Penélope Cruz shares heartbreaking reason why she and Ben Stiller bonded on Zoolander 2 set
Penélope Cruz has been speaking about her time on the set of Zoolander 2 and the heartbreaking reason why she formed a close bond with co-star Ben Stiller.
While the 2016 comedy may have performed pretty badly at Box Office and still sits at a 21 percent Rotten Tomatoes score to this day, there's no doubt friendships were formed during the filming process.
Zoolander 2 featured the likes of Cyrus Arnold, Christine Taylor, Ariana Grande and even Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton.
However, It was Cruz and Stiller that formed a particular strong bond on set though as they were both experiencing the recent grief of losing a parent.
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Speaking to PORTER, Cruz revealed her father died in the early hours of a Saturday morning when she was on a night shoot.
"He died at two in the morning. Really young, a heart attack out of the blue. I remember being so close to passing out from the shock," the 52-year-old said.
"On Monday morning, I had to be on set again, trying to make people laugh, shooting a comedy.
"Two weeks before that, the same thing had happened to Ben Stiller with his mom. The film couldn't stop for him, or for me. Every time I see Ben, I think, "Wow, what we went through.'"
Stiller, 60, spoke to Parade in 2016, where he opened up on the struggles of losing his mother.
"Honestly, it happened so recently that I'm still processing it," he told the outlet.
"It affects me constantly. You know, you're going through your life, everything is great and then like, Pow! She's not here. It's hard for me."
Meanwhile, Cruz has had a health scare of her own in recent times after doctors believed she had an aneurysm, which can cause bleeding in the brain and be life threatening,
The actor was later relieved to hear the news it was a false alarm.
She added to PORTER: "I have had many scares like that. Fortunately, I'm fine, it was a false alarm, but I worry about staying healthy, taking care of myself.
"I don't drink, I don't smoke, I really don't party. Without health, we have nothing. You talk about real equality? Why don't we start with health?"
Cruz expressed her concerns for women's healthcare more generally, as she added: "It's shocking that, over decades, we've stuck to the same information about how women's bodies work.
"Look at funding for investigation into any illness that affects only women. We don't get even half the investment. It is a level of control or suppression."
Topics: Celebrity
Callum Jones