I’ve always been aware that actress Penélope Cruz was somewhat ubiquitous and certainly a hard worker. She’s also intensely focused on her craft, more so than you might naturally expect. When I interviewed her for a Variety profile last year (she was in London shooting “Nine” at the time), she was incredibly centered, almost somberly so. She did, however, seem to unwind a bit at a Santa Barbara Film Festival tribute back in January, though.
Anyway, all that aside, I was nevertheless stunned to glance at her IMDb page and see that the woman has been in at least one film since 1993. That’s 16 years without a break, ladies and gentlemen. And this year, following an impressive one-two punch in 2008, she will be featured in no less than four films: “G-Force,” “The Cannibalistic Councilor” and Oscar hopefuls “Nine” and “Broken Embraces.” She doesn’t have much on deck, however.
What spurred the sudden interest in her busy career was this Times article, covering the imminent release of “Broken Embraces” in the UK next weekend. Cruz addresses a burn-out factor that had to come sooner or later and, amid rumors of pregnancy with boyfriend Javier Bardem’s child (she’s guarded about her personal life), indicates a desire to wind things down a bit. Pregnancy will do that, of course, but I imagine she’s earned a few years off after that streak.