Antonio Banderas says a life-threatening heart attack nearly a decade ago prompted him to step away from the Hollywood lifestyle and return to Spain, a decision he now credits with reshaping his priorities, as reported by the Independent Journal Review.

In an interview published Wednesday by The Times, the 65-year-old actor described the medical emergency as a turning point that forced him to reassess his life and career.

“Mine was a really serious warning,” Banderas said of the heart attack. “It changed the way I look at life.”

Antonio Banderas speaks about how having a heart attack changed his life for the better 🙏#AntonioBanderas @antoniobanderas https://t.co/yuC2vp9JWT

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According to reports, Banderas made the decision in 2017 to leave behind his life in Hollywood and relocate to Málaga, Spain, where he was born.

Prior to that, he had been dividing his time between the United States and the United Kingdom, maintaining a lifestyle that included a home in Cobham, Surrey.

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Following the health scare, Banderas made several changes. He stopped smoking, sold his private jet, and shifted his focus away from the pace of international celebrity life.

He said the experience caused him to reconsider what mattered most.

“Faced with death, it made me look back and realize that I am, in fact, a theatre actor,” he said.

Banderas now lives in Málaga with his longtime partner, Nicole Kimpel, and has focused on building a different kind of professional life.

He owns multiple restaurants and has devoted significant attention to his not-for-profit theater project, Teatro del Soho.

“I have never been so happy,” Banderas said.

After Antonio Banderas experienced a near-fatal heart attack in 2017, he left Hollywood for Spain to focus on his love of theater and said he has “never been so happy.” https://t.co/PaoAvvIO4y pic.twitter.com/Oum7J3vqRs

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The actor also reflected on his earlier career and the challenges he faced transitioning into English-language roles. He said he was often told that, as a Spanish actor, he would be limited to playing villains.

He later found opportunities to expand beyond those expectations, including roles in films such as The Mask of Zorro.

“The problem was a few years later I had a mask, hat, sword, and cape, and the bad guy was Captain Love, who was blond and had blue eyes,” Banderas said.

He also highlighted his role in Puss in Boots as especially meaningful, noting its impact on younger audiences.

“Even more important is [his 2011 film] ‘Puss in Boots,’ because it’s for young kids. They see a cat that has a Spanish, even an Andalusian accent, and he’s a good guy,” he said.

Banderas also spoke about his past marriage to Melanie Griffith, which ended in divorce in 2015 after 18 years. He said that period of his life helped him overcome early doubts about his ability to succeed in English-language films.

Looking back, Banderas said the heart attack ultimately provided clarity about what he values.

“I realized that it probably was one of the best things that ever happened in my life because the things that were not important and I was worried every day about them, meaningless,” he said.

“I was like, why am I worried about that if I’m going to die?” he added.

“I knew always [that I was going to die], but now I know. I’ve seen it right here.”