Spanish actor Antonio Banderas studied at the School of Dramatic Art in his home town of Malaga. He supported himself as a waiter and advertising model before making his stage debut in 1981. He made his film bow in director Pedro Almodovar's Labyrinth of Passion (1982), rapidly becoming a member in good standing of Almodovar's "stock company". When Banderas appeared as a homosexual in Almodovar's Law of Desire, his first male-to-male screen kiss made headlines in the Spanish press. International acclaim came to Banderas by way of such Almodovar films as Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989), and his roles in The Mambo Kings (1992) and Philadelphia (1993) as the lover of Tom Hanks' leading character solidified his reputation with American audiences. He continues to work in American films (Interview with the Vampire [1994], Miami Rhapsody [1995]) and makes an interesting turn in the actioner Desperado (1995). Banderas has made off-screen news as well for his romantic involvement with actress Melanie Griffith. Banderas has recently expressed a desire to play such character roles as Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, though he has also expressed concern that his good looks may work against such casting.