Antonio Banderas confirms summer release of culinary film he 'cooked' in his Malaga restaurant's kitchen

Antonio Banderas has extended his passion for cooking to the big screen. His network of restaurants has multiplied throughout Malaga city, from the Tercer Acto gastrobar next to his Teatro del Soho Caixabank to the popular El Pimpi tavern in Alcazabilla.

A few days ago, he filmed a new episode of the TVE cooking competition Masterchef in Malaga. The actor is set to show his kitchen in Malaga on the big screen this summer, with the premiere of his new Hollywood film Tony, based on the life of late chef Anthony Bourdain.

In the film, Banderas play a master chef. He prepared for the role by teaching classes at one of his restaurants, La Pérgola del Mediterráneo, where he learned to clean fish and shellfish. It wasn't just a casual training session. The film's trailer shows that these are precisely the skills of Banderas's character.

The first glimpse of Tony, directed by Matt Johnson (BlackBerry and Operation Avalanche), reveals a previously unknown detail: Banderas's character is not the protagonist, chef and popular television host Anthony Bourdain, but rather his mentor, the one who taught him the secrets of cooking when the aspiring writer took a job washing dishes at a restaurant in the fishing village of Provincetown, Massachusetts, to pay for his studies.

Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) plays the main character. The cast also stars Emilia Jones (CODA and Task) and British actor Leo Woodall (Nuremberg and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy).

Although filming took place a year ago, Antonio Banderas returned to the US in April to film "a couple more scenes" and definitively wrap up.

The film will premiere this summer, but the producers have not announced the exact date.

The plot focuses on Anthony Bourdain's youth, specifically the summer that changed his life when a temporary, day-to-day job became his unexpected calling. Banderas's character teaches young Anthony how to shuck and clean oysters, which is the restaurant's signature dish in the film.

This is a skill that Banderas himself learned from his own team of chefs at La Pérgola. "I had great teachers, very talented and with great patience," Banderas says about the chefs at his establishment, who trained him for the role.

Chef Anthony Bourdain was a phenomenon in the US. He exposed the hidden side and excesses of the culinary world. He even had his own television show and his charisma made him popular and loved by many, to the point that Barack Obama filmed an episode of Parts Unknown (CNN) with him.

Bourdain's personal commitment and critical spirit led him to publicly confront Donald Trump during his first term. Bourdain challenged the president's anti-immigration policies, revealing the reality of his own industry: his colleagues in the kitchen were mostly foreigners and Latin Americans, without whom America wouldn't have food.

Depression was the cause of his suicide in 2018, at the age of 61, which caused great shock in the culinary world and among viewers.

Produced by A24 (the same company with which Antonio Banderas filmed the erotic thriller Babygirl), Tony will be the first release of the year for the Malaga artist, who shot three films last year.

Banderas also has another film related to fishing and the sea awaiting release, Above & Below: a shark thriller directed by Jesse V. Johnson (Chief of Station). The film tells the story of a group of friends who embark on an unforgettable vacation on a luxury yacht, an adventure that turns into a nightmare when they are attacked by pirates and besieged by sharks.

The actor also has the upcoming premiere of the family drama Rose's Baby: a British production that reunites Banderas with fellow Spaniard Úrsula Corberó (Money Heist) and British actress Eva Birthistle (Ae Fond Kiss and The Last Kingdom). The trio stars in a personal project by actress and producer Trudie Styler (Maniac and The Next Three Days), who makes her directorial debut with this story about a divorced couple with a troubled relationship and a young daughter, who face the dilemma of putting aside their differences to conceive another child who could cure their firstborn's serious illness.