Antonio Banderas returns to set with a film about the chef who uncovered the hidden face of cooking

His natural habitat is the Caixabank Soho Theatre, but between stage productions, Antonio Banderas' schedule is full of film shoots. His new title has taken him back to the United States, specifically Massachusetts, where he is currently filming Tony.

Banderas' new film is a biopic based on chef and television presenter Anthony Bourdain, the rebel chef who revealed the hidden face of the world of gastronomy. Bourdain was popular on the small screen for his commitment and charisma - as well as openly opposing Trump in his first term in office. Depression was the cause of his suicide in 2018, at the age of 61, which caused a great commotion in the world of gastronomy and fans of programme Parts Unknown (CNN).

Through his social media, Antonio Banderas revealed the start of the shoot - directed by Canadian actor and director Matt Johnson (BlackBerry and Operation Avalanche) and co-stars Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers). Although the plot has not been officially disclosed, the Hollywood news magazine Deadline has revealed that the story is set in Bourdain's youth. In the summer of 1976 he started working as a kitchen hand in a seafood restaurant in Provincetown (Massachusetts), which changed his life as it inspired him to leave college - instead enrolling in the Culinary Institute of America.

Antonio Banderas is on location near the coastal town where this story unfolded. During a break in filming, he has greeted fans from Hyannis (Cape Cod), "a traditional and sweet fishing village where people are relaxed, friendly and cultured," he said. Although his role in this story is still unknown, the actor and promoter of Sohrlin (together with Domingo Merlín) repeats with the New York production company A24, with whom he recently shot the erotic thriller Babygirl, in which he played Nicole Kidman's partner. The film was released last January, shortly after the Oscar-nominated blockbuster Pain and Glory and Paddington: Jungle Adventure, which has grossed more than 150 million dollars worldwide.

A few days ago, the actor took part in the launch of the tribute to Almodóvar: Pedro x Javis (Movistar+), before heading straight to Massachusetts for Tony. After stripping himself bare in his autobiography Confessions of a Chef, Anthony Bourdain also published Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, in which he uncovered the miseries hidden in the world of the kitchen. Partner of Italian actress Asia Argento, the chef had been involved in communication and culinary programmes since 2002, even recording an episode of Parts Unknown with Barack Obama.

His great contribution was to go beyond the flavour and glamour of starred cuisine to expose the harsh realities of restaurant work; the pressures and excesses, as well as the power dynamics and envy between chefs. His committed vision beyond the surface led him to confront Trump, as the chef contested the president's anti-immigration policy. He exposed the reality of his sector: his fellow chefs were mostly foreigners and Latin Americans, without whom America would not eat.