Antonio Banderas: People are the paps now

Antonio Banderas thinks "everyone" is a paparazzo these days.

The actor is best known for parts in films such as Evita and The Mask of Zorro but is now targeting a very young audience by voicing Burger Beard in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

One of his favourite films right now is Nightcrawler, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which focuses on a man who is desperate for work and ends up making video footage of horrific crime scenes.

"It seems exaggerated but it's not, because everyone is the paparazzi now," Antonio argued to British newspaper Metro.

"Last year in Nice, I went to a restaurant and a lady at the next table recorded me and posted a video on YouTube. And because newspapers pay for pictures, people will take a picture, then call and say, 'Hey, I have a picture of Antonio Banderas with a girl, how much'"

The 54-year-old is so worried about creating a scene, he often just leaves people to it and considers it a "consequence" of being an actor.

At least he gets to hide behind his animated character for the SpongeBob film, which is currently in cinemas. Antonio has an idea why the happy yellow creature goes down so well with its fans.

"When the hero of your show is a sponge, anything is possible," he laughed. "And there's something beautiful about him because he's so tremendously positive. That makes him a loving, anti-depressive character for kids."