Penelope Cruz’s Frightening Brain Aneurysm Warning

has opened up about having a brain aneurysm scare as she filmed her movie The Black Ball last year.

The 52-year-old actress shared during the that she thought she was going to die after being informed of the health emergency, according to Variety.

Her doctor had told her that she might need to take a break from filming to deal with the aneurysm, which is a weak, bulging area in an artery wall. 

A ruptured aneurysm causes bleeding into the brain which is life threatening, according to the Mayo Clinic.

'When we were about to go out to shoot the movie, I was putting on my wig, and they said, "Oh, apparently you have some brain aneurysm,"' she said during a press conference for The Black Ball at the festival.

'I thought I was about to die. This is something that was totally surreal in my life.'

The Oscar-winning Spanish actress explained that she thought the warning was a 'joke' at first.

Even though she had been told to take it easy, she still wanted to film the key scene so she asked her doctors if she could go in front of the camera.

But then the doctors told her that it was a false alarm and she was actually in good health, so she could return to making her movie.

'The shooting was not going to stop. And for me, talking about these things is very important,' she told the audience at Cannes.

'It's important to share information about where such characters take you - you experience these things together, yet despite all this, despite the hardship, you can move forward in life, and I think they're the only people who knew all these details and they provided such incredible support.'

Cruz plays cabaret singer Nene in the movie from directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.

The wife of Javier Bardem was attracted to the film because of the script, even though her character has minimal screen time.

The Vicky Christina Barcelona star said: 'I don't base my decision on the number of minutes my character is in the script. I want to be part of things that are important, that speak to me.

'When I read this script, I discovered this fantastic story and I felt it would be wonderful to be part of something that's even more important than just one more film.'

The film explores the inter-connected lives of three gay men and Penelope explained that the LGBTQ+ themes at the heart of the picture appealed to her.

She said: 'I have a very strong reaction towards anything that doesn't seem fair.

'So when I see people struggling and fighting for rights that should be never questionable, that creates a very, very strong reaction in me that I need to put somewhere. And fortunately I've been able to put it in the films that I do through my characters.'

She also discussed the film's warm reception at the festival, specifically the 16-minute standing ovation, describing it as “one of the strongest, most powerful moments I have ever experienced at the festival.”