Pedro Almodóvar; Penelope Cruz

Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz’s history is quite an interesting one that supports the idea of fate. Back in her native of Alcobendas, Spain, Cruz grew up watching Almodovar’s movies, not knowing that she would eventually become his muse. “He changed the way I looked at the world before I even knew him,” revealed Cruz in an interview with The Observer, having become a fan after watching Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down. “I went into the city to see that movie and that was the day that changed a lot of things for me in terms of making the decision that day to become an actress.”

Almodovar first discovered a 17-year-old Cruz in 1992 after seeing her debut film, Jamón, Jamón, which co-starred Cruz’s future husband Javier Bardem. Impressed by her presence, Almodovar called Cruz to audition for him. Unfortunately for Cruz, she was too young for his characters. Five years later, she finally got to work with Almodovar in 1997’s Live Flesh. The two would continue to work together throughout the years in films such as All About My Mother, Broken Embraces, Volver (which earned Cruz a Best Actress Oscar nomination) and most recently, I’m So Excited.