Claim: Catherine Zeta-Jones starred in a movie.

The Mask of Zorro is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the character of the masked outlaw Zorro created by Johnston McCulley . It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas , Anthony Hopkins , Catherine Zeta-Jones , and Stuart Wilson . The film features the original Zorro , Don Diego de la Vega -LRB- Hopkins -RRB- , escaping from prison to find his long-lost daughter -LRB- Zeta-Jones -RRB- and avenge the death of his wife at the hands of the corrupt governor Rafael Montero -LRB- Wilson -RRB- . He is aided by his successor -LRB- Banderas -RRB- , who is pursuing his own vendetta against the governor 's right-hand man while falling in love with de la Vega 's daughter .   Producer Steven Spielberg had initially developed the film for TriStar Pictures with directors Mikael Salomon and Robert Rodriguez , before Campbell signed on in 1996 . Salomon cast Sean Connery as Don Diego de la Vega , while Rodriguez brought Banderas in the lead role . Connery dropped out and was replaced with Hopkins , and The Mask of Zorro began filming in January 1997 at Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City , Mexico . The film was released in the United States on July 17 , 1998 to financial and critical success . The Legend of Zorro , a sequel also starring Banderas and Zeta-Jones and directed by Campbell , was released in 2005 , but did not fare as well as its predecessor .