Salma hits back ‘I DON'T GIVE UP'

The feisty actress has fought off Harvey Weinstein and Covid to come out stronger than ever

- Judy Kean

Don’t be fooled by the way she looks. Salma Hayek may be petite (she’s just 1.57m tall), but she’s tougher than she appears.

Ryan Reynolds will never mess with the 54-year-old after filming a scene in the new film The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which also stars Samuel L. Jackson.

“In the movie, I’m slapped once by Samuel and twice by Salma,” says the actor. “And for the record, it was Salma who didn’t pull the punches. Not even once. I can still feel the sharp sting of her tiny hand working its way into my soft Hollywood cheekbones.”

Thirty years ago, when Salma moved from Mexico, where she had a successful TV career, to Hollywood in search of fame, she thought she’d found her niche as an action star after her turn in the western Desperado. But nothing came of it.

“They wouldn’t even give me the auditions,” she recalls. “I said, ‘I know I can do drama, but what about romantic comedies and action comedies?’ But it was like, ‘Oh, no, she’s just a sexy Mexican.’”

So she’s delighted to be offered the role of healer Ajak in the latest Marvel movie Eternals, although she can’t help asking herself why.

“Things have changed a lot in the last couple of years for women in general. But what I don’t understand is why this is happening to me. It had never crossed my mind that I could be in a Marvel movie. I thought that boat had sailed and I was in absolute shock.”