Interview: Penélope Cruz Discusses Acting, Her Relationship With Pedro Almodóvar, and ‘Parallel Mothers’

Penélope Cruz gets to do some of the best acting of a given year when she’s paired up with her favorite filmmaker. Cruz gets to work with Pedro Almodóvar again and again, with results that consistently enthrall, often including Academy Award attention. This most recent time around, Cruz is again getting rightful Oscar buzz for an Almodóvar collaboration in Parallel Mothers. She arguably outdoes herself in this one, blowing audiences away. As that awards campaign continues to truck on, I was recently able to speak with her over Zoom, talking about the work. Today, I can share that dialogue with you all!

Below, you can hear my chat with Cruz. We spend a lot of time talking about her work with Almodóvar, in particular Parallel Mothers. She tells some really interesting stories about their interactions as actress and director. Plus, she beat me to the joke that my recent interview with Javier Bardem helped to facilitate this one, and that was pretty amusing. Give it all a listen and check the film out if you have not done so already.

This is some of what I said about Cruz in my New York Film Festival review:

Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit are splendid here, with Cruz again upping her game for this filmmaker. Smit has a bit where she leaves the narrative more than you’d like, otherwise her performance would be nearly as impressive as Cruz’s. She really is compelling. Cruz, while not surprising, is amazing, acting with her face in a way that always raises the emotion.

Here is my interview with Parallel Mothers star Penélope Cruz. Enjoy:

Parallel Mothers is in theaters now!