Desperado, 1995

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Writer and Director: Robert Rodriguez

Other Actors: Salma Hayek, Joaquim Almeida, Steve Buscemi, Cheech Marin

This $7 million movie produced, written, edited and directed by Robert Rodriguez was Antonio's first leading role in America and his first-ever action movie. It is a major fan favorite. More than any other movie, this one made him a star in America, and cemented his sex-symbol status. This movie allowed Antonio to display his wonderful ability to develop a character through physical acting. As Edwin Jahiel says, "Banderas moves like a combination matador-ballet star, jumps like a gymnast-acrobat-trapeze artist, shooting twin guns all the while scoring bull's eyes on villains."

Antonio makes the mariachi 'hero' violent, funny and sexy all at the same time. The story is a continuation of El Mariachi which Rodriguez had made for about 7 thousand dollars (selling his blood to raise money) -- unheard of in Hollywood. In El Mariachi the guitar player's girlfriend is killed by drug dealers and his hand is shot by the same men. In Desperado, the mariachi seeks revenge for both acts.

Antonio performed all of his own stunts including leaping backwards off the roof of a building.

But the character isn't all gymnastics. According to Antonio, "Action heroes are not supposed to be vulnerable but I wanted to show his vulnerability, his struggle and pain, to create different edges in his character. I wanted to give him a soul struggle. He carries his pain constantly but every time he kills, he doesn't feel good, he doesn't make jokes. He's in a nightmare."

Antonio also carried the pain literally as he was often sore and bruised after performing stunts that included flipping head-first over a bar with a gun in both hands. Some critics protested the level of violence in the film (Antonio estimates that he killed over 80 men) but Antonio feels that the violence is so over-the-top and cartoonish that it can't be taken seriously.

"Working with Antonio was amazing," said Rodriguez. "When I first met him, he had such energy and passion and I couldn't believe nobody had shot him that way. He can just melt the screen with his presence. I was working with an extremely experienced actor but it was almost like I pulled him off another planet because nobody had seen him in an action film so he was someone new and exciting."

Salma Hayek, Antonio's beautiful co-star, admits that Antonio is a great kisser -- "He eats your mouth." -- but was even more impressed by his kindness and sensitivity. In the scene where Antonio and Salma are on the roof of a building the strong winds kept blowing her skirt up. Embarassed, she struggled with her costume. The cameras rolled as Antonio hauled her up the side of a wall onto another rooftop and he very subtly swept his hand down Salma's leg to lower her billowing skirt as he did so.

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A producer called Antonio aside one day and told him that they had a problem.

"What problem?" asks Antonio.
"The character should not smoke on screen because he is a hero," was the reply.
"Do you believe he's a hero? I believe that he is simply a type that is searching for revenge and knows that he is acting wrong, but he cannot quit doing it because it is stronger than he is."
"But... that is wrong for the public," says the producer, still referring to the smoking. "Look man," steams Antonio, "I am doing a scene in which I kill sixteen guys in a bar, all of a sudden. Christ, what does it matter to you or anybody that I smoke a cigarette when I have just killed sixteen human beings?"
The smoking stayed in the movie.

Rodriguez and Antonio became close friends while making this movie. "It is not easy to find a friend like Antonio. In Hollywood people are very impersonal, but Antonio is like a brother."

In Desperado Antonio sings and plays the guitar.

Desperado is the second in the El Mariachi trilogy.

Fotogamas magazine described Antonio as having enough energy "to re-animate a corpse."

Before shooting Desperado, Antonio and his wife, Ana Leza, spent a week in Somalia, invited by UNICEF a charity for children long supported by Antonio.