NEWSAntonio Banderas Reveals the 'Secret' to His Amicable Relationship With Ex Melanie Griffith
Antonio Banderas got candid about his relationship with his ex-wife Melanie Griffith, whom he shares daughter Stella Banderas with.
The 63-year-old actor and the 66-year-old actress divorced in 2015 after almost two decades of marriage. The Puss in Boots star also became stepfather to Griffith’s two other children: Alexander Bauer, 38, whom she shares with Stephen Bauer and Dakota Johnson, 34, whom she has with Don Johnson.
Antonio Banderas is known for his role in 'Mask of Zorro.'
To begin the conversation, Antonio revealed how he and the Working Girl alum have been successful co-parents.
"The secret is just to understand each other," he stated. "I'm a very good friend of my ex-wife. I don't have anything against her. She's a wonderful woman and I still respect and support that idea that everything that happened between her and me for 20 years was beautiful."
"Of course, we had our bad moments," Antonio noted. "But the thing that I will remember forever is those beautiful moments that we had together. And one of those beautiful moments has to do with our kids and the family."
Antonio now spends most of his time in Spain, as he owns a theater in his hometown, but he did mention that whenever he is visiting Los Angeles, he never fails to spend time with Griffith and their blended family.
Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas share one child.
"If I go to Los Angeles, the first thing there that I do is call her," he explained. "We go for dinner, we just get together, the whole entire family. And so that is very important. Not only to us but to the rest of the family."
"I think the kids — I think we did well," he said.
Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas' daughter, Stella, is 27-years-old.
The Spy Kids actor revealed that Stella plans to follow her parent's footsteps in Hollywood.
"Maybe but not in front of the camera, at least not now," he told the interviewer. "She's doing short movies, she's directing, she's studied acting and she's going to start directing some commercials too. And I think she's going to end up directing movies."
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Melanie Griffith won a Golden Globe for her performance in 'Working Girl.'
Additionally, Antonio gushed over his stepdaughter Dakota, who became an A-lister after starring in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.
"Dakota is a superstar," he noted. "She's a bigger star than me. And so what can I say? Nothing to say about that, except ‘I support you.’"
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He explained that Stella enjoys working behind the camera rather than in front of it, adding that she has an "intellectual approach to cinema."
"She thought about that many times and she probably thought about jumping in front of the camera because I remember talking about that with her," Antonio stated. "She went to the Academy of Acting but she's shy in a way and I think she feels more protected there with more capacity to tell a story than if she is in front of the camera."
Fox News Digital interviewed Antonio.
