Q: You’ve done many different films. In your latest, you
play a cat in the animated Puss in Boots. What do you
think of the Puss character?
A: He means a lot to me, as I came to this country not speaking the language at all. When they called me to play Puss in
Boots for Shrek 2 in 2003 and asked for the use of my voice
for this character, it was very surprising.
POINT OF VIEW
MELANIE’S
Q: By then you had already married Melanie Griffith.
What was your attraction to her?
A: I had admired Melanie long before I met her. I remember seeing Working Girl in Madrid and thinking, “Wow,
she’s so beautiful, so special!” And on the night of the
Oscars, when I came for Women on the Verge, I saw her
on the red carpet but couldn’t remember her name. Pedro
Almodóvar said, “It’s Melanie Griffith, you idiot! She’s
nominated for an Academy Award tonight!” Six years after
that, we’re married!
Q: You met when you costarred in the 1995 comedy Two
Much. How did you go from a professional to a personal,
romantic relationship?
A: I think we were both unhappy with our different relationships at the time. I wouldn’t put anything on the shoulders
of the other persons. Things just don’t work sometimes,
and that’s the way it goes. But we recognized that we were
unhappy. And I saw this
sweet, vulnerable soul,
funny, also very smart
and generous. I saw her
with her kids, and she
was so beautiful as a
mom. It happens sometimes that you connect
with your costar. It’s
normal. But at the end
of the movie, it’s just
“delete”—you go home
and it’s good-bye. But it
didn’t happen. We kept
calling each other on the
phone all day long. And
then one day we had to
actually confront it. And
we did. It was not easy.
What first attracted
you to Antonio?
Everything, really. His way.
He’s very funny. The first
thing he asked me was my
age. I said, “That’s the
rudest thing anyone has
asked me first.” But there
was something about him.
Still is. I just love him.
Is it hard to be married
to a sex symbol?
No—not any harder than
being married to any man.
How do you keep your
marriage going?
We’re willing to change with
each other, let old things die
and new things be born. But
it’s a constant endeavor.
How is Antonio as a dad?
If the kids need him, he’s
there. But he has a different
parenting style. He can talk
to them deeply about things
they won’t talk to me about,
because I’m the one saying,
“You’re supposed to be do-
ing this right now. It’s your
responsibility.” I’m the dis-
ciplinarian; he’s the
understanding,
philosophical
one. We bal-
ance each
other.
FAMIL Y MAN With Melanie
Griffith and daughter Stella,
above, in Málaga, Spain, in
April 2011; right, the couple at
this year’s Cannes film fest.
Q: How was it becoming
a stepfather?
A: It was hard because the kids had to accept
me, and I was totally inexperienced. Suddenly
I had a 6-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy, and
Stella came along almost immediately. I was,
“Oh, my God!” But as soon as the kids knew
that I was there to stay, they were fine. They
needed solid ground in which they could
grow. As soon as I (CONTINUED ON PAGE 92)
a
Antonio and I talked
about the recent news
of men being unfaithful.
What do you think of
these guys?
I would feel so hurt. I don’t
know if humans were meant
to be with only one person.
I don’t think so. But I don’t
believe Antonio could
tolerate my being with
someone else, just as I
couldn’t tolerate his being
with someone else.
He said that you all
participated in your
rehab a few years ago,
and it welded you.
I’m sorry to say, that’s in his
mind. I started on pain pills
when I hurt my knee skiing
and just kept taking them.
The kids knew; Dakota and
Stella called me on it.
Antonio was in London at
the time. I went away to
rehab for three months; it
took 10 days just to detox.
We had two family weeks
there, but we didn’t follow
through. Antonio was sup-
portive to the extent that he
can be, but if you’re not an
alcoholic or drug addict, and
you find out that your wife
is a bad one, it’s hard to deal
with. As long as I’m okay,
he’s okay. I wish he would go
to a meeting with me or to
Al-Anon, but it’s very foreign
to him. Addiction runs in my
family but not in his.
So it’s been your
journey alone.
Yes. And I don’t mean that
against him. I would like him
to do more, but it’s a difficult
thing to have happen in any
family, and in that way he
has been totally by my side.
He really is the greatest guy.
