Javier Bardem Says 'It Helps' to Navigate Awards Season With Wife Penélope Cruz (Exclusive)
The actor praised his wife, who is getting awards recognition for her movie 'Parallel Mothers.'
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Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz are one powerhouse acting duo, and the two are each other's biggest supporters.
The couple and Oscar winners are known for making the awards season rounds, and as Bardem told ET's Nischelle Turner, "it helps" to have his lady love around to navigate the craziness of it all.
"I'm very proud of her. She did amazing in Parallel Mothers, Pedro Almodóvar's movie, and of course it helps to be like, to tease with each other, like, 'What's going on with you? What's going on on your side?'" Bardem said at the Being the Ricardos premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Thursday. "But at the same time, we know how to take all of this."
"We know that we have to take it with distance," he added. "Because otherwise it's too crazy."
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Bardem embodies Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos, with Nicole Kidman taking on the role of Lucille Ball. The Aaron Sorkin-directed drama follows the famous couple during one critical production week of their sitcom, I Love Lucy, which comes at a time when they're being threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear, and cultural taboos.
"The thing that struck me the most was energy, his ability to be not only the great comedian that he was, but also the protector of the show and the protector of her as a man, as a husband, and also as a partner," Bardem said of the late Arnaz.
Cruz, on her end, is receiving praise for her role in the Spanish drama, written and directed by frequent collaborator Almodóvar. The film centers on two single women who give birth on the same day. One is middle aged and does not regret it, while the other is adolescent and scared. The two women form a strong bond with one another as they both confront motherhood.
Cruz and Bardem have previously worked together in Jamon Jamon, Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health, Not Love, Just Frenzy, Live Flesh, Don't Tempt Me, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Counselor and Loving Pablo.
Cruz previously revealed that she doesn't want to work with her husband "that often," telling Marie Claire in 2019, "Obviously we can’t choose parts just for logistical reasons, like, ‘Oh, let’s work together more often because it’s easier.' No. In fact, it’s not something we want to do that often, partly out of a desire to protect what we have."
ET previously spoke with the pair, where they discussed how they manage to separate their personal and professional lives.
"We always separate," Cruz insisted. "I don't take the characters home."
“I think whatever you do in your daily life... You bring it home. You have a bad day in your profession, you will go back home and you will be touched or moved by how the day went for better or worse,” Bardem added. “It is the same for any actor, but the important thing is to know that there’s a division, clear division, between fiction and reality. In other words, we know that what is going on there is all fiction-related… There is nothing there that has anything to do with who we are as real people.”
For more on Bardem and Cruz, see below. Being the Ricardos arrives in theaters Dec. 10 and streams Dec. 21 on Prime Video.
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