Penelope Cruz Inspired to Act by Almodovar  9/15/06

Spanish beauty Penelope Cruz was inspired to become an actress after watching a film by Pedro Almodovar aged only 13.

And Cruise was so amazed when the Talk to Her film-maker offered her a part only three years later, she thought it was a joke at first.

She says, "When I was 13 I saw Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, and I came out of the cinema completely in love with his soul.

"One of the biggest motivations in becoming an actress was the idea of being able to work with him some day. I remember that day exactly.

"Three years later the dream of working with Pedro began to come true. He called me and I was drying my hair in the bathroom.

"Somebody said, 'Almodovar is on the phone,' and I said, 'Ha ha, very funny,' and I just kept drying my hair.

"I figured it was a joke because everyone knew how much I wanted him to call me. He said, 'I've seen your first two movies and I love your work.'"

Cruise recently won rave reviews for her performance in Almodovar's latest movie Volver.