Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz once made Prince an hour late to his own gig

What she wants. As Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee — 70 years on the British throne —she opened up about her wishes for the future of the U.K. monarchy.

The Queen is yet to meet Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s second child Lilibet, and now Meghan’s friend Omid Scobie has revealed that the couple won’t introduce the eight-month-old to her great-grandmother this year if “security concerns can’t be resolved”. Harry and his wife Meghan welcomed Lilibet, whose middle name is Diana, in June last year, but the couple have been living in California since 2020 after taking a step back from their roles as working royals.

Penélope Cruz is giving credit to her mom for her hair and makeup skills.

Playing a mother on screen really got to Penélope Cruz’s head.

Showbiz news here. She dated Tom Cruise from 2001 to 2004 after they met on the set of Vanilla Sky, a science fiction psychological film. At the time Tom was married to Nicole Kidman and he and Penelope began dating after they had filmed Vanilla Sky and Tom was no longer with Nicole.

There’s nothing like working with a true visionary to bring out the best in an actor.

Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”) and Benedict Cumberbatch (“Power of the Dog”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors, presented by Amazon Studios. For more, click here.Benedict Cumberbatch is so over Zoom. But a new spike in COVID-19 cases with the omicron variant has meant that his planned sit-down with Penélope Cruz will instead unfold over a screen.

James Bond for so long, your friends start to bring that persona into your personal life to mess with you.During a recent episode of Variety’s Actors on Actors, Skyfall costars Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem got together to discuss their respective careers, along with their time onscreen as a pair. Craig starts the conversation by asking: “Are we supposed to talk intelligently for 30 minutes? I’m not sure I’m capable of doing that. And I know I’m not capable of talking intelligently about acting for 30 minutes.”A post shared by Variety (@variety)Luckily, they don’t end up taking things too seriously, which leads to some interesting annecdotes--including Bardem talking about the time he surprised his friend by dressing up as a Bond girl.It all started when the Spainish actor brings up how much they have in common, which includes the fact that they were born one day and one year apart.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIn some ways, Javier Bardem and Christoph Waltz have trod similar career paths. In the space of two years, both stole the show and won Oscars playing cold-blooded killers, Bardem in the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men,” Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds.” Both went on to become memorable Bond villains.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentOscar voters take their duties seriously and seem to have a few key criteria in voting: Is this work emotionally honest, does it pop off the screen, and is it something that will be admired 50 years from now?Penelope Cruz in “Parallel Mothers” checks all those boxes. There are no guarantees with Oscars, but if there’s justice in the world, she will be nominated Feb. 8.

Clayton Davis Penélope Cruz is luxuriously refined in “Parallel Mothers,” a performance that has picked up critical acclaim and notable accolades since debuting at Venice. The voting bloc of the international community is a key demographic that pushed last year’s “The Father” from Florian Zeller, another Sony Pictures Classics feature, to perform exceptionally well with the Academy despite significant misses from key guild groups leading to nominations.

Skyfall, the 2012 instalment of the James Bond franchise, reflected on the stunt in a new interview.The pair spoke to Variety as part of its Actors On Actors feature, with Craig saying in the video: “I remember you were in drag – but I know that’s a whole other story.”Bardem went on to admit that he popped “out of a cake” to surprise his co-star on his birthday. “I was supposed to be the Bond girl that night, and oh, my God, I was,” he said.“I sang ‘Happy Birthday  to You,’ my best Marilyn Monroe impersonation.

discussing their respective roles in “No Time to Die” and “Being the Ricardos” as part of Variety’s annual “Actors on Actors” series in which thespians politely grill each other for their fans’ viewing pleasure.During the laughter-filled bro chat, Craig dropped a gender-bending bombshell about their time working together: “I remember you were in drag — but I know that’s a whole other story.”Bardem went on to admit that he popped “out of a cake” to surprise his co-star on his birthday.“I was supposed to be the Bond girl that night, and oh, my God, I was,” he revealed. “I sang ‘Happy Birthday  to You,’ my best Marilyn Monroe impersonation.

When it comes to birthday celebrations, Javier Bardem goes all out for his friends.

Zack Sharf Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem became close friends during the making of Sam Mendes’ 2012 James Bond tentpole “Skyfall,” so much so that Bardem once serenaded Craig for his birthday in Marilyn Monroe fashion. True to the spirit of their friendship, Bardem did so while dressed in drag as a Bond girl.

Daniel Craig (“No Time to Die”) and Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors, presented by Amazon Studios. For more, click here.Since starring together as hero and villain of 2012’s “Skyfall,” Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem have continued to test themselves on screen. Last year, Craig finally bid farewell to James Bond with “No Time to Die,” a moody sendoff for his iteration of the British superspy.

Eric Church paid tribute to late rocker Meat Loaf by performing one of the “Bat Out of Hell” singer’s biggest hits during his Saturday night concert in Detroit.

EXCLUSIVE: The Santa Barbara Film Festival will be getting a touch of Lucy and Desi by way of honoring another pair of major stars.

Meat Loaf spoke about having something of a showdown with Prince Andrew in an interview that’s resurfaced online.