Javier Bardem has revealed he will turn down roles if it means spending more than two weeks away from his family, sharing rare insight into his life with wife Penelope Cruz in a new interview.
The 57-year-old actor has been married to the star for 16 years, and the couple share two children: son Leo, 15, and daughter Luna, 12. Bardem shared that since the birth of their first child, he and Cruz have ensured that at least one of them is continuously at home when taking acting roles.
Praising his spouse, the No Country For Old Men star added that he feels 'blessed' to have 'had the chance to be at the same time, in the same place, in life' as her. He said: 'I don't have musts in my contract that have to do with bigger trailers or luxurious suites. The only thing I do pay attention to is, no more than two weeks away from my family.'
Bardem told Variety: 'Penelope is an amazing, beautiful, good human being — the way she relates to her family, to her friends, to our kids, to me, to herself. It's been a lot of years, and I haven't seen a hint of malice in her. On top of that, she's amazingly beautiful! When I see her being photographed in some magazines, I go, 'Is that my wife? Is it? It must be.''
Cruz won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in 2008's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, while Bardem took home Best Supporting Actor for the 2007 drama No Country For Old Men. He later played the villain Raoul Silva in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall.
Fans will reportedly have to wait another two years before 007 returns to the big screen, marking the longest gap between movies in the franchise's 64-year history. The super spy is no stranger to lengthy hiatuses, with a six-year gap between 1989's Licence to Kill (the final Timothy Dalton film) and 1995's GoldenEye (the first to star Pierce Brosnan). However, with the leading actor still to be recast following Daniel Craig's exit after 2021's No Time To Die, a rumoured spring 2028 release means audiences will have waited seven years.
Last year, the Broccoli family handed over creative control to Amazon MGM Studios — formed when Amazon bought Bond's parent studio in 2022 — after 30 years. Dune director Denis Villeneuve has signed on to helm the new project, with Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight writing the script.
A source said: 'Bond won't be back until 2028. The production mindset has gone from 'Let's hurry this through' to 'Make sure we get this right.' Denis wanted a long break after Dune 3 and has some broad ideas on the script. Steven will get on with drafts, before they map out the final version. That'll take at least the whole summer.'
They told The Sun: 'Realistically, if they can make January 2027 work for pre-production then that will be a success. The principal photography will run until the summer and the film always takes around nine months to a year to edit.'
