Oh, to be a fly on the wall of Bono's life.
The U2 frontman has made friends with various celebrities over the years, from Robert De Niro to Noel Gallagher to many, many others that are too numerous to name.
As it turns out, he's also great pals with Javier Bardem, as he revealed in the latest edition of Esquire, which features the actor on the cover.
In fact, they're such good pals that the 'J Man', as Bono calls him, has been to numerous U2 gigs and the musician even challenged him to a drinking competition to make sure he was a suitable partner for Penelope Cruz.
He said:
"I’ve been such a fan of Javier’s since Jamón, Jamón; I became his friend in the ‘00s. He’d come to U2 shows, scare our audience with his air guitar, then steal the hearts of our womenfolk. Penélope is a friend — of course I had to make sure this man I so admired onscreen was up to scratch to date the Bad Penny, as she’s known in Ireland. He came through that drink-off with flying colors, and at the end of the night I asked him to marry me.
"Such a macho guy needs a feminine side to be such a great actor — in touch with his feelings and all that. If you doubt me, check out the J-Man in a feather boa at U2’s 2015 show in Barcelona. There is a serious side ot this man. He despises injustice and became a (RED) campaign warrior not just because we were paying for drugs for people who couldn’t afford them but because such inequality angered him. In that sense he has very Spanish value — I think he was brought up to be annoyed at such things. He’s built for combat.”
So, now you know. But 'Bad Penny', Bono? Not sure about that one...
