I've collected a lot of good-luck charms over the years. My husband [Michael Douglas] calls it my bric-a-brac. But out of everything I've saved, my sword and spurs from the Zorro films are my favorites because they represent such a pivotal moment in my life. Before Zorro, I had worked in Britain, but I was relatively unknown in the United States. I came here to film a TV version of Titanic, and when it aired [in 1996] on CBS, [executive producer] Steven Spielberg happened to see it and invited me to fly to Mexico to audition for The Mask of Zorro. The next thing you know, I got my big break working not only with the wonderful Antonio Banderas but also with one of my idols, Anthony Hopkins, who is from my home country [of Wales].

Playing Elena was so much fun because she was a woman ahead of her time, but preparing for the role was like boot camp. It was 99 degrees, and every day we'd rehearse choreography, dancing, dialect, horseback riding, and sword fighting, and that's all while I was wearing a corset, three petticoats, a skirt, a top, and a mic pack. For the fighting scenes, I trained with an Olympian sword master for six weeks. I was never a great horseback rider, but I still put on those spurs every day and overcame my fears by galloping around the Mexican hacienda.

Ironically, after we wrapped, Michael went to a private screening of Zorro in Hollywood. He saw me onscreen, and it's how we eventually got to meet and fall in love. So that film did not just change my career, it changed my life entirely. By the time we filmed the sequel, The Legend of Zorro, we had our two beautiful children. I remember Michael even brought them to the set on my birthday, and my son got all dressed up for it [below].

As told to Jennifer Ferrise.

Zeta-Jones stars in Prodigal Son on Fox. Her collection of apparel, footwear, coffee, and beauty products is available now at casazetajones.com.

For more stories like this, pick up the June 2021 of InStyle, available on newsstands, on Amazon, and for digital download May 21st.