Antonio Banderas Reveals Nickname Stepdaughter Dakota Johnson Used to 'Always' Call Him

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Dakota Johnson had a special nickname for stepdad Antonio Banderas.

"She called me 'Paponio,' " Banderas, 62, told E! News. "I am 'Papi' and 'Antonio' altogether, so she always called me 'Paponio.'"

Johnson, 33, and the Puss in Boots: The Last Wish actor have maintained a close relationship since he and her mother Melanie Griffith divorced in 2015 after nearly 20 years of marriage.

In 2019, she presented Banderas with the Hollywood Actor Award for his role in Pain and Glory at the Hollywood Film Awards, and offered a heartfelt tribute that he still looks back on fondly, he told the outlet.

"She gave it to me and she gave one of the most beautiful speeches that anybody has given me," he said. "So I was very thankful to know that she thought that about Papi."

RELATED: Antonio Banderas Says Ex-Wife Melanie Griffith Is Still His Best Friend: 'I'll Always Love Her'

Ron Galella Collection/Getty Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith with kids Alexander Bauer, Stella Banderas and Dakota Johnson.

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While the two stars' paths seldom cross save for red carpets, Banderas says they will always be family — and he feels the same way about his second wife.

"Melanie is not my wife anymore, but I think she is my best friend," he told PEOPLE in 2019. "I love her and will love her until the day I die. She's my family."

Banderas shares daughter Stella, 26, with Griffith, 65, and helped to raise Johnson (who she had with her first husband Don Johnson) and son Alexander Bauer (who Griffith had with her second husband Steven Bauer).

"I was there because I love their mother and I am totally taken with their mother and they were the most important part of what she came with," Banderas said.