Penélope Cruz talks three Oscar-season films on Awards Chatter

Penélope Cruz has three films in this year's Oscar conversation. She talked through all three on a live recording of Awards Chatter, published by The Hollywood Reporter on 5 Oct.

The episode was taped in front of an audience at 1 Hotel Toronto. The recording took place on 15 Sept during the Toronto International Film Festival, and is hosted by Scott Feinberg.

Cruz uses the interview to discuss her 2026 performances in The Invite, La Bola Negra and Bunker. Each film has a different director and a different distributor. That gives her three separate paths into awards season.

In The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde for A24, she plays a bohemian sexologist. Writers Rashida Jones and Will McCormack built the script with the actors, Cruz says in the episode. Variety lists her as a Supporting Actress contender for the role, a category that honours performances outside the lead role, and describes the film as a major awards contender for A24.

In La Bola Negra, from Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo for Netflix, she plays a cabaret singer entertaining troops during the Spanish Civil War. The film is a prizewinner at Cannes, the French festival whose awards often start awards campaigns. Netflix has positioned its ensemble cast for awards contention, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cruz tells Feinberg her big musical number in La Bola Negra was filmed amid a health scare. It was also kept as a surprise for hundreds of extras on the set.

In Bunker, directed by Florian Zeller for Sony Classics, she plays a book editor living through marital strife. The film reunites her on screen with Javier Bardem. Bardem is now her husband, and was her co-star on her big-screen debut, Jamon, Jamon.

Cruz already holds a place in Oscar history. She became the first Spanish actress ever nominated for an acting Oscar, for Volver. In 2009 she became the first Spanish actress to win one, for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

For fans, this means a busy autumn. Three films, three characters, and three companies asking voters to pay attention at once.