The filming of Desperate was not easy for Salma Hayek. That film directed in 1995 by Robert Rodríguez was the official presentation of the Mexican before the American public, so the pressure of her jump to Hollywood, her still poor command of English and the discomfort of having to shoot a s-x scene that she did not know He didn't end up making things simple for her.
We already told you in another article that she herself acknowledged having lived through hell filming this second installment of Rodríguez's trilogy on Mexico, however she has returned to recover the subject in the Armchair Expert podcast. On this occasion she wanted to focus on the experience of shooting that uncomfortable s-x scene with Antonio Banderas, whom she describes as an "absolute gentleman" and of whom she points out that she felt scared for being a "very free" actor.
"One of the things I was afraid of was Antonio, he was an absolute gentleman, very nice, and we are still very close friends, but he was very free. I was scared that for him it was like nothing. I started crying and he She said, "My God, you're making me feel terrible." And I was so embarrassed that I was crying," says the actress.
Hayek also emphasized that Robert Rodríguez "never pressured her" during filming and that he and Banderas were on her side to make her feel as comfortable as possible on the set. In addition, she also explains that they closed the set so that only the director, his wife and Banderas were present and thus prevent her from feeling uncomfortable.
"They were trying to make me laugh. I'd stop for two seconds and start crying again. But we got over it. We did the best we could do at the time," she admits.
This support was key for Hayek, since her trust with Banderas and Rodríguez led her to work again with the Texan director and the Spanish actor on multiple occasions and to be able to open a gap in the industry. With Rodriguez, she did not hesitate to put herself under his orders again in From Dusk Till Dawn or The Faculty, films that would consolidate her within Hollywood and that led her to work with directors such as Kevin Smith or Steven Soderbergh in Dogma or Trafficy to get the leading role. in Frida.
With Banderas, she worked on up to five films, including Rodriguez's El Mexicano or Spy Kids 3D: Game Over. From here arose a great friendship that they have maintained over the years, since the man from Malaga is still someone very close to the actress and she has never hesitated to show him her support.
When in 2017 Hayek accused Harvey Weinstein of s-xually harassing her and forcing her to shoot a lesbian s-x scene in Frida, Banderas was quick to write a post on Instagram calling the events "terrible" and showing all her credibility towards her partner. . “Her integrity, her honesty as a woman and as a professional make me give her words absolute credit.”
Hayek has also frequently shown her appreciation for Banderas. Without going too far, last year she was in charge of giving him the Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in recognition of her performance in Pain and Glory.