Which character does Antonio Banderas voice in the Shrek franchise?

Antonio Banderas voices Puss in Boots in the Shrek franchise.

Puss in Boots first appears in Shrek 2, released in 2004. He is introduced as a skilled bounty hunter hired to defeat Shrek, but his role changes when he becomes Shrek and Donkey’s ally. Banderas performs the character with a Spanish accent and gives him a swashbuckling style inspired by adventurous film heroes.

The character is based on the traditional European fairy tale Puss in Boots, in which a clever cat helps his poor master gain wealth and status. The Shrek version combines that literary origin with visual and comic references to films such as The Mask of Zorro, a role Banderas played in 1998.

Puss became one of the franchise’s most recognizable supporting characters. He later led the spin-off Puss in Boots in 2011 and returned in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 2022. The character’s distinctive wide-eyed plea became one of his recurring comic trademarks.