Javier Bardem explains the biggest perk of working with wife Penelope Cruz
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Javier Bardem is looking forward to sharing the screen once again with wife Penelope Cruz in the upcoming film 'Bunker', reflecting on their latest collaboration while promoting the 'Cape Fear' series finale.
Bardem also explained how their decades-long relationship has shaped the way they work together.
The couple, who have been married for more than 15 years, have previously shared their thoughts on balancing marriage, family, and professional collaborations.
Javier Bardem shares filming experience with Penelope Cruz
Speaking exclusively to Us at the 'Cape Fear' finale screening at DGA New York Theater on Tuesday, July 21, Bardem teased 'Bunker', calling it "a very intimate, strong, and also humorous story about many things."
"Well, Bunker is the movie where we play this married couple, and it’s a very intimate, strong, and also humorous story about many things," he shared before praising director and writer Florian Zeller, adding, "The quality of the dialogues, the quality of what he is bringing into the story for us to reflect on — is really powerful, so I hope you watch it and enjoy it."
In 'Bunker', which is slated for a theatrical US release in early 2027, Bardem plays an architect whose marriage is tested after he accepts a project to build a bunker for a billionaire, while Cruz portrays his wife.
According to Bardem, their real-life marriage makes working together easier.
"There’s a level of trust, of knowing how we work, that doesn’t need to be rehearsed, that saves a lot of time," he explained.
The pair first met in 1992 while portraying love interests in the Spanish film 'Jamon, Jamon'.
Their relationship turned romantic years later after reuniting as co-stars in Woody Allen's 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' in 2007. They married in an intimate ceremony in the Bahamas in 2010 and later welcomed son Leo in 2011 and daughter Luna in 2013.
The pair have also appeared together in 'The Counselor', 'Loving Pablo', and 'Everybody Knows'. Reflecting on working together while raising a family, Bardem told Vulture in 2019, "Life has changed. We have grown. Everything is different once you’re a family. That is the priority, as it should be. We’re no exception from that. Fiction is fiction, reality is its own thing."
Penelope Cruz reflects on marriage to Javier Bardem
Previously, while promoting 'The Invite', which premiered for wide release on June 26 and co-stars Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen, Cruz reflected on her marriage to Bardem in an interview with PEOPLE.
"I feel like I'm still learning [in my relationship], you know?" she said, adding, "And I am with somebody that I've known for 33 years."
"I really know that person," she continued, adding, "But is there a day where you really get to know yourself? No. So the same with your partner."
The comedy, a remake of the 2020 Spanish film 'The People Upstairs', follows two couples forced to confront difficult truths through honest conversations about relationships and desire.
Bardem has also publicly expressed his appreciation for his family, previously saying, "I want to thank my partner, friend, wife and amazing mother, Penelope, and our two beloved miracles, Leo and Luna, for their support in my chasing my artistic passion and their patience for putting up with it."
Cruz has also acknowledged that working together has strengthened their relationship while noting that moderation is important.
During a 2018 interview with the Golden Globes, she said collaborating onscreen has "more advantages than anything else," but added that doing so too often "would not be healthy."
"It would be too much," she said.
Wilde shared a similar perspective while discussing 'The Invite', saying the honest conversations explored in the film are essential for long-term relationships: "It feels impossible at times to sustain a relationship with one person for a very long time if you don't have these difficult conversations that the movie is really about."
