Penelope Cruz wouldn't quit acting

Penelope Cruz could never quit acting.

The 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' star – who has five-month-old son Leo with husband Javier Bardem – has learned to take longer breaks between roles as she has previously thrown herself to into her work and left herself with no time to rest.

She said: "I don't think I would walk away from acting. But a few years ago, I became more aware of how important it is to have time to study other things and really rest. For a few years I was never resting. Then you pay the price for that, but it's changed."

Penelope, 37, believes it is important for her career to take more time between roles as it means she starts work better prepared.

She explained to OK! magazine: "I'm having more time to prepare my characters, so I'm not just going from one set to the next without preparation time.

"Sometimes that preparation time gives me a lot of real happiness. That is when you remember this is what I really love about acting. You're doing a little investigation of human behaviour every time. It's an endless research, you always have more to learn."