Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who will play the villain in the next instalment of the James Bond series, prefers not to talk about his private life and his relationship with Penelope Cruz to avoid the pressure it would put on his work.
In an interview published Friday in the British daily The Independent, Bardem, 43, said he didn't like questions about his life with the Spanish actress he married in 2010 because they would shift attention away from his work.
"It brings some other pressure and expectation that maybe the movie doesn't deserve. It can help in some ways, but not in others. There is nothing perfect," the Spanish actor said about the influence details of his private life could have on his work.
For Bardem, the flip side of a glamorous movie career is trying to balance work with its impact on the rest of his life.
"I do a job and am lucky enough to do a job that I love, but it is a hard one. I'm not saying it is as hard as working in a coal mine, but it is still difficult in a different way," the actor said.
"Sometimes you have to go through very strong emotional journeys and then come back to yourself. And that can be difficult to control," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"Sometimes you have to go through very strong emotional journeys and then come back to yourself. And that can be difficult to control," he said.
{{/usCountry}}About his work in the James Bond film Skyfall that premieres in October, Bardem acknowledged his enthusiasm because as a kid he loved going to movies about agent 007.
"I was born watching James Bond movies and there are many reasons to do this - the cast, the script, the story, the role and, of course, (director) Sam Mendes," he said.
And his career goes on. Next year Bardem will work with director Terrence Malick in a film whose name has not yet been announced.
What is known is that Bardem will work with actors Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams in a story about a man who gets in touch with a woman from his past after his marriage fails, according to The Independent.
Bardem won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 2008 Coen brothers' film No Country for Old Men and also won five Goyas (Spain's equivalent of the Oscars), a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, the Cannes Film Festival prize for Best Actor, and a Screen Actors Guild award.