Madonna was too powerful to date: Banderas

London: 'The Mask of Zorro' star Antonio Banderas says he refused to date Pop Queen Madonna because she was "too powerful".

Madonna famously flaunted her crush on the Spanish hunk in her outrageous 1991 documentary 'In Bed With Madonna', which saw her flirt with a shy Banderas at a party in Spain.

But the 50-year-old actor admits that he was a nervous wreck in the Material Girl's presence - because he couldn't speak English and didn't know how to fend her off, reported Contactmusic.

"I couldn't speak English at the time. She said a lot of things at the table when we were having dinner - I couldn't understand anything. I was just flipping out that I was sitting down close to Madonna. She was very famous already, and we were just local people.

"It was kind of flattering when somebody said, 'She likes you, a lot.' I said, 'Oh, really? I've no idea what I should do about this. I mean, I'm married (to first wife, Ana Leza).' So, nothing happened," he said.

"I was afraid of it at the time, because she was a very powerful woman. I didn't want to be Madonna's boy. For good or for bad, I just wanted to have my own career," he added.

The pair went on to star in the 1996 movie musical 'Evita' together.