Penélope Cruz reflected on an unusual coincidence involving her husband, Javier Bardem, and their respective Oscar victories. During an appearance on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Cruz discussed how difficult it was to explain their achievements to their children. The actress said their historic wins happened so close together that even she struggled to understand the coincidence.
Penélope Cruz reflects on her and Javier Bardem’s historic back-to-back Oscar wins
Cruz discussed the couple’s success during a podcast conversation recorded at September’s Toronto International Film Festival. “And also, we don’t understand — like, how how crazy is that coincidence?” she said. The Penélope Cruz Javier Bardem Oscars connection dated back to two consecutive Academy Awards ceremonies.
Bardem won Best Supporting Actor in 2008 for his portrayal of Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. Cruz followed in 2009 with a Best Supporting Actress victory for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Her win also made her the first Spanish actress to receive an acting Oscar. However, Cruz said their children had difficulty understanding how unusual those achievements were.
“The thing is when you have to explain to your kids and you have to say, ‘It’s such a crazy coincidence that one day you will understand why.’” Cruz and Bardem share two children, Leo, 15, and Luna, 13. The actress said she wanted them to understand that their parents’ achievements were not ordinary experiences.
The couple’s professional relationship began years before their Academy Award success. They first appeared together in the 1992 Spanish film Jamón Jamón and eventually married in 2010. Their latest collaboration, Bunker, marked their tenth film together.
The movie followed a married couple whose relationship faced difficulties after Bardem’s character agreed to construct a survival bunker for a wealthy technology entrepreneur. Cruz also discussed the trust they had developed through their personal and professional relationship.
“Of course, all of that history and all of that trust is going to be there to be able to try things on set, to be able to jump into those scenes that are scary and know that the other person is there for you and that you are there for the other person,” she said.
The actress had also earned Oscar nominations for Volver, Nine, and Parallel Mothers. Bardem received additional nominations for Before Night Falls, Biutiful, and Being the Ricardos. Despite their individual achievements, Cruz continued to describe their consecutive Oscar victories as an extraordinary coincidence.
