Banderas' New Ballroom Blitz

In His New Film, 'Take The Lead,' Banderas Plays Dance Teacher

(CBS)  In Antonio Banderas' new film, "Take the Lead," hitting theaters April 7, the Spanish actor plays a dance instructor who infuses the heat of ballroom dancing into the lives of a group of inner-city kids stuck in detention hall.

It's inspired by the true story of Manhattan dance instructor Pierre Dulaine, a ballroom dancer who brought his passion for dance to tough as nails students at a real New York City high school.

Banderas said he was proud to play Dulaine in the movie, which also stars Ray Liotta and Alfre Woodard.

"There was a Spanish poet who said that because sometimes you say 'He's a good man,' you may think that's he's just naïve or something like that," said Banderas. "No, (Pierre's) got a great heart. He did this thing without expecting anything in return and that's a very rare animal to find in our days."

Learning all of the fancy foot work for the complicated dance routines (think "Dancing With The Stars") was a challenge for the actor. But he also found himself learning a lot about the social issues addressed in the film.

"It was a very beautiful project, not only because of the dance, I think that the dance actually is kind of an excuse," he said. "What the movie is trying to tell is that there are many ways that you can handle situations like this case in public schools, the rejected ones. And Pierre Dulaine gave an for example of that."

Banderas' wife, Melanie Griffith, said she didn't help her husband with any of his moves.

"He's such an awesome dancer that he doesn't have to practice very hard," Griffith said at the New York premiere of the movie. "I mean, really, he's been doing this since he was a kid."