Salma Hayek, Samuel Jackson, and Ryan Reynolds Improvised Most of Their Lines in ‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’

Salma Hayek has had a very successful career starring in comedy productions such as Grown Ups and Sausage Party, but she’s also gained a reputation as a formidable action movie star. Her latest film, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, marked a significant milestone in her career, as it’s Hayek’s first lead role in an action film.

Alongside Hayek, Samuel Jackson and Ryan Reynolds star in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which is a sequel to the 2017 film The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Even though Hayek was a part of the cast of the original film, she had very few lines in the film. 

This time around, she and her castmates were given complete freedom to say pretty much whatever they wanted while filming.

Salma Hayek, Samuel Jackson, and Ryan Reynolds improvised their lines while filming ‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard 

Hayek revealed that she, Jackson, and Reynolds were all given the ok to improvise their lines in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard during a recent interview with FilmIsNow. 

“One of the other things that I love about playing Sonia is that most of it is improvised,” Hayek said. “I got to improvise a lot, so I love the freedom. I’m very grateful to Patrick [Hughes] for trusting me that way, and I am so, so, so lucky because I got to work with two of the best actors in the world that also happen to be great at improvisation.”

She loves the freedom of improvisation in films

Even though some actors would probably cringe at the idea of having to come up with their own lines, Hayek enjoyed the free-flowing style of production. In her opinion, it kept things interesting on set and allowed her to take lots of risks.

“I think that it makes it very fresh,” Hayek said. “We knew our characters really well and we understood our situations and we were able [to] just go wild and free in every scene, in every take, and that’s been delicious. To be able to improvise in this character that I know so well, that I love so much, with such amazing talent.”

She really enjoyed working with  Ryan Reynolds and Samuel Jackson 

Speaking on her co-stars, Hayek noted that she hadn’t had much of a chance to work with Reynolds while filming The Hitman’s Bodyguard. This time around, she was thoroughly impressed by his ability to think on his feet. 

“In the first movie, I didn’t get to have any scenes with Ryan, and it’s just been such a delight,” Hayek said. “Like I said, we improvised a lot together, and I really found myself waking up really looking forward to the adventure of [not] knowing what the heck we were going to do and say. And I have so much respect for his talent, and not to mention Sam.”

Even though Hayek is a 33-year veteran in the movie business, she claims that she learned a lot from Reynold and Jackson on set. 

“I’ve learned a lot from them, and I’ve learned a lot about me from working with them,” Hayek said. “I will forever have such a great memory of this movie because of them.” 

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is now playing in theaters.