Expectation is the mother of all frustration.
Antonio Banderas
Everything changes as you get older - your mind, your body, the way you view the world.
The man who doesn't want anything is invincible.
I wake up every morning, look in the mirror and ask, 'Am I a sex symbol?' Then I go back to bed again. It's stupid to think that way.
It was an honor and privilege to arrive to this country 16 years ago with almost no money in my pocket. A lot has happened since then.
I divide my time badly.
I remember in 'Law of Desire,' where I played a homosexual, that people were more upset that I kissed a man on the mouth than I killed a man. It's interesting to see how people can pardon you for murdering a man, but they can't pardon you for kissing one.
I do yoga every morning, then I run for half an hour and take a sauna.
I love the diversity of America. I love the plain, normal sense of humor Americans have. It is not wicked, like in some countries. And I also love how new America is.
I couldn't be with someone who is depressed all the time.
There are some movies that I would like to forget, for the rest of my life - really! But even those movies that I'd like to forget teach me things.
When I do a political movie, I do a political movie.
Cats are very independent animals. They're very sexy, if you want. Dogs are different. They're familiar. They're obedient. You call a cat, you go, 'Cat, come here.' He doesn't come to you unless you have something in your hand that he thinks might be food. They're very free animals, and I like that.
If you call a cat, he may not come. Which doesn't happen with dogs. They're different types of animals. Cats are very sexy I think too in the way they move.
Melanie is more of a disciplinarian with the little girl than me, probably because it's my first baby. She gets everything easy from Papa. I am more weak. She takes advantage of me.
I think the problems with being older come when your body cannot do what your mind wants. Then, Houston, we have a problem.
I love my country. And I would have to renounce my Spanish citizenship to become a U.S. Citizen.
Sometimes I have wrinkles, in the morning. It depends on what kind of night that I had. I accept myself and the way that I am growing older. I have eye bags and some people have proposed to me to take them out but I said no.
Hollywood is a very strong machine that needs, and in... especially with female actors, fresh flesh. It's that cruel. But that's the way it is.
I often feel very guilty because of the time that I spend outside of my home and the little time that sometimes I have for my kids.
I get caught up in my bubble of reading, writing, or music.
Picasso is a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected. He deserves a lot of respect because I am from Malaga, and I was born four blocks from where he was born.
I like going everywhere. And I love starting new things.
Listen, I think movies serve many different purposes, from those movies that are frivolous and just an entertainment, to movies that just go to exploring the complexities of the human soul. Everything is valid if it's done with honesty and dignity, and I actually do both of those types of movies in my career.
There are some movies that I would like to forget, for the rest of my life. But even those movies teach me things.
I don't believe in any kind of fundamentalism.
I drink a bucket of white tea in the morning. I read about this tea of the Emperor of China, which is supposedly the tea of eternal youth. It's called Silver Needle. It's unbelievably expensive, but I get it on the Web.
I think Shrek makes an effect in older people. And there are many things in the movie that you saw that are not for kids. Kids would not understand certain things.
We are now integrated into American society and I don't like the word fashionable, because fashionable means that it's going to pass. It's not like that anymore.
I mean, the Constitution of this country was written 200 years ago. The house I was living in in Madrid is 350 years old! America is still a project, and you guys are working on it and bringing new things to it every day. That is beautiful to watch.
I've never worried about what audiences would accept or had a game plan regarding the career. I never had an idea of how I should look to my fans or anybody else.
It's a character that I always found really likable. I'm fond of Zorro because he was a popular figure who worked for the people.
I completely take on the risk, the poker game, which being an artist means, and I'm going to try to make a film which honestly reflects what I have in my head.
When you're feeling very comfortable with an actor, you are doing nothing.
You have to work with people you really love.
I did my first movie, 'The Mambo Kings,' in America without speaking the language. I learned the lines phonetically. I had an interpreter actually just to understand directions from my director.
People are not patient anymore.
I've done many different movies in many different contexts.
When you go to the movie theater and the opening of this movie and you see the kids just cracking up with a character you are giving your voice to, you get goose bumps. It's so beautiful.
I think we are realising that governments can't govern us any more.
There's something happening in the world that didn't happen before. We are acting like one big brain.
Up until the time I was 31 years old, in Spain, I still didn't know how I was going to pay the rent.
I long to get back into theater.
Films should be for everybody.
Characters don't belong to anyone, not even the person who plays them.
The only time you actually are a spectator of your own work is the day you read the script.
I'm still a promising actor. It's better to be climbing even if you have a lot of falls than to be descending. Maybe that's kept me young. I haven't gotten to any peak yet.
If bad things are going to be said about me, I have to bear that. If I don't understand that it's part of being in show business, then I'd better go work in a bank.
I'm not such a big star. I am just a little planet. In Spain, people don't put so much attention on the star system. But here in America, I can feel it. Mostly, people are very, very nice. But there are also a bunch of fanatics behind the stars.
I am lucky, that is all. Lucky because there are a lot of people - producers, directors, people who buy tickets - who put confidence in me.
