Exclusive: Antonio Banderas shares intimate glimpse into relationship with daughters Stella, and Dakota Johnson

Antonio Banderas may have a packed schedule – having just wrapped Baby Girl with Nicole Kidman, starred in Paddington in Peru, and gearing up for his debut Super Bowl commercial for Bosch – but his top priority remains being a father to his daughter, Stella Banderas, 28, and  stepdaughter, Dakota Johnson, 35, whom he shares with ex-wife Melanie Griffith.

Although he's currently thousands of miles away, having just touched down in Madrid to premiere his musical theatre production Gypsy on February 12, the Desperado actor remains in close contact with his children in Los Angeles.

Antonio's passion for performing and filmmaking has clearly rubbed off on his kids, both of whom have stepped into the spotlight — each in their own unique way. His youngest, Stella, is making a name for herself in the production industry. "Stella is not so much of an actress," Antonio explained in an exclusive interview with HELLO!.

"She wants to be behind the camera, and she's driving herself into that. She has made some commercials. She's now doing short movies, and I suppose that she is going to end up doing a feature film,  but she's too shy to be in front of the camera. She prefers to be behind it."

However, on the other side of the camera stands Dakota, Antonio's eldest non-biological child. The star has graced the screen in the likes of Fifty Shades of Grey and Madame Web, and even had a tendency to give her "Papi" some well tuned acting advice.

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"Dakota is the opposite. Dakota just jumps in front of the camera," shared Antonio who helped raise Dakota during his marriage to Melanie.

Despite having industry access through her parents — her father is Don Johnson —Dakota made sure to carve her own path into the spotlight, even when her "papi" offered a listening ear. "It's difficult to just give advice. If they ask you, you just kind of put on the table whatever your experience has been in situations that are the same or talk about the characters," he said

The 64-year-old continued: "But they have their own approach. Dakota created her own world, and that's the healthier way to do it than just to be 'Mami, Papi'. No, she needs to get out of the house, find her own way, and that's what she did, and we are very proud of her."

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Despite his decades of experience in the industry, Antonio revealed that he still turns to his daughter for help when it comes to rehearsing. 

Reflecting on a time when he ran lines with the Hollywood star, he shared: "I was preparing a character and I said 'Dakota can you just read this for me?'. She said 'Ok papi, but be careful of that, I think you're going a little too far'."

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While Dakota may offer her father some constructive criticism, it hasn’t stopped him from hoping to one day star alongside her in a movie. 

"I would love to", he said.

"In fact, the first movie that she did I directed her. A movie called Crazy in Alabama. I think she was seven years old and she was awesome. She was following directions and doing everything right."

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Antonio's youngest daughter, Stella, was also on the set despite being just a baby at the time. "She was recently born, and she was very dramatic. Every time I said action she would start crying," he explained. 

The Spy Kids actor's ex-wife, Melanie, played the lead role in the 1999 comedy and together, they made sure the experience was a fun one for their children. "It was fun for them, it was literally a game," he shared.

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"The definition for acting is playing. When you're a kid, you believe what you're playing. You get totally inside and you're not so self conscious. When you just grow up, you just start thinking a little bit too much, and that ruins it."