“I had to get on a tank and I had done some medical tests. After the dinner break, while they were putting on my wig, I had a doctor on the phone who told me: ‘It seems you have a brain aneurysm,’” explains the actress who has starred in some of the most memorable scenes in cinema over the last decades, both inside and outside Spain. But Penélope Cruz (Alcobendas, 51 years old) gives a double nuance to the adjective unforgettable when recounting what happened to her on her first day of shooting La bola negra, the highly anticipated upcoming film by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (which will compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival), while forging one of those scenes that promise to be etched in the viewers’ retinas: her character has to join a group of about 300 extras and interact with them while singing and dancing. “I will never forget that scene. First, because of the freedom they give. The energy of that moment cannot be built any other way, it cannot be over-rehearsed, it had to have something very wild. And then because of that call from the doctor. I started crying, trying not to ruin the makeup too much, while on the other side there were 300 people waiting to continue with the musical number. ‘What do you mean it seems?’ I answered. And he told me it wasn’t certain, that the tests had to be repeated. I only asked him: ‘Can I exercise right now? Because I have to dance and sing all night.’ And he said: ‘Yes, don’t worry, you can do it.’ Then I got on the tank, and I will always remember the feeling of listening to the start of the musical number, thinking I had to give it my all, and at the same time with a fear… My head was racing, combined with the adrenaline of the musical number, which is impressive.”
Question. And how do you manage to dissociate yourself in a moment like that?
Answer. Because the doctor told me I could do it. But I will always remember that feeling, how extraordinary some situations in this profession are. The next day I told them, because I needed to get it out. And they were great and gave me all the support in the world, because I spent three or four days thinking I had an aneurysm while we kept filming. Then I repeated the tests and the doubts were cleared up, which apparently are common. I had nothing, it was an anatomical issue.
That fear, as unusual as the call that caused it, has nothing to do with another that accompanies the actress: “At the start of every shoot I’m afraid of being fired. I think without that fear I wouldn’t recognize myself. For me, it’s an indicator that my work still matters to me as much as at the beginning.”
Her participation in Ambrossi and Calvo’s film came from a lunch: “I wanted to sit down with them because I think they have incredible talent and because we had seen each other a few times and always said: ‘We have to work together.’ Then Katrina [Bayonas, the actress’s agent] organized a lunch. And at that lunch, they told me they were writing La bola negra. And they said: ‘There’s a character… the thing is, we’re hesitant to send it to you because it’s small.’ And I told them that for me there’s no small character, there’s a good or bad character. And when they sent it to me I said: ‘Are you crazy? How could you doubt? It’s a gem of a character, with two musical numbers and a scene!’ I think that’s where a relationship started, we had such a connection… We have many plans together.”
Besides La bola negra, and after the premiere of La novia, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Penélope has several films pending release. Among them, The invite, the American remake of Sentimental, Cesc Gay’s film. “I think he’s a great director, but when they sent me this script I didn’t know it was inspired by one of his films. I knew Olivia [Wilde, who also co-stars] was going to direct it, whom I love as an actress and director, and I was told it was a very smart comedy. While reading the script I couldn’t stop laughing. Later they told me it came from Sentimental and then I watched it. And I also recently saw My Friend Eva [by the same director], which I loved.” And in February she finished shooting Búnker, by Florian Zeller, where she shares screen time with Javier Bardem, after Todos lo saben (2018), their last film together. “We are very careful when choosing to work together on the same film. And neither he nor I will force anything, nor are we afraid to say no until something really worthwhile comes along, like this case. We won’t create projects just to work together, because that wouldn’t be healthy either. They will come when they have to come.”
Q. You have said before that your work is nourished by exploring human behavior. How do you manage to observe others when you are usually the one being observed?
A. I have always been in the observer’s place. In class, I sat further back to be able to see everyone: I copied one’s handwriting one day, another’s another day, and that’s how I tried to blend in with them. And in my mother’s hair salon, I sat on a sofa behind the clients, put a book in front of me to study and placed some fashion magazines inside, but I was spying on them all the time. And in a restaurant, I can’t help but look at others and imagine their lives, what they convey to me. I go to the supermarket, the gym, my children’s classes, where I meet lots of parents who end up becoming friends, environments where I am one of them. If I had lost that, I would have done something else.
Q. La bola negra will coincide nationally and internationally with El ser querido [Sorogoyen’s latest film, starring Javier Bardem] and Amarga navidad, among others. How do you see the upcoming year for Spanish cinema?
A. And with Búnker, which is a Spanish co-production and is filmed 80% in Spanish. The position of Spanish cinema in the world makes me happy. We have had some very strong years and I am also thrilled to see how so many talented female directors and wonderful screenwriters have the opportunity to bring their films to life.
Q. When you received the National Cinematography Award in 2022, you said: “The treatment of women in cinema is not changing as much as it is fashionable to say.”
A. I have been asked since I was 20, especially in the United States, if I am afraid of aging. And although things have changed, I feel that sometimes it’s not that they have stopped asking certain things because they have realized it, but because it’s not socially acceptable. But the realization has to come, we have to reach a place of real equality, and that happens through education in equality and respect for children and adolescents from a very young age. Everyone does what they can at home, but then there is technology…
Q. You have mentioned it on your Instagram account. Are you worried about your children’s [Leo and Luna, now teenagers] exposure to social media?
A. That issue is very important to me and not just because of my children. I took many years to get a smartphone and social media, I didn’t want to get into that cycle. The only one I have is Instagram and I use it precisely to denounce those things, yes, on its own platform. Laws are being changed in many countries. And hopefully in ours too, because I know any teenager who might feel offended by that now will thank it in three or four years, will understand it and surely, if later they have their own family, they will apply it. They already know what’s out there, they are very smart. But they are the most coveted prey for these companies, their attention is traded. And this goes beyond young people, it’s a matter of where we are in the world, right? The danger of losing democracy. The power of social media is much greater than we think.
Q. And beyond social media, are you afraid of your children turning 18 regarding media exposure?
A. No, they will decide what they want to do and whether their professions are public-facing or not. And if they are not public-facing professions, we will do what we have always done, just like making sure my mother can have a normal life.
Q. You and Rosalía are friends. Do you talk about the parallels between your careers?
A. We talk about everything. We went to a football game and they caught us eating fries and talking non-stop, the shots were so close that I think you could even see what we were saying. People will say: “But why didn’t they see it on their home TV?” We love to talk, we tell each other everything. It’s a relationship of great trust, although we don’t spend much time together, but when we see each other, we trust each other a lot. I love spending time with her, and I really admire what she is doing.
Q. I understand that going to Bad Bunny’s little house made your children say to you: “Finally, you’re cool, mom!” What does getting close to young artists give you?
A. (Laughs) Have I told that somewhere? Well, they have each their thing… In my life, the first thing that arrived was music because I did ballet from the age of four and danced for 18 years. My hobby was sitting next to the record player with vinyls and huge headphones. I knew every note of Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Chopin. And from there I went to the Bee Gees, Alaska, Radio Futura… At home on Sundays we all cleaned together with music playing. And I forced everyone to sit on the sofa and watch my performances. Then I have always used music to help me reach places I had to find as an actress, to generate emotions. So I am a big fan of the musicians I like, and Benito is one of them. What he is doing and the places he is taking our language to seem amazing to me. And very brave. His music gives me a big boost, I went to see him three times in a row in Puerto Rico.
Q. Now that you mention Bad Bunny’s bravery, I want to talk about yours. Has taking a stand on certain causes affected you professionally?
A. Yes, sometimes, but that has helped me realize that I didn’t have to work with that person. I would never allow anyone to take away my voice when denouncing the abuse of civilians and children anywhere in the world, because for me a child’s life has exactly the same value anywhere in the world, and unfortunately it seems that for many people it is not so. I focus on children because they have always mattered a lot to me since I was very young. At 18 I went to Calcutta, I wanted to be there working with Mother Teresa, and I saw very harsh things, that trip marked me a lot.
Q. At the last Oscars gala, one of the few guests who spoke out about current events was Javier Bardem. Do you think there is fear in Hollywood?
A. I think many people are afraid to speak, with everything happening with ICE and other conflicts. If it’s not fear, what is it? I prefer to think it’s fear…
Q. … Than to believe it’s indifference.
A. The amount of images we have received of children and civilians in Gaza, which affect me exactly the same as the images of all the civilians who died in Israel on October 7… I see those children in Gaza suffering and dying like that, that level of agony and horror and I ask myself: How can we see that and say nothing, write nothing, do nothing? Each to their own.
Q. Recently, the first interview with Harvey Weinstein from prison was published and he denied having committed any sexual assault. What did that make you feel?
A. I have friends who went through very tough things with him. And they hadn’t told me until everything came to light. I could never blame them for not telling me before. They were afraid. And although it didn’t happen to me, obviously that doesn’t matter. They went through a lot.
Q. Pedro Almodóvar has said that since he started working with you he always imagined you as a mother. In fact, in Carne trémula he literally put you through childbirth.
A. And we barely knew each other then and I hadn’t told him how obsessed I was with becoming a mother someday. But yes, he has always seen me that way. And he has always given me mother or pregnant woman roles except in Los abrazos rotos.
Q. The name of your production company, Moonlyon, is the sum of your children’s names. What can you reveal about the documentary you are directing and producing?
A. I have been working on it for three and a half years and have 45 hours of material. I have been editing for months and still have quite a bit left. It is the most intense thing I have done, the most demanding, because it is very personal, it has to do with things that have happened to me and many other women. It is a love letter to women.
Q. Another of your passions is fashion. You were named Chanel ambassador in 2018 and were very close to Karl Lagerfeld. What do you think he would think of Matthieu Blazy’s arrival [creative director of the brand since December 2024]?
A. I think he would be very happy with him because Karl always took many risks. He always kept the essence of Gabrielle Chanel and the brand intact. And at the same time, he was very brave, breaking molds all the time. He always revolutionized every show. And besides doing all the Chanel collections and photos for almost all the campaigns, he managed two more brands, he was tireless. As a child, I dreamed of having something from Chanel someday. A little bag. Who would have told me I would be able to be an ambassador for so many years and have that beautiful relationship I had with Karl and later also with Virginie [Viard, Lagerfeld’s successor]. And now Matthieu is a revolution, because he is managing to maintain that essence of the brand and at the same time attract a very young audience. He is doing something spectacular.
Q. That young woman, who dreamed of a 2.55 bag, at 18 was starring in Jamón, jamón and leaving behind a very tender video in which she boldly tells the whole movie. You shared it years ago. What would you say to that girl?
A. In my twenties I became a tremendous workaholic. I would wake up in the middle of the night so nothing went unanswered. I had a very crazy pace, doing four films a year. Now I would tell her everything my mother told me: “Rest more, sleep better, take better care of yourself.”
Read more And he tells it as if it were nothing
