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Antonio Banderas to Star in Pedro Almodovar's 'Skin I Live In'

by Ethan Anderton
May 5, 2010

Quite the interesting reunion is shaping up in Spanish cinema as THR reports Antonio Banderas will star in Pedro Almodovar's next film La Piel que Habito (literally translated as The Skin I Live In). It's been 20 years since the duo worked on the steamy thriller ¡Átame! (aka Tie Me Up! Time Me Down!) and the two will be teaming up for yet another intense thriller which has Banderas as a plastic surgeon seeking revenge on the man who raped his daughter. Almodovar has crafted some incredible Spanish films, including Broken Embraces last year, but this new revenge thriller sounds quite intense for both the director and Banderas.

Almodovar also mentions that his frequent collaborator and muse, the lovely Penelope Cruz, will not be appearing in the film, but when you hear how he talks about the story and Banderas' character in the film, we certainly might be able to handle the absence of her beauty this time:

The film will be a terror film, without screams or scares. It's difficult to define and although it comes close to the terror genre -- something that appeals to me that I've never done -- I won't respect any of its rules. It's the harshest film I've ever written and Banderas' character is brutal. I could have continued with a puerile guy with an overpowering power of seduction [from 'Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'], but this guy [in "Skin"] is a real psychopath and Antonio, at 50, is perfect for this exercise is something so different from anything I've done until now."

Aside from his voice work in the Shrek franchise, Banderas' film career has taken a back seat to his work on Broadway (he was actually the original performer of the lead role in Nine which was brought to screen by Daniel Day-Lewis last year), but it looks like he's poised to return in a big way starting later this year with a role in Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger as well as a pivotal role in Steven Soderbergh's action flick Knockout, which is scheduled to release sometime in 2011. It's been quite a while since he's done something truly great as a lead actor, so I'm hoping a Spanish filmmaking master like Almodovar can bring the best of Banderas back to the big screen. How about you guys? Anyone else a big Banderas fan?

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