CANNES, France, May 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Famed Spanish movie star Antonio  Banderas, who resides in the United States, announced his intention to try his hand at directing and said he was engaged in a couple of scenarios for two films, one of which is about the last years of the Arab-Islamic civilization in Spain or Andalusia.

Banderas, married to Melanie Griffith – who was honored last year by the Cannes film festival, explained at a press conference Saturday, May 25, that he wanted to show the co-existence of the three divine revelations: Islam, Christianity and Judaism in that era of Islamic rule, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

About his part in the Spring 2001 Femme Fatale, directed by Brian De Palma and produced by Tunisian Tareq bin Ammar, Banderas said he didn’t want to do that role. The director, though, urged him to play it his own way, he said, so he thought it over for a couple of days before he finally accepted.

Banderas succeeded where many other Spanish actors have failed. He worked his way into Hollywood, and he managed to stay, securing increasingly good roles and avoiding being slotted as the archetypal Latin lover, although a losing battle against his Spanish accent does limit the type of character he can play.

Banderas is generally considered open, personable, free of eccentricities, and a delight to work with. He is also smart and incredibly lucky.

Antonio Banderas was born José Antonio Dominguez Bandera in Malaga, southern Spain, on August 10, 1960. His father was a policeman and his mother a school teacher, and Banderas enjoyed an uncomplicated middle-class childhood. His principal talent at school was playing soccer, and as a boy he dreamed of becoming a football star.

When Banderas was 14, he saw a performance at Malaga's local theater of the musical Hair, and he was so moved he was determined to become an actor. Much to the distress of his family, he enrolled in drama school and joined a local theater group.

Yearning for the big break, he packed his bags and moved to Madrid, landing minor roles on the stage. His screen debut was a part in Laberinto de Pasiَn (1982), directed by Pedro Almodovar, for which he was paid 100,000 pesetas It was Almodovar who suggested he use Antonio Banderas as his stage name.

He went on to play minor roles in a handful of Spanish movies, but Almodovar was the one to launch him on the road to stardom with a more substantial part in Matador (1985). Soon, Banderas was a permanent fixture in the Almodovar stable, with roles in three more of the director's movies.

By the 1990s, Banderas broke ties with Almodovar and started on his own. His first appearance in a major international production was alongside Armand Assante in The Mambo Kings (1992), which was not a big hit but which provided him with a firm foothold in America.