In January 2017, Antonio Banderas, 61, suffered a heart attack that changed his life. He decided it was time to return home to Malaga, leave the stress of Hollywood behind and pursue his dream of a lifetime. He shaped it with the inauguration of his Teatro del Soho in 2019, which premiered with A Chorus Line and he on the boards. With an annual budget of around seven million euros, the stage space is the tip of the iceberg of a plan that, in the long term, includes the construction of a second alternative room, an auditorium and a technical school for theater production and management. Meanwhile, he has created a television production company, a symphony orchestra and has opened four restaurants. It will soon add a jazz club. It employs 300 people. He maintains a powerful real estate portfolio and his work in films such as Uncharted or indiana jones 5 They help you balance the accounts. “Now I know that everything is possible in Malaga”, she said during the presentation of Companyhis second musical, which he directs and stars in.
Banderas has always been linked to Malaga, but it is now that he has multiplied his involvement in local life. He lives in the center, in an attic that he acquired in 2014, although he has a house in Marbella. At the same time, he gets rid of a house in London – on the market for 3.51 million – and sold the mansion he shared with Melanie Griffith in Los Angeles for 14 million. Since his move in 2019 he has participated in numerous events, such as the turning on of the Christmas lights. He is a regular face of the Starlite Festival. During Holy Week he lends a hand to the Reales Cofradías Meridas. He has even left the door open to becoming a shareholder of Málaga CF. He is known throughout the planet and his simple presence has caused an economic impact on the city that is difficult to quantify, but with numerous intangibles. Theatrical taxi drivers are delighted, as are the hoteliers. “It has boosted bookings. It is the excuse for many of our clients to come and stay for several days. I wish there were more Antonio Banderas in other cities,” says Yeyo Ballesteros, communications director for the Room Mate chain. “His commitment to Malaga benefits us, it gives us a lot of visibility,” summarizes the mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre.
The actor has real estate properties on the Costa del Sol – his company, Glassmore Investments, reflects a capital of eight million euros – and his own perfume. However, the theater is now the axis of his future plans. “You can like it more or less on stage, but what no one can doubt is the facet of an entrepreneur,” says Javier Domínguez, his brother and his right-hand man. “He puts us all at ease,” he points out with amusement during a talk in the gleaming stalls. Domínguez acts as administrator of the companies and the theater, a dream that has been slow in coming. Banderas thought about it in 2000 for Madrid, but ended up losing a million euros. In 2004 he became interested in the auditorium that Malaga was planning for the western area. He did not forge either. And in 2017 the actor caressed him after winning the ideas contest for a plot of land in the Plaza de la Merced, which he abandoned tired of “the insults, disqualifications and humiliating treatment” of local politics. He was finally compensated in the old Alameda cinemas. He agreed with the property on a rent of 225,000 euros per year —which finances his Antonio Banderas Theater Foundation— and he completely remodeled it with pleasure. “When I die I will not be able to take money with me,” he said in an interview with Icon.
A capacity of 800 spectators has allowed it to bring Broadway to Malaga with productions in style. just lift Company, with a cast of 14 people and 26 live musicians, has cost two million euros. The economic risk is high, it requires daily filling. But as you did A Chorus Line, Company he has achieved it. More than 40,000 people have passed through its first 50 performances. It is the only opportunity to see Banderas on stage. When the company travels, another actor substitutes for him. The strategy works. 50% of viewers come from outside the capital. The box office is basic to pay the payroll of the 200 theater workers. Among them, the cast of A Chorus Line, now in Madrid. There, a covid outbreak paralyzed performances for a week and cost 800,000 euros. The health crisis has been his big headache. “What is the worst that can happen to you if you buy a theater? A pandemic? Well, there it is”, the actor has said on different occasions.
During confinement, an ERTE was applied to the workforce, but he wasted no time. He diversified the activity. He created an audiovisual production company that, under the direction of María Casado, premiered with a program on Amazon Prime. Then came the 2021 Goya gala, a campaign for the Diputación de Málaga and a spot for the Giants, eSports team. now produce the three doors for Spanish Television. The second bet has been the restoration. In the last six months, Banderas has opened three restaurants next to the theater, where El Tercer Acto was already operating. They are Atrezzo, La Barra de Doña Inés and Doña Inés. They add an investment of three million and a hundred employees. They attract diners from the public that comes to the room, which beyond musicals includes performances and concerts. The interpreter began in restoration in 2017, acquiring the premises and part of the shareholding of a Malaga classic, El Pimpi, in alliance with Pablo Gonzalo. He is also his partner in the new gastronomic openings in the new company El Tercer Acto. Both joined to bid for the management of the House of Boats of the port, but withdrew. Now they plan a jazz club near the theater. With them, the Soho neighborhood has woken up. “It acts as a point of great interest for the city”, highlights Rebecca Evans, director of the ICON Malabar hotel.
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As he searches for land for a theater trades school, an auditorium and a second alternate courtroom, Banderas walks off the stage every Monday and Tuesday. They are the gaps that he takes advantage of to promote films like Uncharted, in which she stars alongside Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. In a few days he will do the same with official competition. And soon he will travel to finish filming indiana jones 5. He only goes to Hollywood on a few occasions, his millionaire salaries pay him off. “Theatre doesn’t make money. It is in the movies where money is made ”, clarifies his brother, who emphasizes that the theatrical project is not for profit. “If there are profits, they are reinvested in the next show,” explains Domínguez. They lack public aid, money that Banderas defines as poisoned. To make up for it, he pulls sponsors. Caixabank is the main partner, but El Corte Inglés, Metrovacesa, Málaga Towers, Cervezas Victoria, Vithas and Porcelanosa also contribute. Companies from Malaga also give their support in exchange for certain privileges, such as attending an annual dinner with Banderas in one of his restaurants. It all adds up.
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