Antonio Banderas Steps into Fidel Castro's Boots

Alina Fernandez, the estranged daughter of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, wants the man behind the cat known as Puss in Boots, Antonio Banderas to play her father in the upcoming biopic Castro's Daughter, to be directed by English filmmaker Michael Radford (Il Postino). The film is based on Fernández's novel, ‘Castro's Daughter, An Exile's Memoir of Cuba,' and will give viewers an inside look at the father-daughter dynamic between the former Cuban president and Fernández, the illegitimate daughter of Castro and Cuban socialite Natalia ‘Naty' Revuelta Clews who went on to become an open critic of the Cuban communist regime and even escaped Cuba in 1993 disguised as a Spanish tourist. Fernandez said:

I have been a huge fan of Antonio for years, and hope to see him play my father. I think he has a phenomenal charisma, and think he has the nerve to play the role perfectly … I'm very excited that he would consider this.

The production team is apparently in negotiations with the actor's agent Ara Keshishian to add his name to the cast, which will be based on the screenplay by Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert ‘Bobby' Moresco (Crash) and the Cuban playwriter Nilo Cruz. The film, being described as a kind of variation on The King's Speech will be shot in Puerto Rico. Banderas, who was last seen in Pedro Almodovar's The Skin I Live In and Puss In Boots, next appears in Steven Soderbergh's action flick Haywire alongside Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum and Gina Carano, opening January 20th, 2012.