Penélope Cruz has opened up about her relationship with husband Javier Bardem and revealed what she believes is the secret to their long-lasting marriage.
The Spanish actors have been together for almost two decades and are now appearing on screen together once again in Bunker, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this week.
The psychological thriller marks the first time Cruz and Bardem have played a married couple on screen since becoming husband and wife themselves.
Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Photo credit: Tomas Calle Bolero, Shutterstock
Speaking to ET at the festival, Cruz was asked how it felt to work with Bardem on the project.
She explained that the pair are extremely careful about choosing when to work together, partly because they want to protect their private life.
“We think about it a lot before we say yes to a project. It's a way to protect what is private,” Cruz said.
She explained that even if working together might make things easier from a practical point of view, they first consider whether a project is right for both of them and whether the timing is right for their relationship.
“Even if, in terms of logistics, it could be easier, we look at: ‘Is this the right one? Is this the right time for us to work together?’”
Javier Bardem. Photo credit: Andrea Raffin, Shutterstock
Bardem added that the couple have changed considerably over the decades they have known each other.
“We have evolved in 35 years. We don't take anything for granted. We just support each other,” he said.
The actor added that when they are working together, his main priority is supporting his wife.
“When we are working, it's the same: I am there for her to help her as much as I can to fly.”
Penélope Cruz. Photo credit: Lev Radin, Shutterstock
Cruz was then asked what she believes is the secret to their successful relationship.
Her answer was simple.
“I think the main thing is the friendship that you build over decades.”
She continued: “I met this person 34 years ago. That is the most important thing for me – that you can count on that person as a friend, first of all.”
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Cruz and Bardem first met in 1992 when they were cast in Bigas Luna's Spanish film Jamón, Jamón.
Cruz was still a teenager and it was one of her earliest film roles, while Bardem was beginning to establish himself as an actor.
Although they had a connection while making the film, their relationship did not become romantic at that time.
The pair went on to pursue separate careers and did not work together again until 2007, when they reunited for Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
That film changed their relationship.
Cruz and Bardem began dating after working together on the movie, which also starred Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall.
Cruz won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as María Elena, making her the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar.
Bardem had already made history a year earlier when he became the first Spanish actor to win an Academy Award for acting, taking home Best Supporting Actor for No Country for Old Men.
@oscars "Thank you to the Coens for being crazy enough to think that I could do that and put one of the most horrible haircuts in history over my head." Javier Bardem won the Oscar for Actor in a Supporting Role at the 80th Academy Awards for portraying psychopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in 'No Country for Old Men.' The win made Bardem the first Spanish actor to win an Oscar. 'No Country for Old Men' also won Best Picture, Best Director (Joel and Ethan Coen), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Joel and Ethan Coen), and received nominations for Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Film Editing (Roderick Jaynes), Sound Editing (Skip Lievsay) and Sound Mixing (Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, and Peter Kurland). #javierbardem #nocountryforoldmen #antonchigurh #bestsupportingactor #oscars #academyawards #acceptancespeech #movies #film ♬ original sound - The Oscars
The couple continued to keep their relationship largely private and married in July 2010 in a small ceremony in the Bahamas.
They went on to have two children, son Leo, born in 2011, and daughter Luna, born in 2013.
Despite both having major careers in Hollywood and European cinema, Cruz and Bardem have generally avoided discussing their marriage publicly.
They have also been selective about appearing in films together.
Following Vicky Cristina Barcelona, they reunited for 2018's Loving Pablo, with Bardem playing Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and Cruz portraying journalist Virginia Vallejo.
They also appeared together in 2018's Everybody Knows, directed by Asghar Farhadi.
Their latest film, Bunker, gives audiences another opportunity to see the couple working together, but Cruz has previously explained why they don't simply accept projects because they are offered the chance to appear on screen together.
The film sees the couple playing Miguel and Maya, a married couple whose relationship is put under severe pressure after Miguel becomes involved in the construction of a survivalist bunker for a wealthy technology billionaire.
The subject matter means the pair are once again exploring an intense relationship on screen, while also drawing on more than three decades of knowing and working with each other.
For Cruz, however, their professional relationship ultimately comes back to the personal one they have built over the years.
After first meeting Bardem more than three decades ago, she says the friendship they have developed remains the most important part of their marriage.
“That is the most important thing for me – that you can count on that person as a friend, first of all.”
