"He was very, very polite and very kind, but he's always to the point and I love that. I love how honest he is," said Cruz. "All actors adore Woody because he's just honest. He's there for you, but he doesn't waste any time on anything. That makes it very real. He's not a man of too many words, but when he starts talking you're on the floor laughing. It's great to be able to hear stories."
Cruz plays Maria Elena, a real fireball of a character, in Allen's romantic comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Maria Elena's a wild woman who doesn't withhold her emotions. She's divorced from the charismatic painter Juan Antonio (played by Javier Bardem) with whom she had an explosive relationship, yet despite their mercurial relationship she's drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
Cruz picked writer/director Allen's brain to make sure they were on the same wavelength when it came to how far to push her character. "Sometimes during the sandwich break I would sit next to him and ask him about [my character] Maria Elena. I was worried about doing much. He said, 'Maria Elena has to bring chaos wherever she goes.' So be it. He would always tell me, 'Believe me. There are people like that.' He never wanted Maria Elena to have any moment of rest," said Cruz.
Allen said Cruz and Bardem bounced ideas off of each other and worked hard on fleshing out their characters' relationship. Maybe even a little too hard as far as Allen was concerned. "I always asked Woody for one more take and he was very patient and he would always say yes, but he would say, 'Just know that I don't need it. I already have it, but I'm going to do it for you…' But that was every day 10 times until the last day when he disappeared. He ran out of patience and it was the day we were wrapping the movie and I was going, 'Can I have one more, please?' I couldn't stop myself and I think I asked for eight more takes, and then in the eighth one they were cutting and I was ready to ask for one more and he was nowhere on the set."
"I think at the end I was getting very obsessed with that, but he respects all the different methods and systems that an actor can have. He's very respectful. One day I went up to him with my book of notes of the past of Maria Elena and everything that's happened to her when she was growing up and who told her that she was a genius and how that put her in this victim role and how she can't get out of it – all these notes and drawings. He was still trying to be very respectful and answer my questions, but he did look at me with a half smile and say, 'But you don't need to do all this for me. Things are going very well. You don't need to do this. But if you need to do it I think it's great.' Again though, he's so honest. He's respectful, but he doesn't take you more or less serious depending on which method you use to work, but he gives you the freedom to use the one that you need. I love that. He never loses the humor in it. He's great," said Cruz.
Asked to compare working with Allen and Pedro Almodovar, another director known for strong female characters, Cruz replied, "I love working with both of them. I just wrapped a Pedro Almodovar movie three days ago. I finished and the day after I got on the plane for this. We were shooting in Spain and the system that they have for work, they couldn't be more different. But I love both of them because you're working with two geniuses and you have to just get in their hands and trust them and just experience that adventure because it's an adventure with them every time. Woody doesn't rehearse at all. With Pedro I rehearsed three months. In every way they couldn't be more different, but it's amazing when you're lucky enough to work with people who are so talented. One system is not better than the other or the opposite because they are so secure about what they need to do their best. You just have to ride that wave with them and enjoy it. It's a privilege to know that you can trust your director."
Next up for Cruz is a starring role in something completely different – the musical Nine directed by Rob Marshall. "I'm going to start rehearsing when I finish the publicity for both movies, for Elegy which comes out this coming week and for this. Then I start rehearsing for the musical."
Cruz has 17 years of dance experience and says she's ready to take advantage of all those years of preparation. "I feel like I get to use it and to work many hours every day, like when I was a dancer. I will be dancing five hours a day and then singing and acting, the whole thing, for many, many months. We'll be training in a place where you do a few hours of singing, a few hours of dancing, then going through the scenes and that's a dream for any actor. I'm very excited. I really like the director, Rob Marshall."
"The numbers are amazing," revealed Cruz. "I've only rehearsed one of the numbers and it's really amazing choreography. The singing, I did a little bit before for private things, some classes, and I did audition for this part. I recorded it and I've been taking a lot of classes before doing Pedro's movie and now I'm going to be taking many, many more."
