According to reports by England's Daily Express, the Spanish actor has received death threats from the militant group Basque Homeland and Liberty, forcing Banderas and wife Melanie Griffith to hire personal bodyguards while staying in France.

The threats stem from derogatory comments Banderas made about the group after the Basque faction assassinated Spanish political counselor Jose Maria Martin Carpena in 2000. According to the Express, Banderas began receiving threats in early March 2001; the group phoned in the threat at his home in Marbella, Spain.

Despite the threats, Banderas will continue to shoot Brian De Palma's film Femme Fatale with Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in Paris, and is currently in the U.S. to promote his new movie Spy Kids, which opens Mar. 30.