Even though Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith divorced years ago, Dakota Johnson continues to have affection and respect for the actor, who recently shared the creative nickname Johnson calls him.
Although they don’t frequently see each other due to their work schedules, every time they cross paths they show great affection as former stepfather and stepdaughter. For example, when Johnson presented Banderas with an award for his role in “Pain and Glory” and she gave an emotional speech.
In a recent interview with E! News, Banderas, who was promoting his animated film “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” recalled the great relationship with he has with his stepdaughter, whom he’s known since she was a child, and revealed the nickname she gave him.
“She calls me ‘Paponio.’ I am ‘Papi’ and ‘Antonio’ altogether, so she always called me ‘Paponio,’” Banderas said, adding that they don’t have any upcoming plans to see each other with the holidays fast approaching.
“Dakota became a very busy person and she’s working all the time,” the iconic actor said. However, he shared what he thought about her speech when she presented him with the Hollywood actor award during the 2019 Hollywood Film Awards ceremony.
“She gave it to me and she gave one of the most beautiful speeches that anybody has given me. So, I was very thankful to know that she thought that about Papi,” Banderas lovingly recalled.
The actor also spoke about his years of friendship with Salma Hayek. They met on the set of the 1995 movie “Desperado” and have “kept the relationship going as friends for many years.”
“Worked together again in ‘Frida’ after that, and then came ‘Puss in Boots,’ and we’ve done two of those,” he said. The famous actors have starred in a total of five movies together.
This article has been translated from Spanish and was originally published on Telemundo.com