Geoffrey Rush has praised his Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides co-star Penelope Cruz, describing her as an “amazing actress”.

In an interview with Parade, the actor – who plays Hector Barbossa in the film franchise – credited Cruz’s varied career with helping to “raise the bar” on the project and to provide conflict for hero Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).

“She is such an amazing actress. You look at Vicky Cristina Barcelona and that’s one of the high comedy acts onscreen. It certainly deserves an Academy Award,” he explained. “And you see her in a Pedro Almodovar film as a great dramatic actress. So to have that come in and raise the bar as a principal character, and with Ian McShane, it kept us on our toes.

Watch our recent interview with Geoffrey Rush below:

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