Antonio Banderas wanted to add ''comedy'' to 'The Expendables 3'.

The 53-year-old actor has revealed he asked to change his character in the movie from the way he was originally written, transforming his brooding Latino assassin Matador into the fast-talking sharp-shooter Galgo.

He explained: ''Look, it's not that I don't take this type of movie seriously, but this is not 'The Hurt Locker'. It's bigger than life, so you have to understand that and go with it. And even when I saw the first 'Expendables' I thought, 'I'd like to be a part of this, even if it's just to insert a type of comedy that's not there yet.' ''

Banderas took his idea to the film's co-writer and leading man Sylvester Stallone and was immediately given the green light to make his changes.

In an interview with The Times newspaper, he revealed: ''So I took a leap, I told Sly, and he just said, 'You just do whatever you want, kid.' ''

The film has an A-list cast of action legends, including Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jason Statham among others.

Banderas admits he was in awe of his co-stars when he first stepped on set with the collection of ''superheroes''.

He said: ''Those guys are not even stars, they're legends ... It felt like a wax museum of superheroes.''