Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz’s love story is beyond a dream! Apart from being incredible actors, the reason behind their great chemistry in 2008’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona were the feelings they had since their first meeting in 1992.
In an interview with Gentleman’s Journal while promoting his recent Netflix release Monsters: The Lyle & Eric Menendez Story, Bardem shared how his love story with Cruz began.
The couple first met on the set of the 1992 Spanish-language film Jamon Jamon. “She was 17, and I was 22. This was her first film; One of my first films. A big movie,’” Bardem recalled. They first met during the wardrobe test of the film, and “something happened” when they made eye contact.
“Something that has no explanation and is beyond logic and reason,” the actor said. , a way to trust each other as human beings,” he recalled.
Even though they never spoke to each other in all those years, they still retained that connection and love in their subconscious and that’s what drew them back together years later.
Their onscreen reunion in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona rekindled their love. The couple soon made their first official public appearance together at the 2010 Goya Awards and married later that year.
“We realized that the spirit was still alive. Very lively,” the Skyfall actor said. Coincidentally, both of them were single at the time, so things naturally fell into place. However, what connected them most was watching each other’s rise to fame. They knew each other “before the noise, before the success, and before anyone saw us”, which became the basis of their budding relationship.
“Trusting someone because you know them for real, and they know you for real. You look at me, I look at you. This is important,” he said. Now, the couple have two children, son Leo, 13, and daughter Luna, 11, and have won multiple awards in their respective works, including an Oscar.
In addition to the Netflix true crime story, Bardem starred in the blockbuster Dune: Part 2 this year, while Cruz recently appeared in the 2023 film Ferrari.
