Why Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz Choose to Live in Spain: 'We Are Among Our People'

"I’ve never felt anything but love and gratitude and joy and fun on the streets," the actor said of life in Madrid

Javier Bardem is enjoying the life he's built with wife Penélope Cruz in Spain.

In a new Interview magazine conversation with Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd, the Oscar winner, 55, said "my wife and I are recognized" in Spain but "they leave us alone."

The Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story actor shares two kids with Cruz, 50: Leo, 13, and Luna, 11.

"Personally speaking, I’ve never felt anything but love and gratitude and joy and fun on the streets," Bardem added of being in Spain. "And that’s why we live here, because we feel like we are among our people."

Bardem and Cruz, both born and raised in Spain, met on the set of 1992's Spanish-language film Jamón Jamón. Bardem said in the Interview discussion that "there was a shift" in his level of fame after that movie became a "huge thing" upon its release.

Related: Javier Bardem Reveals Why He and Penélope Cruz Finally Decided to Date 'Many Years' After First Meeting

At the time, he recalled, "I was like, 'Wow, this feels good. People recognize me. I’m important.' You start to take advantage of that. You go to the clubs, they give you a drink, the girls come and talk to you. But then you start to see that everything’s fake. Everybody wants something from you."

The Spellbound actor said he began to "protect" himself by isolating "because you understand that nothing’s natural anymore."

"Nothing is organic anymore. Nothing. Nobody. They don’t behave with you the way they would with somebody else," he explained of fame. "And it’s tough to adjust yourself to that, especially when you’re an actor, because we’re looking for truth. We are observers — we need to observe behaviors, actions, ways of speaking, personality traits, but none of that is possible when you’re the one being observed. So it’s challenging on a personal and professional level."

Though they met while making Jamón Jamón, Bardem and Cruz didn't become romantic until about 15 years later when they reconnected to make 2008's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. They made their first official public appearance as a couple at the 2010 Goya Awards and married July 13, 2010, in the Bahamas.

"Back in the day, we had different lives, different objectives, aims and goals. Yet, something was there — an energy, a chemistry, a way to rely on each other as human beings," he recently explained to Gentleman's Journal of their initial spark. "And that stayed for so long, even though we didn’t see each other or speak to each other for many years.”

“We realized that the feeling was still alive. Very alive. To our surprise!" he added of when they reunited.

Related: Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem's Relationship Timeline

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It also helped, he told Gentleman's Journal, that the Oscar-winning couple knew each other pre-fame. "We met each other and knew each other before all of the noise, before success and before anybody saw us with different eyes because of who we now were, what we had become."

"That’s an important base, to rely on someone because you know them for real, and they know you for real. You see me, I see you. That’s important," said Bardem.