PALTROW: The other project of yours that I’m dying over is The Assassination of Gianni Versace. I saw pictures. You look incredible as Donatella.
CRUZ: From the moment I got the call from Ryan Murphy, I thought, “Why did you think of me for that character? That’s very … interesting.” I know her a little bit, and I really like her. I had a few questions about how he was going to handle her portrayal, but he’s so classy, and he’s very respectful to people. This is a delicate story, because I’m playing someone who is alive, someone who lost her brother in a horrible way, and someone who still misses him very much 20 years later. I was not used to the rhythm of doing television.
PALTROW: It’s fast.
CRUZ: Getting four monologues two days before the shoot? And I was doing English with an Italian accent! I was like, “This is impossible.” But then you just do it.
PALTROW: When I did Glee, I was like, “What do you mean we’re shooting a whole musical number in half a day?” I couldn’t believe it. And then after TV, you go back to doing a movie and you’re like, “This is so slow!”
CRUZ: I know! Now I’m shooting a movie with Asghar Farhadi, the director of The Salesman and A Separation, in Spain. I look at my dialogue and I’m like, “Uhh, okay. I got this.” [laughs]
PALTROW: How did you go about preparing to play Donatella Versace? Did you watch interviews?
CRUZ: I worked a lot with a dialogue coach to find the way that Donatella speaks, which is a little different from the way she spoke in the ’90s. The accent that she has, it’s Italian with a very international flavor—very rock ’n’ roll. I didn’t want to do an imitation of Donatella, or a caricature. I wanted to try to capture the essence of who she is.
PALTROW: Did you speak to her about it?
CRUZ: A little bit. I needed that conversation. I really hope that when she sees the show, she’s going to be happy. I’m sure there are going to be scenes that are hard for her to watch, because it’s a lot about the loss of her brother, which, of course, I have so much respect for. I did it with all my love. From that place of devastation, she had to keep this company going in his honor. I don’t know if she ever said this, but it was a way of keeping him alive.
PALTROW: Do you think you’ll do more TV?
CRUZ: Why not? I would love to work with Ryan and his team again.
Penelope Cruz
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