Penélope Cruz dropped by The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" podcast this week for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on three projects spanning musical comedy, tense drama and crowd-pleasing humor. The Oscar-winning Spanish actress discussed her work in "La Bola Negra," her reunion with husband Javier Bardem in "Bunker," and her comedic turn in "The Invite," giving listeners a rare window into how she moves between tones that few performers handle with such ease.
Cruz, who has built a career on choosing directors and material that scare her a little, described the podcast conversation as a chance to unpack why she keeps returning to roles that demand completely different muscles. Across the three films, she said, the common thread is the pull of a script she cannot put down, regardless of whether it asks her to sing, to sit in silence across from Bardem, or to chase a laugh.
Singing and Dancing in "La Bola Negra"
The most physically demanding of the three, by Cruz's account, was "La Bola Negra," which required her to sing and dance on screen. Cruz told host Scott Feinberg that the musical elements were not something she took lightly, describing the preparation as a return to the kind of full-body performance training she had not leaned on so heavily in years. She spoke about the vulnerability that comes with singing in front of a camera, noting that a voice feels far more exposed than a face does, and that the rehearsal process became its own kind of acting exercise.
Cruz has never been shy about musicality in her work, but she framed this role as a step beyond anything she had attempted before, calling the combination of song, movement and character work a genuine test of stamina. She credited the film's creative team with building an environment where she felt safe enough to take risks, and she acknowledged that the fear she felt going in was part of what made the experience worth having.
Reteaming with Bardem in "Bunker"
The podcast also turned to "Bunker," which pairs Cruz once again with Bardem, her husband and frequent collaborator. The two have shared the screen before, and Cruz spoke about how their off-screen history changes the calculus of a scene, sometimes making the work more intimate and sometimes demanding extra discipline to keep the characters distinct from the people playing them. She described "Bunker" as a contained, pressure-cooker kind of story in which the relationship between the two leads carries much of the weight, and she suggested that the familiarity she and Bardem share allowed them to find nuances quickly without extensive discussion.
Cruz was careful not to oversell the ease of working with a spouse. She noted that any partnership on set still requires the same rigor as working with a stranger, and that the comfort of knowing someone well can be a trap if an actor stops listening. According to her, the material in "Bunker" kept both performers on edge, which is precisely why she wanted to do it.
Making 'Em Laugh in "The Invite"
Rounding out the trio is "The Invite," which Cruz described as a chance to lean into comedy and to make audiences laugh. She said the tone of the project allowed for a looser, more playful approach than the other two films, and she talked about how comedy demands its own precision, since timing cannot be faked and a joke either lands or it does not. Cruz has worked in lighter registers before, but she framed "The Invite" as an opportunity to push her comic instincts further than she typically gets to on screen.
She also reflected on why she gravitates toward variety at this stage of her career, explaining that alternating between genres keeps her from repeating herself and forces her to stay curious. For an actress who has worked with some of the most celebrated directors in world cinema, the throughline she described is less about prestige than about the daily problem-solving that each new role requires.
The full episode of "Awards Chatter" is available through The Hollywood Reporter's podcast feed. Cruz did not announce any release timing for the three films during the conversation, and no distribution details were discussed. For now, the interview stands as a preview of a slate that shows one of the industry's most versatile leading women operating across at least three distinct registers.
Source: Hollywood Reporter