In the 1998 film "The Mask of Zorro", which actor plays the original Zorro?

In The Mask of Zorro, Anthony Hopkins plays the original Zorro, Don Diego de la Vega. Antonio Banderas plays Alejandro Murrieta, the younger successor who is trained to inherit the masked hero’s identity.

The 1998 film begins with de la Vega already established as California’s legendary defender of the oppressed. After being imprisoned by the corrupt governor Rafael Montero, he escapes years later and discovers that Montero has taken his daughter. De la Vega then mentors Alejandro, a former outlaw seeking revenge, and prepares him to become the next Zorro.

This two-generation structure is why viewers sometimes select Antonio Banderas: he performs most of the film’s sword fights and is the character most prominently marketed as Zorro. However, Hopkins is the original Zorro within the story, while Banderas becomes his successor. Directed by Martin Campbell, the film blends Western, romance, comedy, and swashbuckling adventure. It was followed by The Legend of Zorro in 2005, with Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones returning.