“While they were putting on my wig, I had a doctor on the phone who told me, ‘It looks like you have a brain aneurysm,’” says Penélope Cruz, 51, the actress who has starred in some of the most memorable scenes in cinema of recent decades, both in Spain and abroad.
But Cruz gives the word “unforgettable” a double meaning when she recounts what happened on her first day of shooting La bola negra (The Black Ball). They were filming one of those scenes bound to linger in viewers’ memories, and her character had to join a group of about 300 extras and sing and dance with them.
“I’ll never forget that scene. First, because of the freedom they give you. The energy of that moment can’t be built any other way; you can’t rehearse it too much,” she recalls. “It had to have something raw and untamed. And second, because of that call from the doctor. I started crying, trying not to ruin my makeup too much. Meanwhile, on the other end, there were 300 people waiting to continue with the musical number.”
Cruz says she asked the doctor what he meant by “it looks like” an aneurysm. “He told me it wasn’t certain, that we had to repeat the tests. I just 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.’
She continues: “I climbed onto the tank, and I’ll always remember the sensation of listening to the opening bars of the musical number, thinking that I had to give it everything, and at the same time feeling this fear… My mind was racing a thousand miles an hour, combined with the adrenaline of the musical number, which is incredible.”
When asked how she managed to dissociate in that moment, she replies: “Because the doctor told me I could do it. But I’ll always remember that feeling. The next day, I told them [about the doctor’s call], because I needed to get it off my chest. And they were wonderful and gave me all the support in the world.”
She continues: “I had spent three or four days thinking I had an aneurysm while we kept filming. Then I repeated the tests and all my doubts were cleared up. I didn’t have anything; it was an anatomical issue.”
That fear — as unusual as the phone call that triggered it — has nothing to do with one of Cruz’s most common concerns. “At the start of every shoot, I’m afraid I’ll be fired. I think I wouldn’t recognize myself without that fear. For me, it’s a sign that my work still matters to me as much as it did at the beginning.”
Her involvement in The Black Ball — the highly anticipated new film by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, which will compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival — began over a meal. “I wanted to sit down with them [Calvo and Ambrossi] because I think they’re incredibly talented, and because we’d run into each other a few times and always said, ‘We have to work together,’” she recalls.
“So Katrina [Bayonas, the actress’s agent] arranged a lunch. And at that lunch, they told me they were writing The Black Ball. Then they said, ‘There’s a character… but we feel awkward sending it to you because it’s small.’ And I told them that for me, there are no small parts — only good ones or bad ones. When they sent it, I said, ‘Are you crazy? How could you hesitate? This is a gift of a role, with two musical numbers and a scene!’ I think that’s where a relationship began — we had such a strong connection. We have lots of plans together.”
In addition to The Black Ball, and the recent release of The Bride, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cruz also has several films awaiting release. Among them is The Invite, the U.S. remake of Sentimental, the film by Cesc Gay.
“I think he’s a terrific director, but when they sent me this script, I didn’t know it was based on one of his films,” she says. “I knew it was going to be directed by Olivia [Wilde, who also co-stars], whom I love as an actress and a director, and I’d been told it was a very smart comedy. While I was reading the script, I couldn’t stop laughing. Later, they told me it was adapted from Sentimental, so I watched it. I also recently saw My Friend Eva [by the same director], which I loved.”
In February, she wrapped filming Bunker, directed by Florian Zeller, which stars her husband, Javier Bardem. It is the first time they have co-starred in a movie since the 2018 film Todos lo saben (Everybody Knows).
“We’re very careful when it comes to choosing to work together in the same film,” says the actress. “Neither of us is willing to force it, and we’re not afraid to say no until something truly worthwhile comes along, like this. We’re not going to create projects just to work together — that wouldn’t be healthy either. They’ll come along when they’re meant to.”
Question. You have said before that your work is nourished by the exploration of human behavior. How do you manage to observe others when you are usually the one being observed?
Answer. I’ve always been the observer. In class, I’d sit in the back so I could see everyone: I’d copy one person’s handwriting, another day another’s, trying to blend in with them. And at my mother’s hair salon, I’d sit on a sofa behind the clients, put my book in front of me to study, and slip a fashion magazine inside, but I was always spying on them. And in a restaurant, I can’t help but look at everyone else and imagine their lives, what they’re conveying to me. I go to the supermarket, the gym, my children’s classes, where I meet lots of other parents who end up becoming friends — places where I’m just one of the group. If I’d lost that, I would have done something else.
Q. The Black Ball will be released nationally and internationally alongside El ser querido (The Beloved, the latest film by Sorogoyen, starring Javier Bardem) and Pedro Almódovar’s Amarga Navidad (Bitter Christmas), among others. How do you see the coming year for Spanish cinema?
A. And also Bunker, which is a Spanish co‑production and was shot 80% in Spanish. The position of Spanish cinema in the world makes me happy. We’ve been on a very strong run for several years now, and I’m especially excited to see so many talented women directors and wonderful screenwriters getting the chance to make their films.
Q. When you received the National Film Award in 2022, you said: “The treatment of women in cinema isn’t changing as much as it’s fashionable to say.”
A. I’ve been asked since I was 20 — especially in the United States — whether I’m afraid of aging. And although things have changed, I sometimes feel that certain questions aren’t asked anymore, not because there’s been a real shift in awareness, but because they’re no longer socially acceptable. But the awareness still has to sink in. We need to reach a place of genuine equality, and that comes through education in equality and respect for children and adolescents, starting very young. Everyone does what they can at home, but then there’s technology…
Q. You’ve mentioned this several times on your Instagram account. Are you worried about your children’s exposure to social media? Leo and Luna are now teenagers.
A. This is a very important issue for me, and not just because of my children. I took many years to get a smartphone and social media accounts — I didn’t want to get caught up in that cycle. The only one I have is Instagram, and I use it precisely to denounce these issues, yes, on the platform itself. Laws are being changed in many countries, and I hope the same happens in ours. Because I know that any teenager who might feel offended by this right now will, three or four years from now, be grateful for it, understand it, and probably apply it if they later have their own family. They already know what’s out there — they’re very smart. But they are the most sought‑after prey for these companies. Their attention is being commercialized. And this goes beyond young people; it has to do with where we are in the world, doesn’t it? The danger of losing democracy. The power of social media is far greater than we think.
Q. And beyond social media, are you concerned about what will happen once your children turn 18 in terms of media exposure?
A. No. They’ll decide what they want to do and whether they choose professions that are public‑facing or not. And if they don’t, we’ll do what we’ve always done — just as we did to ensure that my mother could have a normal life.
Q. You and Spanish singer Rosalía are friends. Do you talk about the parallels between your careers?
A. We talk about everything. We went to a soccer match, and they caught us eating chips and talking nonstop. The shots were so close-up that I think you could even see what we were saying. People will say, “But why didn’t they see [the game] on their TV at home?” We love to talk; we tell each other everything. It’s a very trusting relationship, even though we don’t spend much time together, but when we do see each other, we trust each other completely. I love spending time with her, and I really admire what she’s doing.
Q. I understand that after being invited to Bad Bunny’s casita at his Super Bowl halftime show, your kids told you, “Finally, you’re cool, Mom!” What does it mean to you to be around young artists?
A. (Laughs) Have I mentioned that anywhere? Well, they have some crazy things going on… In my life, music came first because I did ballet from the age of four and danced for 18 years. My hobby was sitting next to the record player with vinyl records and those giant headphones. I knew every note of Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Chopin. And from there I moved on to the Bee Gees, Alaska, Radio Futura… At home, on Sundays, we all cleaned together with music playing in the background. And I made [my family] sit on the sofa and watch my performances. Later, I always used music to help me reach places I needed to find as an actress, to generate emotions. So I’m a big fan of the musicians I like, and Benito is one of them. What he’s doing and the places he’s taking our language seems amazing to me. And very brave. His music gives me a real rush; I went to see him three times in a row in Puerto Rico.
Q. Since you’ve mentioned Bad Bunny’s courage, I’d like to talk about yours. Has taking a stand on certain causes ever come at a professional cost for you?
A. Yes, sometimes, but that helped me realize I shouldn’t work with that person. I would never let anyone silence me when it comes to denouncing the brutality against 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, that’s not the case. I focus on children because they’ve always mattered a great deal to me since I was very young. When I was 18, I went to Calcutta; I wanted to be there working with Mother Teresa, and I saw some very difficult things. That trip left a deep mark on me.
Q. At the last Oscars ceremony, one of the few guests who spoke about current events was Javier Bardem. Do you think there is fear in Hollywood?
A. I think there are many people who are afraid to speak out, with everything that’s happening with ICE and the other conflicts. If it’s not fear, what is it? I prefer to think it’s fear…
Q. …rather than indifference.
A. The number of images we’ve seen 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 in that way, with that level of agony and horror, and I ask myself: How can we see that and say nothing, write nothing, do nothing? It’s up to each individual.
Q. Recently, the first interview with Harvey Weinstein since he went to prison was published, and he denied having committed any sexual assault. What was your reaction?
A. I have friends who went through very traumatic experiences with him. And they didn’t tell me until everything came to light. I could never blame them for not speaking up earlier. They were afraid. And even though nothing like that happened to me, obviously that’s irrelevant. They suffered greatly.
Q. Pedro Almodóvar has said that since he began working with you, he always imagined you as a mother. In Carne trémula (Live Flesh), in fact, he quite literally has you give birth on screen.
A. And that’s despite the fact that we barely knew each other then, and I hadn’t yet told him how obsessed I was with becoming a mother someday. But yes, he’s always seen me that way. And he’s always given me roles as a mother or a pregnant woman, except in Los abrazos rotos [Broken Embraces].
Q. The name of your production company, Moonlyon, is a combination of your children’s names. What can you tell us about the documentary you are directing and producing?
A. I’ve been working on it for three and a half years, and I have 45 hours of footage. I’ve been editing it for months, and I still have a lot more to do. And it’s the most intense thing I’ve ever done, the most demanding thing I’ve ever done, because it’s very personal; it deals with things that have happened to me and to many other women. It’s a love letter to women.
Q. Another of your passions is fashion. You were named a Chanel ambassador in 2018 and were very close to Karl Lagerfeld. What do you think he would have made of Matthieu Blazy’s arrival as creative director of the brand?
A. I think he would be very happy with him because Karl always took a lot of risks. He always kept the essence of Gabrielle Chanel and the brand intact. And at the same time, he was very brave, constantly breaking the mold. He was always revolutionary with every show. And besides doing all the Chanel collections and shooting almost all the campaigns, he also ran two other brands; he was tireless. As a child, I dreamed of one day owning something from Chanel. A little handbag. Who could have imagined that I would spend so many years as an ambassador, and have the beautiful relationship I had with Karl, and later with Virginie [Viard, Lagerfeld’s successor]? And now Matthieu is a revolution in his own way, because he’s managing to preserve the essence of the brand while also appealing to a very young audience. What he’s doing is spectacular.
Q. That young woman who dreamed of owning a 2.55 bag starred in Jamón, Jamón at 18, leaving behind a very tender video in which she cheerfully recounts the entire movie. You shared it years ago. What would you say to that girl today?
A. In my early twenties, I became a tremendous workaholic. I would wake up in the middle of the night so that nothing would go unanswered. I kept a crazy pace, making four films a year. Now I would tell her everything my mother told me: “Rest more, sleep better, take better care of yourself.”
Credits
Styling: Juan Cebrián
Make-up and hair: Pablo Iglesias (NS Management) for Chanel.
Set design: Virginia Sancho.
Production: Cristina Serrano.
Photography assistants: Marcos Jiménez and Mario Val.
Digital assistant: Orlando Gutiérrez.
Styling assistants: Paula Alcalde and Carmen Cruz.
Production assistant: Marina Marco.
Nails: Laura Hurtado
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