tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. this evening, my conversation with spanish actor antonio banderas. has a new film, "the skin i live in," and "puss in boots." and a revival of the classical musical "missouri -- zorba" is also on the way. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard.

it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where walmart stands together with better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every s iwer, nationwide insurance oi joun tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> brought to you by the aarp foundation. w. k. kellogg foundation, the lives of local children. learn more at wkkf.org. better future for american kids and families. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: please welcome antonio banderas to this program. he has tanmed up with pedro alpdovar for "the skin i live in."

here are some scenes from "the skin i live in." tavis: i was saying to you while the clip was playing, i love movies that make me think. you are going to have to pay attention to this movie. if you do not pay attention, you are going to get lost. you do have to pay attention. >> i was saying there are so

many movies in the world that you have to pay attention. everything is pretty cooked, so you just too comfortable in the theater. i am not against that. listen. i think movies serve many different purposes, from those movies that are frivolous and just entertainment to movies that go to exploring the complexities of the human soul. everything is valid if it is done with honesty and dignity. i actually do both of those type of movies in my career. but sometimes, and this time in my life, i want to go back to spain. i want to go back to the man i worked with to make many movies back in the 80's, breaking all of the rules of cinematics. >> is it fair to say that pedro made you a star? >> he made me an actor. he made me an actor. and it is true that when i came

to america he helped me, because the professional world here in the united states really appreciated what he did. he was almost like a presentation card. when i used to go to studios for auditions, and they said to me, "what have you done," he was the guy, pedro almodovar. he opened the door for me to have access to places i probably would not have. tavis: unpacked this for me. what is happening or not happening in your life for now that makes you want to return to him to break all the rules? >> maybe because i have been working in the united states for 21 years. in a way, i am kind of handicap here to a very strict number of characters that can be offered to me. you had the feeling when i came to this country 21 years ago that i could not speak the

language of all. i did "the mambo kings" but speaking a language. i learned the lines unethically. i have an interpreter to understand what i was hearing from my director. in a box, in a way. that allows me to play a specific number of characters with a specific number of directors. i have done a lot of epics, mainly spanish characters, which i absolutely prefer, because i am proud of my heritage and community. but at this point, you want to do something a little more substantial. the possibility to do that was coming at this time in my life from the hand of my dear friend, who i respect and admire, pedro almodovar, with whom i did five movies in the decade of the 80's, a very interesting spain that was changing from a dictatorship to a democracy. there were people that were

defying the rules of cinema to gravity, in a way, just putting in front of an audience things they never saw before with the process we invented by hand, touching issues that were almost forbidden at the time in spain. i needed a little bit of that kind of acid feeling in my acting. tavis: you said three things i want to go back and unpack. this will be a lot of fun. i want to pick apart a few things. in no particular order, you referenced that you were coming of age as a young actor when spain was going from a dictatorship to democracy. >> correct tavis: you are a long line now from being harassed and threatened from being on the stage. take me back to those days when you were being badly treated just for being an actor on stage in spain.

>> i remember very specifically there was a group in catalonia, a region of spain. they were arrested because they did a play that was against the police in spain. we were complaining about that, doing theater in southwest spain. many groups got together to complain about that action by the government of spain, putting these kids in jail. i remember performing on stage, and i remember looking in the wings and seeing this shiny thing. i did not know what it was. it was something shiny there. the then, when the curtain came down, i realized the shiny thing was a helmet of the cops in spain. we got on the stage and got on the ground. we were handcuffed and taken to the police station. but then, the funny thing was

the chief of police -- when i got there, i had my face painted in white. he looked at me and said, "what are you doing here?" he said, "go home." we went on to the street because of that. but there were difficult times, because we were not allowed to talk about the things we wanted to talk about. everything was forbidden. in spain, when i was a kid, i remember everything was in a state of agitation. everything was fine. it was an eerie feeling. those are the things i remember, when that thing passed, when i

could look back, when i was 25, 27, and we were in a democracy. i looked back at those times and thought we did not have any information coming from the exterior. it was difficult to read certain books and what certain movies. it was a very repressive system. tavis: what does that kind of repressive system do for the flourishing or the suffocating of one's artistic gift? >> it is interesting, because it plays both ways. it is true that you are not allowed to say certain things in the way you want to save them, but at the same time, in a way, you become more awake. you become very alert, and you become very critical. and that is good for art. you continuously question life in the way of why this is

happening to you and why in this country there is more freedom. that provoked many artists in the time, the 40 years, we had dictatorship in spain. they came very strongly with very interesting ideas, basically, about freedom. sometimes, if you have all those freedoms you may take it for granted, and you may get a little bit sleepy as an artist. i am not saying that to be an artist you need to be repressed all the time. but it is a knife with a double blade. if you are smart enough, you can actually make art out of what apparently is wrong, is bad to you. tavis: you mentioned that you have been in this country as an actor for about 21 years. you are clearly a huge star in

spain. you could have stayed there. you could move back to spain. and every artist, in a different country outside of the u.s., has to decide what is the journey that he or she will take. some decide to stay in their native country and do what they do in their native country. you made a decision to come here. why and what was it pulling you here, when you could be the star that you are when you walk down the streets of spain? >> it was kind of an accident, in reality. the first time i came to los angeles, it was because one of pedro almodovar's movies was nominated for an academy award. it was called "women on the verge of a nervous breakdown." that was in 1990. something happened that is funny. we went to visit some of the agencies here in town, and there

was an agency called icm. i met these agents because we were doing a tour of the town and they received us kindly and put us in a room. all of these guys talked to me, and i did not understand anything they said. i was smiling a lot. when i came out, there was a kid taking coffees to the agents' offices. he spoke spanish and was from cuba. he said to me in spanish, "do you mind if i represent you in america?" and i said, "sure. you can represent me in america." i went to do an italian movie. when i went back to spain, he called. he said, "you have to go to london and have an interview with this man from new york to do a movie called "the mambo kings."

please go to london." but i do not speak english. the guy from new york says, "but you have to go." so i went to london and sat there, and this wonderful guy came here and talked and talked, and i was just saying "yes" and "of course." i did not know. i learned one line which was my big monologue, which was "i can do that." he believed it. they took me to be york. i did a test with, at the time, i think it was kevin kline, and a wonderful group of actors i admired very much, seeing them from spain. i did the test, and they picked me to do the movie. they took the risk to say, "we are interested in you as an actor for this character puzzled

when i finished, i went back to spain. then jonathan them called me to do -- demme called me to do "philadelphia." i was establishing a bridge between the countries. then something happened. i met my wife. i decided to move to america, because she came with two kids and they had fathers in the united states. i did not have kids from my first marriage, so it was clear i was the one who would have to move. that is why i live here. tavis: i am really curious in this story about the enterprising young man who was bringing coffee into the room, who had the presence of mind to say, "let me represent you." >> he is a huge agent now. tavis: of course he is a huge agent now. >> he represented me and people like tom cruise, deniro.

he became not only a financial -- a talent agent, but a financial agent who put packages together. he almost saved, brought an incredible amount of money, too dreamworks. tavis: that is a great story. that guy was bringing copy to the room. >> this is the story of america. people like that. tavis: you mentioned your wife. what is the secret, if there is one for you, at least, of making a hollywood marriage work? >> i think the secret is very simple and very complicated. it is something as simple as we love each other. it is very difficult to say that. people may not even believe it. you know what? i think it is that we both came from failures in our

relationships before we met each other. i think we learned that you cannot keep alive those false feelings of the first encounter, the first six months, the first year. people change. couples change. you have to be able to accept what is coming without trying to harm the things you have before. they may disappear, but they might transformed into something now. people are not patient anymore. they look always for the first feeling, which they may lose after that time. it could be years or months. we believed. we have faith that there are other world after that. we believed we could actually come out of our crisis. we are human beings, and we fight like everybody else.

we accept ourselves and the humanity of each other. we do it without looking for perfection. we do not look for a clean tail. it is just life. both of us at the same time have a strong sense of family. she is a great mother. family is a concept that came when we got together. it is not just her and me. the winner of the nobel prize of literature from portugal said a couple is composed of three entities -- the wife, the husband, and both of them together. it is different, you know? there is this third entity that is both of us together. i think we are very clear with that. tavis: we are neighbors, where we live here in l.a. i remember, as your fans to come up when you and melanie griffith

got together. i am curious your own take on this. it is terribly common in our country now, this notion of blended families, when a husband and wife get together. in your case, you did not have kids from your first marriage, but she has kids and there are a couple of biological fathers in tow. it is a blended family. i grew up in a blended family. what are your thoughts on how you make blended families work these days? there are certain examples of blended families that do work, but there are also many examples of where the infighting can rip a thing apart. >> i don't know. if i had the secret recipe that could give everybody -- i think it has to do with believing in yourself and leaving time to each member of the family. for us, i often feel very

guilty because of the time that i spend up side of my home, and the little time sometimes i have for my kids. it is very difficult for me to give advice to anybody. i know things we did at the beginning. we used to bring our kids everywhere. if i had to work in argentina, which took them with us and have a professor with us all time -- all the time, taking them with us. but then they needed other kids and to interact with other kids. it was very good, though. i remember i did with me a pharaoh in 1993 -- -- mia farrow in 1993 said it was good that i take my kids to the other country, because she was raised in hollywood and thought it was like the whole world. she said, "it cost me my life, when i realized there were kids

in the world suffering with a different life than i had. it was a traumatic thing for me ." for me, it was very important for my kids to see other realities, kids in mexico, how they live, or in argentina, in spain, in other places, so they do not believe the world is reduced to the beautiful grass in beverly hills. the realities of the world are different. we always kept our doors very open for the hard feelings to come in the house, to share with them. but at the same time, as i said to you, sometimes i feel very guilty. i do not know if i am a clear example of a perfect father, because sometimes i punish myself saying i am not doing the right thing at this moment. tavis: this is a great segue to circle back to the movie, by asking this question. those kids notwithstanding, are

you at this point in your life comfortable in the skin that you live in? >> i guess so. yes. i would say yes. i know that i have still areas that are not very happy with myself. i think everybody does. some of them, i tried just to overcome and tried to be better. i tried to be self analytic. i recognize always myself as a human being. i have never done anything bad to another person consciously. i have unconsciously probably provoked bad things with others. but i am comfortable with my family, myself, my professional life. i am 51 already. i look at this particular

moment, always thinking in the future, but there are also things behind. that gives you a certain amount of tranquility. i am not as anxious as i used to be. i used to run somewhere that i did not even know. it is like the play by beckett, "waiting for godot." godot turns out to be nothing. i am more tranquil. i think the anxiousness for success is the worst. i am more comfortable in what i do, and what i do professionally. it starts with action and it ends with cut. everything else is a parallel life that i do not have to play as intensely as i played before. i feel more content at this particular time in life. tavis: to your beautiful phrase,

how would you describe what happens between action and cut on this particular film, "the skin i live in." >> it is really difficult to talk about this movie. tavis: because you cannot give it away. >> exactly. tavis: that is why i am not asking about it. >> it is a movie that reflects power, revenge, and creation. the characters maybe sometime confused. sometimes, i am playing a monster. sometimes, i am planning on our test. tavis: -- an artist. tavis: given his profession. >> i do reflect on the idea of the artist being not far away from the monster. the movie reflects all of those. identity is another issue in the movie that is very strong. you can change a person in their

exterior aspect, but the soil remains. it still is there, especially if that person has been changed on voluntarily. -- involuntarily. besides that, it is an encounter with somebody, pedro almodovar, who is still taking risks. and who never will bend to the mainstream movies. he has been invited to do so, and they have put a lot of money on the table for him to do so, but he said, "i am good to keep my personality. i am not going to bend to that." that in our day is a fresh glass of water in the desert. tavis: that makes a movie worth going to see. it is difficult trying to have these conversations with you do not want to give the film away.

but i have to say pedro and antonio should make you want to go see it. it made me want to go see it. i am honored to have you on this program. i enjoyed this conversation. see you back next time. until then, keep the faith. >> a man without a family. who the hell is that? it is nobody. >> yes. >> do you know how much i love you? >> yes. i love you, too. >> don't forget that. >> no. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with father-son duo martin sheen a nd emilio estevez.

see ou then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where walmart stands together with your community to make every day>> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financiand omoclvett and remove obstacles to economic eowermpmentne conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

mark l. walberg: welcome to antiques roadshow, this week from atlantic city, new jersey. i call them my sisters. they're something that make me smile, and i love looking at them every day. i want all the men in my family to listen to this. my mother-in-law was right. holy smokes, that's amazing. oh, my god! (laughing) it's another exciting hour of antiques roadshow. captioning sponsored by subaru, liberty mutual and viewers like you (fireworks exploding) announcer: now, the people who make antiques roadshow possible.

at subaru, we're building protecting your precious cargo, /d whether it's your kids, pets, or an 18th-century parisian bookcase. subaru, a proud sponsor of antiques roadshow. me it's not about the things we have... but the memories we make with them. liberty mutual insurance, proud sponsor of antiques roadshow. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. it' welcome to antiques roadshow. hi, i'm mark walberg in atlantic city, new jersey. atlantic city went from family homestead to popular resort town when the railroad came to absecon island in the mid-1850s. it's had the reputation of being one of america's favorite playgrounds ever since.

the fun has just begun, so let the games begin. man: i bought it at a country auction about 25 years ago. and where was that? in ireland. in ireland. well, it's from quite a far distance from ireland. it's actually tibetan. oh. it's carved iron, and it's carved and pierced with a motif of dragons, foliage and flames. and then on it, on certain places, you can see where there was a trace of gilding. well, originally that entire box was gilt. it was all covered with gold. i see. it had been fire gilt. and the box is also quite old. it's 16th century. oh, my god. it originally had a leather lining, and it contained probably either a porcelain or a jade bowl that was inside of it. these kind of things were very high status objects because you also figure an object like this wasn't something that you just churned out in an afternoon.