Penelope Cruz On Her Character In 'Official Competition': 'I Try Not To Mix Things'

Penelope Cruz has one thing in common with her character in her upcoming film "Official Competition" – both love to be behind the camera.

The 48-year-old actress said in an exclusive interview with E! News' "Daily Pop" that she has a passion for directing, which is something that her character, Lola Cuevas, also enjoys.

"I have been saying since I was 16 years old that I wanna be behind the camera," Cruz told "Daily Pop" while attending the Tribeca festival. "I've done some commercials. I've done a documentary. I'm doing another documentary now. Maybe when my kids are older, I will focus more on that. Since the first day I met Almodovar (Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar), I've been telling him that that's what I want to do in my future."

In the comedy movie, Cruz plays diva director Cuevas and stars alongside her friend Antonio Banderas. She described it as "a movie inside a movie with a bunch of psychopaths" and her character as the "main psychopath."

She says Cuevas is a "crazy director who tortures her actors and the entire crew. She thinks that people will give a better performance if they're suffering."

While her character may have a different method on filmmaking, Cruz does not agree with it.

"I used to think that in my 20s, or even in my 30s but since I became a mother, I feel like I try not to mix things," she explained.

Cruz shares a son, 11-year-old Leo, and a daughter, 8-year-old Luna Encinas Cruz, with actor Javier Bardem. The couple married in 2010.

Banderas also shared his excitement about working with his longtime friend again. The duo was seen together in the 2019 film "Pain and Glory."

"It's great to work with somebody that I have been friends with for many years, since the times I was doing Philadelphia in 1993, we are friends," Banderas told "Daily Pop." "It's been great, just to work with an actress of that caliber, but at the same time, who is my friend."

The actor also praised the actress' knack for doing comedy.

"She has a great capacity to do comedy, which she didn't do too much in America. She was very good in comedy in Spain, but she demonstrated in this movie that it's an international start in comedy," he added.