"He loved my mother, and my siblings and I so big, and so fiercely and so loud, that it would change all of our lives together," Dakota Johnson said.
Even though Dakota Johnson's mother Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas are no longer together the stepfather and stepdaughter still share an unbreakable bond. In 2019, the Fifty Shades of Grey star had some kind words for her "Paponio" as she honored him with the Hollywood Actor Award for his role in Pain And Glory at the Hollywood Film Awards.
Melanie Griffith, Antonio Banderas, Pedro Almodóvar & Dakota Johnson 💕 #PainAndGlory is Now Playing pic.twitter.com/JrpH1nqjBY
— Sony Pictures Classics (@sonyclassics) October 29, 2019
The actor previously told E! Online that the cute nickname comes from a mash-up of the Spanish word for dad "Papi," and the star's first name, Antonio. "I am 'Papi' and 'Antonio' altogether, so she always called me 'Paponio,'" he revealed. Speaking of her tribute to him on stage he said 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," the Desperado star shared.
Antonio Banderas, Dakota Johnson pic.twitter.com/IGJvbVLHi7
— Michael Kohlhaas (@kartaltaciri) August 6, 2022
In her moving speech, Dakota Johnson called the actor a "bonus dad" and "one of the most influential people in my whole life," per E! Online. "When I was six years old, my mother married a man who brought an unbelievably bright light, a whole new world of creativity and culture, and one remarkably magical little sister into our family." Johnson herself was restraining the emotion that was hard to control as she continued talking about her father figure. "My stepfather—f**k! Antonio Banderas burst into our lives," she told the audience. "He was so vibrant and so fun and so funny and his English was abstract and we found it absolutely amazing. He loved my mother, and my siblings and I so big, and so fiercely and so loud, that it would change all of our lives together."
Dakota Johnson got emotional as she paid tribute to her former stepdad Antonio Banderas at Sunday night’s Hollywood Film Awards https://t.co/w97iYBd0It pic.twitter.com/Xtk2wEUofP
— ET Canada (@ETCanada) November 5, 2019
Speaking of the impact he had on her as an actor she said he taught her "about true passion and discipline," Johnson beamed. "He would spend hours, and days even, in his office trying to get to the nucleus of something he had become interested in, or a role he was preparing. Now, as a grown woman working in the same industry, I understand that Antonio is one of our finest artists in film, stage, and television, in multiple languages," Johnson confessed.
"As an actor, director, writer, singer, his range is absolutely astounding. I can look back on his entire career, and time after time, his performances and endeavors as an artist have made an imprint. The greatest thing is that he just keeps getting better," she declared. "It is an honor to give you the Hollywood Film Award for Best Actor." As he hugged her and took the award he said he wanted to dedicate the honor to her and her sister Stella Banderas. "I want to dedicate this to two people that I love, one is right here, Dakota, for something very simple, because you always call me papi, and still now you call me papi and I love that!" he gushed. "You have no idea how much I love that!"
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Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Frazer Harrison
