Penelope Cruz has revealed she ‘cried’ on the set of her new film Ferrari which also stars Adam Driver and Shailene Woodley.
The Spanish beauty said it was due to the ‘sad energy’ she felt over her character Laura Ferrari’s bedroom.
The 49-year-old actress found a visit to the apartment where her Ferrari character lived incredibly painful.
But Cruz noted that sadness helped her understand Laura better for the biopic because it informed her how the woman felt following the end of her marriage to Enzo Ferrari and the death of her son Dino.
She told Empire magazine: ‘It was a lot of colors that were supposed to be happy but to me it had a very sad energy.
‘I started to cry, understanding what it would be like for this woman spending so much time hiding in that room, missing her son and missing what she had in that relationship with Enzo.’
![Penelope Cruz Opens Up About Emotional Experience Portraying Enzo Ferrari's 'Sad' Wife in New Film on the Automotive Icon 1 Penelope Cruz has revealed she 'cried' on the set of her new film Ferrari because of the 'sad energy' in her character Laura Ferrari's bedroom](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/01/21/79513581-12917049-image-m-106_1704143408048.jpg)
Penelope Cruz has revealed she ‘cried’ on the set of her new film Ferrari because of the ‘sad energy’ in her character Laura Ferrari’s bedroom
![Penelope Cruz Opens Up About Emotional Experience Portraying Enzo Ferrari's 'Sad' Wife in New Film on the Automotive Icon 3 The 49-year-old actress found a visit to the apartment where her Ferrari character lived incredibly helpful. She said it helped her role in the biopic because it made her understand how the woman felt following the end of her marriage and the death of her son](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/02/15/79511639-12917049-The_49_year_old_actress_found_a_visit_to_the_apartment_where_her-a-71_1704210173125.jpg)
The 49-year-old actress found a visit to the apartment where her Ferrari character lived incredibly helpful. She said it helped her role in the biopic because it made her understand how the woman felt following the end of her marriage and the death of her son
‘There was something that happened to in that room and I think it also happened to Michael [Mann, director].’
The filmmaker ended up exactly replicating the wallpaper they had found in the bedroom.
Penelope said: ‘For us it had a meaning.
‘We could see it there and remember the effect it had on us the first time we saw it.’
The Spanish actress was determined to do Laura justice because she felt frustrated by the way she was left in Enzo Ferrari’s shadow and her own contributions to their company sidelined.
![Penelope Cruz Opens Up About Emotional Experience Portraying Enzo Ferrari's 'Sad' Wife in New Film on the Automotive Icon 5 The beauty breaking down in tears in the Pedro Almodovar film Volver](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/02/15/79513571-12917049-The_beauty_breaking_down_in_tears_in_the_Pedro_Almodovar_film_Vo-a-70_1704210173049.jpg)
The beauty breaking down in tears in the Pedro Almodovar film Volver
![Penelope Cruz Opens Up About Emotional Experience Portraying Enzo Ferrari's 'Sad' Wife in New Film on the Automotive Icon 7 Cruz crying in Vicky Cristina Barcelona](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/02/15/79513573-12917049-Cruz_crying_in_Vicky_Cristina_Barcelona-a-72_1704210173184.jpg)
Cruz crying in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
![Penelope Cruz Opens Up About Emotional Experience Portraying Enzo Ferrari's 'Sad' Wife in New Film on the Automotive Icon 9 Cruz attends Salma Hayek Pinault's and Kristen Stewart's celebratory luncheon honoring Penelope Cruz's starring role in Michael Mann's Ferrari at the Mandarin Oriental Residences Beverly Hills on December 14](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/02/15/79511663-12917049-Cruz_attends_Salma_Hayek_Pinault_s_and_Kristen_Stewart_s_celebra-a-69_1704210172812.jpg)
Cruz attends Salma Hayek Pinault’s and Kristen Stewart’s celebratory luncheon honoring Penelope Cruz’s starring role in Michael Mann’s Ferrari at the Mandarin Oriental Residences Beverly Hills on December 14
She explained: ‘When I was doing my research, a lot of people were saying to me she had mental problems, she was just hiding at home, she was crazy – she had nothing to do with the company.
‘And the more I would read about her, the more furious these comments would make me.
‘She’s much more important for the family than people have known or people wanted to know.’
She also told Entertainment Weekly: ‘Nobody knew about Laura. So we started to do research together. We ended up looking for people who knew her, and even talking to strangers in the street, because there was very little written about her.
‘There was no video or audio of her, nothing.’
The actress was surprised that ‘all I heard about her was that she was difficult, she was a witch.
‘People were scared of her. So I said, “We have to dig deeper and see who this woman really was.” It became a personal need for Michael [Mann] and for myself to give her a voice.’