Antonio Banderas Shines In Cannes As Elite Mercenary In 'Expendables 3'

Antonio Banderas arrived in Hollywood 23 years ago and was told that he would only get "bad guy" roles in minor films, but on Sunday at Cannes he confirmed that being in "The Expendables 3" along with big names such as Sylvester Stallone and Harrison Ford "means a lot" for the Hispanic community.

Banderas, who plays a former Spanish armed forces member in the third film in the saga created by Stallone, was much more serious than his cast companions at the huge press conference where the film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival.

After joking that he hated his cast members – who also include Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Stratham, Dolph Lundgren and Wesley Snipes – he made a statement about the Hispanic presence in Hollywood films.

"When I came to Los Angeles 23 years ago to do 'The Mambo Kings,' someone told me that if I wanted to continue there I was going to play all the movie bad guys" in less-than-stellar-quality films, Banderas said.

But now "things have changed" - the good guy can be Hispanic and the bad guy a blond with blue eyes. Movies have opened up other possibilities and that is good for Hispanic community, Banderas said.

"For a Spaniard like me to be part of this film means a lot for my community. I'm very, very happy to be part of this group of legends," the actor said.

The Malaga-born Banderas said that making the film has been an enjoyable and positive experience, but he acknowledged that he had not yet seen the final cut because up until he traveled to Cannes he had been finishing up the film "The 33" about 33 miners who survived for 70 days buried some 2,300 feet below ground in a partially-collapsed Chilean mine in 2010.