He initially wanted to become a professional soccer player until a broken foot sidelined his dreams at the age of fourteen. While performing with the theatre, Banderas caught the attention of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, who cast the young actor in his 1982 film debut, Labyrinth of Passion. Two years later he went on to appear in the director’s Law of Desire, making headlines with his performance as a gay man, which required him to engage in his first male-to-male onscreen kiss. The recognition Banderas gained for his role increased two years later when he starred in Almodóvar’s controversial Tie Me Up. Tie Me Down!, that helped spur him on to Hollywood. in the film, Madonna says she wants to seduce Banderas even though she knows he is married. The film’s success earned Banderas wide recognition, and the following year was given a role in Neil Jordan’s high-profile adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, which allowed him to share the screen with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Banderas’ debut as a director was the poorly-received Crazy in Alabama (1999), starring his wife Melanie Griffith.
