Antonio Banderas and his taste for variety

Antonio Banderas, who plays the villain in “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,” says variety is the spice of life.

The Spanish-born actor has starred in dramas (“Philadelphia”), comedies (”Two Much”), musicals (“Evita”), horror films (“Interview With the Vampire”), action movies (“Desperado”) and adventures (“The Mask of Zorro”). His credits for the younger set include “Spy Kids,” “Shrek” and “Puss in Boots.”

“To me, yes, but this is my way of understanding this profession. To me acting means visiting many genres and very different characters. … I really like the possibility of change, and since I came to the United States I have virtually tried it all,” Banderas told the Associated Press in a recent interview.

“One of my biggest satisfactions as an actor was, a few years ago, when I was strolling in New York and I walked by a movie theater and saw that they were showing ‘Puss in Boots’ in one theater and ‘The Skin I Live In’ in another.”

In “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,” which opens Friday, Banderas plays Burger-Beard, a pirate who steals the precious recipe of the iconic Krabby Patty, forcing SpongeBob and his friends to leave their aquatic animated world for the real one, determined to recover it.

This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Antonio Banderas and his taste for variety."