One of the leading international actors of his generation, ANTONIO BANDERAS (Nicolas Bardo) earned critical praise and a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination for his acting and vocal talents as Che Guevara opposite Madonna in Alan Parker's 1996 big-screen adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical Evita. He earned a second Golden Globe nomination for the title role in the box office hit The Mask of Zorro, opposite Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. In 1999, he made his directorial debut with Crazy in Alabama, starring Melanie Griffith.

Banderas is currently starring opposite Lucy Liu in the explosive action adventure Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever and in Robert Rodriguez' Spy Kids 2, and he also has a cameo in the biopic Frida, starring Salma Hayek. In 2003, he will star with Johnny Depp, Salma Hayek and Willem Dafoe in Rodriguez' western crime drama Once Upon a Time in Mexico and with Emma Thompson in Imagining Argentina.

Born in Malaga, Spain, Banderas attended the School of Dramatic Art in his hometown and, upon graduation, began his acting career at a small theater company based there. He moved to Madrid in 1981 and became an ensemble member of the prestigious National Theater of Spain, where he remained through 1986.

In 1982, Banderas was cast by writer/director Pedro Almodovar in Labyrinth of Passion, beginning a professional collaboration between the two that would continue through four more films: Matador, Law of Desire, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! During this time, Banderas also acted in more conventional Spanish dramas, including The Stilts, The Pleasure of Killing and Baton Rouge.

The international success of Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! brought Banderas to the attention of American audiences and led to his American film debut in 1992 as a young Cuban musician in The Mambo Kings. At the time he was cast in the movie, Banderas spoke no English and had to learn all of his dialogue phonetically.

The Mambo Kings provided Banderas with a springboard to significant supporting roles in four major productions in two years: Philadelphia, House of the Spirits, Interview with the Vampire and Miami Rhapsody. His first starring role in an American film was in the 1995's Desperado. Among his additional film credits are Never Talk to Strangers, Assassins, Four Rooms, Two Much, The 13th Warrior, Original Sin and Play it to the Bone.