THE World Cup's loss was Hollywood's gain when the 14-year-old Antonio Banderas, who had dreams of being an international footballer, broke his foot,

And was unable to play again.nstead of strutting his stuff in La Liga, the Malaga native enrolled in drama school and eventually joined.

A theatre troupe that toured all over Spain. His hard work led to. An invitation to star with the country's top actors in the National Theatre of Spain.

Which in turn brought him to the attention of maverick director Pedro Almodovar. The Spanish auteur talked Banderas into starring.

In his next work, Labyrinth of Passion, and he went on to star in four more Almodovar flicks, most notably 1988's Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

Three years later, he grew tired of the Spanish film scene and moved to the US to try and make his name in Hollywood.

With his Latin features and Casanova-like appeal, he was an instant hit, landing roles in films like Truth or Dare, where he played the object of Madonna's advances, and The Mambo Kings, for which he had to memorise his lines phonetically since his English was still ropey.

He went on to become one of Tinseltown's most bankable stars, starring in a string of blockbusters including The Mask of Zorro, Philadelphia, Evita, Interview with the Vampire, Spy Kids and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

In May 1996, Banderas tied the knot with actress Melanie Griffith, with whom he has an 11-year-old daughter, Stella. A family man and private person, the Hollywood A-lister has retained a very down-to-earth attitude despite his huge success.

"I love what I do and that's why I do it. At the end of the day, you could be an enemy of your own success," he says.

Banderas' star took a nose-dive after a few box-office flops, but his career was revived when he voiced the deadly assassin, Puss-in-Boots, in the Shrek films – a role he reprises for his latest vehicle, Shrek Forever After.

"Because I had been playing characters that were, in some ways, bigger than life and heroic, putting it into a tiny body of a pussy cat was fun," he says.

In the fourth of the animated films, Shrek – voiced by Mike Myers – finds himself in an twisted alternate reality of Far Far Away after being duped into signing a magical pact with Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn).

With Shrek turned back into a scary ogre, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) as a warrior and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) as a slave, where does that leave the swashbuckling Puss?

"This last one is very surprising because Puss is very fat," Banderas reveals, laughing. "He just let himself go badly, so he doesn't feel like hunting any more or killing others – he's just lazy, very lazy."

Banderas says that when the scriptwriters came up with this story of an alternative reality and the characters not really knowing each other, it was almost like starting afresh.

"I thought it was just a fantastic concept, and the re-imagination of Puss as this spoiled, pampered pet is inspired," he enthuses.

Shrek may be on his way out, with this latest instalment rumoured to be the last, but his much-loved Puss-in-Boots character will be back with his very own spin-off, which opens in cinemas next year.

"It is a slightly different style to Shrek," Banderas says. "It is like a spaghetti western. It is almost like a Quentin Tarantino movie. It's fun and kind of emotional. In the beginning you see Puss-in-Boots when he was a . . . I was going to say a kid, but he's not a kid, right? He's a kitty. So we see him in an orphanage and the events which make him Puss-in-Boots."

Before then, the Spaniard can be seen in the forthcoming You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, which saw him working Woody Allen – a big hero of his. "It was great but weird at the same time," he says of teaming up with the legendary director.

"When I was 25, I worked in Madrid wearing a T-shirt printed with his face. So, being on the set and seeing the same guy on my T-shirt – he is literally the same guy because he wears the same glasses and the same hat – it was quite impressive."

Allen is known to be a tricky customer to work with, but Banderas didn't have any problems. "I loved working with him," he confirms. "Somebody said he was difficult but that wasn't the case. I talked to him a lot. All you have to do is just talk about jazz and he will go on and on.

Banderas, who turns 50 in August, has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood – including Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – but he still has an ambition he'd like to fulfil.

"I have admired many of my colleagues in the business but I would love to work with Robert De Niro," he beams. "He is one of my heroes, and I have yet to work with someone of that calibre. He was the one who inspired me through films like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver. When I started doing movies, I would say, 'I want to be like that guy, he is so convincing'.

I thought he was so powerful and so special."Women may disagree with the man once included in Empire's 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History, but Banderas doesn't consider himself a sex symbol. "I don't believe it. Come on," he exclaims. "When you get to my age and look in the mirror, how can you think that?"