Penelope Cruz 'understands mental illness'

Penelope Cruz has revealed that she feels more compassion for those who have a mental illness because of her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

The actress, who plays a mentally ill ex-wife in the movie, explained that she is "very interested" in people who live in "dark places".

She told OK: "Looking back I learned a great deal from it. I feel even more compassionate for people who live in dark places in their head, or people that feel really trapped.

"It made me understand more how difficult it is to name somebody crazy. To categorise is so relative. I've always been very interested in that subject and this character is a lot about that."

Cruz picked up an Oscar for her performance in the 2008 love story and said that she was very pleased to have won the award but is yet to find a suitable place to display it.

She added: "I have it in my house in Spain. And I still haven't found the right place for it. For the first few months after I won, I was so excited about it that I took it everywhere with me. I even took it to the beach - I put it on a towel but it is very heavy and it doesn't float."

Watch the trailer for Vicky Cristina Barcelona below: