in Sony's new Tom Holland-led franchise Uncharted.With nearly 100 movies in his repertoire, covering an array of genres ranging from explosive big-budget action adventures to indie romances, there’s certainly a lot of great Banderas movies to choose from. With numerous awards wins and nominations including a Cannes Best Actor Award and European Film Award for Best Actor, and nominations for a Tony Award, an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five Golden Globe Awards, these are the best Antonio Banderas movies, ranked.
8 Spy Kids (2001)
Spy Kids was somewhat of a revelation. It was directed by Robert Rodriguez, who is a longtime collaborator of Antonio Banderas, and is known for his ultraviolent and very adult output. This time around, though, he focused his attention on families and children with Spy Kids, and it was actually pretty decent. Rodriguez managed to make a family movie that didn’t talk down to kids and have to resort to an abundance of toilet humor, slapstick gags, or on overload of bright colors and loud noises to keep children entertained.
Banderas plays a suave, mustached superspy who, along with his fellow spy wife (Carla Gugino), initially have to hide their professions from their children. Kind of James Bond-with-kids, the story follows the two young siblings, played superbly by Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara, who are forced to quickly learn the family business of international espionage in order to rescue their parents after their parents' mission goes awry. The result is an hour and a half of highly stylized action sequences and plenty of laughs in this fun family film that spawned three sequels and a spin-off animated series.
7 Pain and Glory (2019)
Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria) is a 2019 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar starring Antonio Banderas alongside Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, and Penélope Cruz. The plot revolves around Banderas’ character Salvador Mallo, a film director, as he reflects on the choices he's made in life as the past and present come crashing down around him. One of his greatest all-time performances, Banderas really displayed great emotional depth here, rarely seen before. As a result, Banderas was nominated for the ‘Best Actor’ at the 2020 Academy Awards, his first and only Oscar nomination.
6 Desperado (1995)
A sequel spawned from the success of Rodriguez’s micro budget El Mariachi effort; Desperado ups the ante in almost every way possible. With a larger budget and spoken in English, we see Antonio Banderas step in to take over the lead role of El Mariachi, a notorious and feared nomad guitar player, as he seeks revenge on the drug lord who killed his lover. Desperado is chock-a-block full of graphic violence and clever dialogue (a particularly funny scene featuring Tarantino recalling a humorous story in a bar springs to mind), and gives Banderas the perfect opportunity to showcase his ability to be a charismatic and enticing leading man. The movie is also notable for providing Salma Hayek her breakout role, which is most definitely a good thing.
5 Shrek 2 (2004)
When Shrek was released in 2001, it became a huge international hit, appealing to adults and children alike, cleverly blending playful characters and fairy-tale tropes with some hidden mature humor and parodies thrown in for the adults. The animation was beautiful, and the voice cast was stellar. A sequel was inevitable, but to keep it fresh, DreamWorks decided to throw in a few new characters, the most notable being Puss In Boots. Voiced by Antonio Banderas, Puss quickly became a fan favorite. He was inspired by the title character of the fairy tale "Puss in Boots," but clearly based on Banderas’ own portrayal of Zorro, from The Mask of Zorro, released 6 years prior. While maybe not quite as ground-breaking as the original Shrek, Shrek 2 went onto become a huge hit at the box office breaking numerous records at the time.
4 Philadelphia (1993)
A gutsy and important movie, Philadelphia is one of the first mainstream Hollywood movies to really tackle the issues surrounding HIV and AIDS. Most of the film's praise was heaped on Tom Hanks for his Oscar winning portraying of Andy Beckett, a gay man with AIDS — the role arguably laid the foundation for the rest of Hanks’ career, allowing him to break free from the more lighthearted roles he’d been type cast in during the 80s and become the diverse, all-round acting sensation we know him as now. It’s important not to forget, however, the importance and quality of the supporting cast in this movie, which includes a superb outing from Denzel Washington and Antonio Banderas as Andy’s partner.
3 Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Interview with the Vampire is a sprawling gothic horror vampire epic chronicling the relationship of two vampires, played by Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, over the span of more than 100 years. The movie is a masterclass in atmospheric direction as Neil Jordan manages to keep up the thrills, frights and intrigue for the two-hour run-time without a single lull. A colorful array of supporting characters who come and go at various stages of the plot keep the story engaging, including Christian Slater as the reporter conducting the titular interview, and Antonio Banderas, a morally confused vampire the two encounter on their journeys.
2 The Mask of Zorro (1998)
Released in 1998, The Mask of Zorro has gone onto to become considered one of the greatest swashbuckling adventure movies of modern times. While it wasn’t the first time Zorro, created by Johnston McCulley, had appeared on the big screen, Antonio Banderas’ portrayal of the masked vigilante has certainly become the definitive version. The Mask of Zorro well and truly cemented Banderas as a capable and charismatic A-list leading man as he held his own in a movie also starring acting legend Anthony Hopkins. With strong performances all around, a fun plot, and plenty of enthralling white-knuckle stunt work, The Mask of Zorro was a huge hit with critics and fans alike, providing Catherine Zeta-Jones with her breakthrough performance and spawning the sequel The Legend of Zorro in 2005.
1 The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito )(2001)
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, The Skin I live In is a fantastically twisted and macabre Spanish-language science fiction thriller, which is totally original and totally engrossing. Antonio Banderas plays plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Ledgard with his trademark debonair style and smoothness, but with an underlying menace. Since losing his own wife to a fire, he has tried to develop a new skin that guards the body from fire, but is still sensitive to touch. While the intention may be pure, let’s just say his methods are far from ethical, with his test subject being held prisoner in his home for over 12 years. Far more than just a thriller/horror, the movie touches upon multiple aspects including date rape, murder, secrets, lies, mystery parents, gender ambiguity. New York Times described it as ‘existential mystery, a melodramatic thriller, a medical horror film or just a polymorphous extravaganza’.