Penelope Cruz reveals she turned down her first big break in America after discovering she would have to strip off for sex scenes

Penelope Cruz has candidly discussed her own experiences as a young actress in Hollywood.

The Spanish star, 49, revealed she turned down her first big break in America, when she was 20-years-old, after discovering she would have to strip off for sex scenes.

She has since went on to film steamy sex scenes with Emile Hirsch in 2012 drama Twice Born.

Speaking on the Five Things With Lynn Hirschberg podcast, Penelope explained: ‘The first opportunity I had to do a casting the director said, “You need to sign this clause that says you will do a couple of sex scenes”‘.

‘I was very shocked by that because it was not in the script before. I was in LA alone and I said, “I don’t understand because I had this script for a year and that was not there”‘.

Penelope Cruz has candidly discussed her own experiences as a young actress in Hollywood

The Spanish star, 49, revealed she turned down her first big break in America, when she was 20-years-old, after discovering she would have to strip off for sex scenes

She continued: ‘I didn’t like that game, I didn’t like that I was not told before I got on that 14-hour flight.

‘I said, “No I am not signing’. They said, “OK, you’re not doing the screen test”. I went into the room and I spoke very little English, but for some reason that day I could speak English.

‘I said, “Listen, my values that my parents taught me mean a lot to me and this is a test. It’s not right or wrong to do those scenes. The problem is the ethical issue that you didn’t tell me before I got on the plane and you sent me a different script. But I want to do the test for the script that you sent me a week before”‘.

‘I knew from their faces that they were going to let me do the screen test because they knew what I was telling them was true.

‘And I knew I was not going to get the movie because the director was very angry that I didn’t sign.’

Penelope claims it was the best decision she ever made: ‘It was a power thing and I had zero power but I had my dignity and my values. It was very sad. I remember, on the flight back to Spain, I knew I had done the right thing.

‘It was the time in my life I felt most proud of something I had done in my career.’

She added: ‘I had to do other scenes that were love scenes or sex scenes, nothing hardcore, but at that moment I was not ready and it was a proud moment for me.

‘It made me best friends with myself. I didn’t get the part and I didn’t care.’

It comes after Penelope made rare comments about her sister Monica who looks just like her.

The Oscar-winning star has designed a capsule collection for Geox with her 46-year-old sister for the spring or summer next year.

When asked whether she and her sister influenced each other’s styles, Penelope said: ‘Yes, a lot, to the point of, you know, taking a lot of clothes from each other’s closets.

‘Sometimes wearing exactly the same thing when we were little girls.’

Cruz then said that she and Mónica would hide ‘in the bathroom together and sitting on the floor with magazines and drawing on top of the designs and changing the designs.’

Cruz – who used to date Tom Cruise – added, ‘So that was always our main game and a fantasy.’

Monica looks so much like Penelope, she stood in for her during scenes for Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 2010.

Penelope then gushed about the brand, and having the opportunity to work with her sister on something they are so passionate about.

She said: ‘I am also very grateful that I can do another collection with my sister, because we have done this on and off, with different brands, over the last 20 years.

‘It is something that keeps happening here and there. So, we are very grateful because we continue to learn from these great brands.’

Penelope made rare comments about her sister Monica who looks just like her. Seen in a Mango ad from 2008

The sisters have previously designed a collection of jewelry and handbags for Japanese fashion house Samantha Thavasa.

Cruz and her sister created two collections for Swiss retailer Charles Vögele in 2010 and 2011.

The Spring/Summer 2011 collection, titled Biaggini Violett became available in Europe.

The pair teamed up again 2013 to design a lingerie line titled L’Agent for British lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur.

She also modelled for Agent Provocateur’s Autumn/Winter 2012–13 campaign.

In November 2012, the sisters signed a three-year endorsement deal with Spanish luxury fashion house Loewe, and appeared in advertising campaigns and designed a handbag for the brand.

In 2018, she launched a jewelry collection titled Rock Star for Majorica.

Monica is a Spanish actress and dancer.

She has appeared in the films The Inquiry, Last Hour, Jerry Cotton and Iron Cross.

Cruz also said she believes her star sign is the most important factor in her fashion decisions.

When Stylist asked the actress whether creativity or comfort were more important to her outfits, Penelope spilled that her style choices are often written in the stars.

The Oscar-winning star has designed a capsule collection for Geox with her 46-year-old sister for the spring or summer next year. When asked whether she and her sister influenced each other’s styles, Penelope said: ‘Yes, a lot, to the point of, you know, taking a lot of clothes from each other’s closets’; seen in 2016

The Vanilla Sky star – who was born on April 28, 1974 and is a Taurus – said: ‘It’s a combination. As a good Taurus, we are very visual, so we admire beauty.

‘The combination of that with comfort.

‘Especially, I think, if you have children. My life is running around all day with them and also my work, I think that becomes very important.

‘Of course, I will always like some heels, but it’s not my everyday life, you know.

‘I am very happy with the sneakers that we designed [for Geox]. I think they are cool, but they are going to be very comfortable.’

The 49-year-old actress has son Leo, 12, and daughter Luna, 10, with her husband Javier Bardem.

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