Meryl Streep was one of the laureates at this year’s Princess of Asturias awards. The actress, often referred to as one of the best to ever do it, gave an almost 10 minute speech discussing her craft and what makes good acting good. She shared some of the advice she’d found helpful over her life, including that of Penelope Cruz.

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“You gotta live your life looking at yourself through someone else’s point of view!” said Streep while trying to put on a Cruz accent. “That’s my bad Penelope imitation,” she said, prompting laughs from the audience. Her speech was dedicated to acting as a whole, work she’s clearly passionate about.

“I persevere in spite of the critics because I think it’s an actor’s job to traspass. To appropriate. To embody lives that are not like ours,” she said. “To make each life accessible and felt to an audience, whether that audience is in a small theater in Malaga or whether they’re watching via streaming media from all around the globe.”

Streep’s time at the Fundacion Princesa de Asturias

Streep attended the Princesa of Asturias awards, hosted in Oviedo, where she met with the Royal Family and was granted the historic recognition. She also met up with Antonio Banderas at the Oviedo Congress and Exhibitions Center, with the two discussing their relationship and sharing stories about Hollywood and their careers.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Streep and Don Gummer, her partner of 45 years, have separated and have been apart for the past six years. “Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than 6 years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart,” said a representative to PEOPLE.