Penelope Cruz and Johnny Depp at 2011 Cannes Film Festival Pictures

Penelope Cruz looked phenomenal in her curve-hugging Stella McCartney dress and Johnny Depp was dapper in white at this afternoon's Cannes Film Festival Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides photo call ahead of tonight's big premiere. The two posed for cameras alongside their costars, including cute newcomer Sam Claflin, as they headed in to take questions at a press conference. The two kept things light answering their questions, with Johnny joking that he's "scared" of critics and the only reviews he pays attention to are his kids' — they've given this one raves. "My family have seen more of my movies than I have. In fact, a lot more, including this one," Johnny said, "So they go and see the movies, and basically, I can tell by their reaction if I did all right or not. So I'm very lucky in that way. They seem to enjoy them so far. I haven't been fired by my kids."

He also revealed that his little ones are where he tests his material: "They've been angels through this process, because I started out secretly testing characters on them to see how the reactions would be. When my daughter was little, we'd be playing Barbies, and I'd start doing these voices. Finally, she just said, 'Stop.'"

In the movie, the characters are looking for the fountain of eternal youth, but in real life the stunning 37-year-old Penelope isn't afraid to age. She spoke about people's obsession with staying young: "Birthdays are always something to celebrate. I'm looking forward to every step of the way. Maybe because I'm from Spain, that's looked at in a different way there than, for example, a place like Los Angeles . . . There are a lot of things that I keep from my roots and that's one of them, the way we look at that. I never want to be afraid of that. Change is good."

The two were soon off to make a costume change before this evening's red-carpet gala, which is just the latest on an international press tour that has already included stops in Russia and London.