It's pretty much an open secret that Penelope Cruz has been spending lots of time with Oscar lately—-not that rumored off-screen flame Javier Bardem should get jealous. He's that love-at-first sight gold guy Penelope picked up for her supporting role as Javier's ex in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

But Penelope's got her mind on other matters these days, with two new movies out this month: The first is the romantic drama Broken Embraces, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, in which she plays a moonlighting hooker; and the second is the musical Nine, directed by Chicago’s Rob Marshall, in which she plays a moody mistress alongside co-stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Sophia Loren, Dame Judy Dench, Nichole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard and Fergie.

In Nine, Penelope’s character does all sorts of kinky stuff, from shaking her booty and offering to kiss her lover’s toes to pretend stranger sex and competing with other women for a man. In this interview, she confessed that she wouldn’t want to compete in real life with other babes for a man—especially if they look like her costars!

By Prairie Miller

You fight over a man with a whole bunch of other gorgeous women in Nine. Can you imagine doing that in real life?
Wow, that would be tough. Especially if it was with this group of ladies! I wouldn't want to see myself in that situation.

So what are you up to in Nine?
It's a musical inspired by Fellini and his film 8 1/2, and this story is also about Guido [played by Day-Lewis] and his creative crisis. I play Carla, the mistress of [Guido]. I can't believe I got the role. I was a student of dance for many years, but Nine is my first musical. It was lots of fun, but scary too.

There's lots of sex in this movie, usually with you involved. How do you feel about sex scenes and nudity?
That's difficult to answer. But I have always had fear on the set. And insecurity, to the point where at first I always feel like I could be fired! But I think that's a fear most actors have.

How did you get all that intimate erotic chemistry with Daniel?
I tried to make him, a couple of times, part of my game of self-criticism. And after every take I would go, “Daniel, I was terrible! What do you think?” And he would be like, “I would never engage in that game with you! Let's just go and do the next take.” But I've heard all these different stories about the way he works, and I've tried to really not listen to any of those stories and see for myself. And I have to say, I was a little bit nervous about meeting him, because he's really one of my favorite actors. And I think he's one of the all-time masters of acting.

And I went on stage where they were rehearsing a number, and he was not part of the number. But I saw this man dressed in a suit in a corner, just watching. And for two hours, I didn't recognize him. Then they told me, “That's Daniel.” And I said, “Why is he here?” And they told me, “He's always here. He's always on the set, and he's always here watching the others.” So I went and said hello. But he was, for me, really one of the best partners to work with, really kind, and really generous. And that was a huge lesson for me. Daniel is always in the present. And that's a huge lesson in acting, about not engaging into your own thing. And I think in that way, Daniel has no ego, because he's always moving forward.

How about those unmistakably seductive costumes you got to wear?
Yes! Most of them were done by hand. I went to watch the women making them, and it was beautiful to see the way they were evolving. But I wanted to visit the designer, mainly because I was obsessed with the clothes I was going to wear for my number.

How come?
Because I heard I was going to be doing the number in a corset! And also, I was dancing on this crystal platform, so I really wanted the shoes not to be slippery. So I was there every day, torturing the designer! But I knew I was in the best possible hands. And that always makes you feel very confident.

How do you just know when a role is right for you, however extreme?
You just have to feel it. For you to make anybody else feel anything for that character, you have to feel something first.

Where do you keep your Oscar?
I have it in my house in Spain. And I still haven't found the right place for it. But for the first months after I won, I was so excited about it, that I took it everywhere with me. I even took it—and this is true!—I even took it to the beach one day.

So did it float?
Well, I put it on a towel. But no, it's very heavy; it doesn't float!

Why did you want to take your Oscar to the beach?
Because I was so excited. I would wake up and see it and go, “That's not mine. How could this happen?”

Has winning an Oscar changed your life?
I feel everything has gone too fast. And that I really need to digest that whole adventure. But it's just a very exciting thing that has happened.

• Add New
• Search

Comments (0)

Write comment

Your Contact Details:

Name:

Email: do not notifynotify

Website:

Comment:

Title:

Message:

Security

Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Powered by !JoomlaComment 4.0 beta1

!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."