Toronto Film Festival 2019: ”I could’ve done a career only with the eight movies I’ve done with Almodóvar,“ the actor says
Though he’s worked with the Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar across eight films, Antonio Banderas found the most meaningful one yet was his work on “Pain and Glory,” in which Banderas is playing a thinly fictionalized version of the director himself.
Banderas recognized many of the moments in the film from Almodóvar’s life, and the director actually gave Banderas permission to utilize some of his mannerisms as a way of getting into character. But in an interview at the Toronto Film Festival, Banderas explained why he stuck to the script and made the character his own.
“He already provided me with his looks, his hair and the costumes, and we did an exact replica of the studio in his house,” Banderas told TheWrap’s Steve Pond. “But he came to the point in one of the rehearsals he said, ‘Don’t be afraid to use some of my mannerisms.” I said, ‘Uhhh, don’t think so. I think it’s going to separate the audience from a real movie. It’s going to become a caricature.”
Also Read: How Antonio Banderas Learned to Relax and Play His Old Friend (and Director) Pedro Almodóvar
It was a good choice, as Banderas won the Best Actor prize for his performance at Cannes and is earning major Oscar buzz as well. And the actor is very familiar with the role since “Pain and Glory” marks his eighth feature with the Oscar-winning auteur.
“I could’ve done a career only with the eight movies I’ve done with Almodóvar,” Banderas said. “That would’ve been worth [it] to be an actor.”
Watch the full interview above.
Brian Welk
Film Reporter • brian.welk@thewrap.com • Twitter: @brianwelk