Cannes - Antonio Banderas said a
heart attack he suffered two years ago spurred him into a health
kick but also allowed him to reinvent himself as an actor, as he prepared to take on the lead role in Pedro
Almodovar's autobiographical new movie.
"It was fantastic advice for my life," Banderas said in an interview in Cannes.
"I don't smoke anymore, I do more exercise than ever. I feel
more clear in my brain and I kind of reinvented myself."
The 58-year-old Spaniard, known for films like The Mask of
Zorroand Evita.
Banderas said his health scare had also helped him wipe the
slate clean as he prepared to play protagonist Salvador,
something Almodovar was very demanding about.
"He wants you new, fresh, different, getting rid of all
these mannerisms," Banderas said.
The actor said he had not known at first that Almodovar, a
close friend, would be digging deep into his personal life for
the plotline of the new movie, which the director has described
as part autobiography, part fiction.
"(Almodovar) called me on the phone and he said 'I'm going
to send you a script that you are going to find (has) a lot of
references to people that you know'," Banderas said.
"So he sent it to me and I read it and I was (like) 'oh my
God, it's him'."