Why Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz Choose to Live in Spain: 'We Are Among Our People'

Mar. 15, 2025

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz on March 7, 2022.Photo:Neilson Barnard/Getty

Neilson Barnard/Getty

Javier Bardemis enjoying the life he’s built with wifePenélope Cruzin Spain.

TheMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storyactor sharestwo kids with Cruz, 50: Leo, 13, and Luna, 11.

“Personally speaking, I’ve never felt anything but love and gratitude and joy and fun on the streets,” Bardem added of being in Spain. “And that’s why we live here, because we feel like we are among our people.”

Bardem and Cruz, both born and raised in Spain, met on the set of 1992’s Spanish-language filmJamón Jamón.Bardem said in theInterviewdiscussion that “there was a shift” in his level of fame after that movie became a “huge thing” upon its release.

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem on Sept. 20, 2024.JB Lacroix/WireImage

JB Lacroix/WireImage

At the time, he recalled, “I was like, ‘Wow, this feels good. People recognize me. I’m important.’ You start to take advantage of that. You go to the clubs, they give you a drink, the girls come and talk to you. But then you start to see that everything’s fake. Everybody wants something from you.”

“Nothing is organic anymore. Nothing. Nobody. They don’t behave with you the way they would with somebody else,” he explained of fame. “And it’s tough to adjust yourself to that, especially when you’re an actor, because we’re looking for truth. We are observers — we need to observe behaviors, actions, ways of speaking, personality traits, but none of that is possible when you’re the one being observed. So it’s challenging on a personal and professional level.”

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz on Feb. 12, 2022.Carlos Alvarez/Getty

Carlos Alvarez/Getty

Though they met while makingJamón Jamón,Bardem and Cruz didn’t become romantic until about 15 years later when they reconnected to make 2008’sVicky Cristina Barcelona. They made their first official public appearance as a couple at the 2010 Goya Awards andmarriedJuly 13, 2010, in the Bahamas.

“Back in the day, we had different lives, different objectives, aims and goals. Yet, something was there — an energy, a chemistry, a way to rely on each other as human beings,” he recently explained toGentleman’s Journalof their initial spark. “And that stayed for so long, even though we didn’t see each other or speak to each other for many years.”

“Werealized that the feeling was still alive. Very alive. To our surprise!” he added of when they reunited.

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem on March 27, 2022.Momodu Mansaray/Getty

Momodu Mansaray/Getty

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It also helped, he toldGentleman’s Journal, that the Oscar-winning couple knew each other pre-fame. “We met each other and knew each other before all of the noise, before success and before anybody saw us with different eyes because of who we now were, what we had become.”

“That’s an important base, to rely on someone because you know them for real, and they know you for real. You see me, I see you. That’s important,” said Bardem.

source: people.com