FOR PAZ VEGA the Spanish star of culture-clash comedy Spanglish

You've been called the new Penelope Cruz, are you pleased?

I never had the goal of being an actor in Hollywood. I couldn't speak English.

It didn't seem a possibility, so I never thought about it.

In Spanglish you play a Mexican maid in Los Angeles who doesn't speak any English. Were you ever in the same position?

Yes. I was just repeating the dialogue phonetically. Many times the crew were laughing, but I didn't know why. But then I found I could understand without words. When you don't have one sense, you develop another sense.

You became famous in Spain for explicit erotic roles - including in Pedro Almodovar's Talk With Her, in which you had a big nude scene. Were you comfortable with that?

In Spain we don't have inhibitions about the body. I don't care. It's all acting. It all depends on the role and the script.

You also won a Goya (Spain's Oscars) for Sex And Lucia. Did you enjoy working with its director, Julio Medem?

I'm lucky always to work with great directors. What they all have in common is that they're perfectionists.

I think all directors like that are a little crazy too, no?

Your father was a bullfighter.

Has that been important to you?

I saw him fight a lot as a child. My mother is from Ronda, which has a beautiful arena. I'd spend all my summers there.

Now that you're known to American audiences, have you considered relocating?

I want to live in Spain, to have my base there and to work in Hollywood, Latin America, England or wherever. I'm not ready to go completely Hollywood.

You'd prefer to stay in Madrid with your husband?

Yes. He's nothing to do with show business. It would be dreadful if he had. We'd have nothing to talk about.

Spanglish is released on February 25