Ep. 98 – Penélope Cruz (feat. Katharine Clark Gray)

The B-Side: A Film Stage Podcast

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. Today, we dive into the career of the stunning and stunningly talented Penélope Cruz. The indelible actress broke on to the scene in 1992 with Jamón Jamón, followed a few years later by her first collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar in Live Flesh. Soon enough, Cruz was in Hollywood pictures like Blow and The Hi-Lo Country. Our B-Sides include: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Chromophobia, Twice Born, and this year’s The 355. Joining us today is returning guest Katharine Clark Gray of Uncompromised Creative. Gray is a writer for the Wait What network, and was part of the team recently awarded two Webby Awards for the episode “President Barack Obama: When the moment chooses you, part 1.” We discuss the early, predictable type-casting of Cruz in Hollywood, the unfortunate failure of some of those earlier studio pictures (All The Pretty Horses in particular), her enduring range as a performer, and the hope to see her in more comedies (Official Competition coming soon!) Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!