Banderas says he will do voice-overs for the Spanish, Italian and Japanese versions of Shrek the Third.

"Spanish is obviously easy for me. Italian is not so bad. And, believe it or not, for Spanish people, neither is Japanese. I did some commercials in Japan, and the sounds are very similar. Of course, in Spanish, it's easier to be more creative. He has a different voice in Spanish. And a very pronounced lisp."

Banderas has made numerous Hollywood movies since his introduction to the United States with Mambo Kings in 1992. Then, he had to speak his lines phonetically. Now, he can carry on a conversation in English. But much was made of Penélope Cruz's striking performance in Pedro Almodovar's Volver and the fact that she was clearly more at home in her native language.

Does Banderas think he's a better actor in Spanish?

"Maybe I thought that in the beginning. Now I feel comfortable here; I feel comfortable there. I loved doing those Almodovar films, and if he calls me tomorrow, I would jump. But the truth is, behind Almodovar there was not so much. And how many movies could I do with Almodovar through the years? Coming here opened up many possibilities. Here I could do horror movies like Interview with the Vampire, social movies like Philadelphia, adventure movies like Zorro, action movies like Assassins, movies for kids like Spy Kids, animations like Shrek. I have done Broadway. I have been allowed to be eclectic."

BEHIND THE LENS

He still has a passion for smaller and smarter European films, which is where his production company, Green Moon, comes in. Soon to be released in the United States is Summer Rain, titled El Camino de los Ingleses in Europe and elsewhere. Banderas directed the coming-of-age film about a group of boys in southern Spain of the 1970s, and while it has been well received elsewhere, "maybe Americans don't have an appetite for this. It was made with $5 million. Yes, you can call it a coming-of-age, but it is way darker than that. I am trying to find my own narrative way as a director. In a way that is more personal than being an actor. As an actor you are interpreting somebody else's ideas. But as a director you put yourself behind the camera and try to tell people how you see the world. For example, I am not that interested in realism. I am more interested in a poetic way of looking at things."

Banderas has been in the United States 17 years, has an American wife, Melanie Griffith, and an American daughter, Estella del Carmen. But he says he is still 100 percent Spaniard. Which is why he's sitting inside a hotel conference room smoking a cigarette.

"Maybe one of the mistakes America makes is telling kids they have to be the best at everything. Maybe that's why things like school shootings happen in America. There is so much stress. Everybody is forced to try to be No. 1. Not everybody can be. Most of us are just average. And an average life can be a very good life. In America, people forget about basic pleasures. In Mediterranean culture the important things are good food, making love, taking a nap -- things that are very simple but at the same time are very sophisticated."

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