Salma Hayek Was Told She Would Never Do Her Oscar-Nominated Film ‘Frida’ Because She Had an Ugly Soul
Actor Salma Hayek featured in many critically acclaimed pictures to achieve her status as an A-List star. But she was given an offensive reason as to why she’d never end up being cast in one of her most praised performances.
Salma Hayek was told she’d never play ‘Friday’
Frida was a bit of a passion project for Hayek. Her 2002 feature was based on real-life Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, and it was a role Hayek pursued for a long time. When the film finally became a reality, Hayek considered the moment one of the greatest periods of her life.
“It’s great to dream something and then bring it to life, to experience it with your body. You can envision something with your mind and step into that dream. I was lucky. I had a passionate dream and I made it real. When it was over, I felt I had accomplished something. Then I went on to dream a new dream,” she once told Phase 9.
But the Desperado star was told by a few critics that she initially wasn’t right for the part. Some saw Hayek as the exact antithesis of who the real Frida Kahlo was.
“There were some journalists who were very harsh. But it was not really the film they were attacking – it was about me,” she said. “Someone said I should never play Frida because Frida was an ugly woman with a beautiful soul, and I was the reverse. When journalists start criticizing your soul, it becomes like voodoo stuff.”
Hayek theorized that those criticisms came from the fact that she didn’t like to do much press.
“I think it might have been because I don’t give interviews on a regular basis, like most Mexican actors. I don’t give an interview just because I go to the shops, I have to be promoting a film. I think they are angry at me because of this. I think the people in Mexico liked the film. It’s just 12 people in the press who made a lot of noise,” she said.
Salma Hayek said her Oscar-nomination for ‘Frida’ did little to help her career
Frida was a major career highlight for Hayek at the time. Not only did she realize her dream of getting the film made, but it earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress. It was a moment she appreciated due to what it meant for both her and Mexico.
“I was very scared the night before the nominations,” she once told Empire. “There was so much anticipation in Mexico – so with the first nomination, my feeling was one of relief. Oh my god, at least we’ve got one. And then, the other ones came, it was very nice.”
In the grand scheme of things, however, Hayek shared that she didn’t think the Oscar nomination did much for her career. She credited what little boost she experienced in Hollywood to the film itself.
“I’m not sure it did. Everyone liked the film, so it was more likely that which helped me,” she said.
Salma Hayek shared that nobody wanted to do ‘Frida’
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why Hayek had such high regard for Frida was because she single-handedly made it possible. According to an interview she did with Yahoo, Hayek attempted to get Frida made even before she was an established star. It took a lot of negotiations and patience to get the film to the big screen.
When Frida was finally greenlit for development, Hayek also operated as a producer on the film. She wanted to make sure Frida aligned as closely as possible to what she imagined the film being.
“I had a very specific take on it visually, and how I wanted the structure and the movie to be. I didn’t want it to be like a typical biopic,” she said. “I wanted to have a different kind of artistic value visually, because she was an artist. And it was so hard to get it done because it was unusual, and she was unusual and nobody knew who she was.”
The obstacles she experienced when making Frida made the film that much more of an accomplishment for the Puss in Boots actor.
“I’m very proud because I practically did it by myself against all odds when I was not very famous,” Hayek said. “[It was] a movie that nobody wanted to do.”
