Penélope Cruz said working alongside her husband Javier Bardem still feels scary, despite their nearly two-decade relationship and nine films made together.
The Oscar-winning actress made the comment during a question-and-answer session with the audience after a screening of their new film, Bunker, directed by Florian Zeller.
Bunker follows a married couple whose relationship is tested when the two disagree over a critical decision, and the screenplay was written specifically for Cruz and Bardem, in collaboration with them. Cruz, 52, said that did not make the shoot any less stressful.
Cruz on the fear of working with a partner
Addressing the 47-year-old Zeller directly, Cruz said it was scary to work with someone who is your partner, because you feel like you want to protect them. Even though they felt very safe with him, she said, it was always scary, and she always insisted that at least five years should pass before they worked together again.
Cruz and Bardem first met on the set of Jamón, Jamón in 1992 and worked together again professionally on Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2008. They married in 2010 and have two children.
The story behind Bunker
In Bunker, Bardem plays Miguel, a successful architect asked to decide whether to build a bunker for a billionaire. Cruz plays Sofía, a curator unsettled by how her husband's ambitions have changed, who begins to question his ethics.
The screenplay was written with the couple in mind. Like Cruz and Bardem, Sofía and Miguel have been married for almost 17 years and have two children. Both actors said it mattered to them not to blur the line between fiction and their real life, particularly in scenes of intense confrontation.
A trust built since their teens
Cruz said the deep trust between them made the experience less difficult. She said that when they met, they were still teenagers, she was 17 and Bardem was 21, and that they were very young and just taking their first steps in their careers. She said she knows him extremely well, has seen all of his performances, and admires greatly what he has done.
She added that their shared history and trust allow them to try things on set, to go into scenes that are frightening, and to know the other person is there for them and they are there for the other. She called it a great joy to work with him and to see, every day, what new element he brought to the role.
Bardem jokes about being 'cheaper to hire'
Bardem joked that because the couple already know how to play a marriage, they effectively arrive on set already prepared. He said, laughing, that this saves the production a lot of money, and that they are cheaper to hire.
On a more serious note, Bardem said watching Cruz grow as an actress, from when they first worked together as teenagers to today, continues to impress him. He said there is not a single day that she does not impress or surprise him with her talent and dedication, adding that working with her is a joy, like play, and that everything flows naturally.
