L'actrice et productrice Salma Hayek Pinault nous parle de son rôle dans “Without Blood”, de ses liens profonds avec Angelina Jolie, de ses engagements et de sa confiance en elle (qu’elle n’a pas toujours).https://t.co/8Qt5rL3D7J
— L’OFFICIEL PARIS (@lofficielparis) November 1, 2024
Salma Hayek Pinault: "Accepting your flaws is an aspect of self-confidence"
Actress and producer Salma Hayek Pinault talks to us about her role in “Without Blood,” her deep connection to Angelina Jolie, her commitments and her self -confidence (which she doesn’t always have).
01.11.2024 by Carrie Wittmer
Photography CHARLIE GRAY Styling GAIA FRASCHINI
“You doubt yourself with that confidence.” Salma Hayek Pinault tells me this remark that Channing Tatum , her partner in Magic Mike: The Last Dance , once made to her . According to Salma—who laughs as she tells me the story—he’s right. Since her Hollywood debut in the 1990s, after starring in telenovelas in Mexico, Salma, 58, has always exuded a heady, inspiring confidence. But beneath that confidence lies a doubter. Despite decades of success, including roles as the vampire queen in From Dusk Till Dawn , an Oscar-nominated performance in Frida , a starring role opposite Matthew Perry in the romcom The Last Stand (one of her favorite roles), and a recurring guest spot on the Emmy-favorite 30 Rock , Salma is a woman who has worked hard her entire career. She has fought for inclusion, promoting Spanish-speaking actors and characters in the entertainment industry. She co-produced Ugly Betty , the American adaptation of the Colombian series Yo soy Betty, la fea (which she never doubted would be a success, but for which she faced resistance), and created her own production company, Ventanarosa. Her latest project, a TV series adapted from the 1989 Mexican bestseller Bitter Chocolate , will be available on Max on November 3. The story, set during the Mexican Revolution, follows a couple of lovers prevented from living together by family traditions, among other obstacles. “One of the challenges was to make it relevant to our time, where those traditions no longer apply ,” she says. “People are interested in the various ways that women have been wronged throughout history , ” she says with a chuckle. Salma is natural and funny – naturally funny – with a slightly twisted sense of humor. The more we talk to her, the more Channing Tatum 's remark makes sense (it only took me five minutes).
While she has seen some progress, it is still a struggle to get projects made that feature Mexican or Spanish-speaking characters. Bitter Chocolate , for example, was in development for six years. “I tried to explain to the industry that they were missing out on an important market that deserves to be represented on screen, because this community has a strong presence ,” she says. “ There are 600 million Spanish speakers in the world. There are Latinos who don’t speak Spanish, but their roots are Hispanic, and they are not being taken into consideration. ”
With Ventanarosa, the production company she founded with her partner Jose Tamez in 1999, Salma seeks out projects with a strong Latino identity but universal themes. “We only produce projects that we believe speak to all human beings. Their originality comes from the richness of this culture, but many other cultures are similar to it and will be able to identify with it. We don’t try to isolate audiences, to say Oh, how intellectual. But we don’t do hackneyed or ultra-commercial projects either. We look for what is both original and universal.” For Salma, originality is vital, although it is less and less marketable in this era where Hollywood’s obsession with franchises, remakes, reboots and hackneyed formulas is triumphant. “Every time you come up with something original, you get fought , ” she says. Even though it’s not a Latino project, every time you try to be original, everyone freaks out.” Salma attributes her success to the fact that she never gives up, and calls Bitter Chocolate a “miracle . ” “You can’t imagine what I had to do to get it out there ,” she says. An adaptation of Bitter Chocolate was released in Mexico in 1992.
This fall, Salma will play Nina in Angelina Jolie ’s Without Blood , which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September. The film, based on Alessandro Baricco’s short novel of the same name, is about personal trauma after the brutality of war. Nina suffers firsthand, having seen her father executed at a young age, and confronts her trauma throughout the film. Despite its difficult themes and scenes ( “a lot of monologues” ), Salma describes the shoot as one of the most enjoyable she’s ever experienced. “It was the easiest I’ve ever had, I memorized my lines effortlessly. It was so strange. At first, it was a process, because the first night when I came home, I broke down, I had had to hold my emotions in for so long.” Jolie advised Salma to hold back her emotions rather than give them free rein when playing the role.
That experience, as enjoyable as it can be—on such an emotionally taxing film—is thanks to Angelina Jolie, whom Salma remembers meeting years ago at a Hollywood party. But they had never really gotten to know each other until filming The Eternals , a 2021 Marvel movie. When Salma talks about Angelina, she beams, her voice animated but calm. “Slowly, and very authentically, we started to really see each other’s real selves, which is not what other people see, like we’re on the same page or something , ” she says. After filming wrapped, their friendship has endured. “It’s very real,” she says, and it’s not something she talks about or posts on Instagram very often. "It’s very special. I can’t describe it, but I can see in your eyes that you understand what I’m trying to say.” What she seems to appreciate most about Angelina is her fearlessness – she has very strong opinions and is not afraid to be brutally frank at times – a quality that applies just as much to Salma. She calls Angelina a “generous” director and, on several occasions, describes the filming she experienced under her direction as “delightful” . Both are also devoted mothers. Salma has a child with her husband, businessman François-Henri Pinault, and is stepmother to his three children. The couple, who married in 2009, have a kind of family principle: they never spend more than two weeks away from their loved ones (with a few exceptions), which can be a “nightmare” when it comes to planning and shooting a project. Angelina has adapted without a hitch.
Salma spontaneously talks about Angelina's treatment by the press. "I've never met anyone who is so misunderstood," she says. "I hear things that are so far from reality. It was kind of a shock to witness that." Salma has also been subjected to her share of lies, "many, many times." "At one point, several years ago, in Mexico, they were saying that I no longer knew how to speak Spanish, that I had forgotten my mother tongue. While in the United States they were telling me, Can you get rid of your accent?" Even before she was famous, Salma devoted a good deal of her time to charitable work, and particularly to defending victims of domestic violence. Her commitment to such causes has "always been automatic , " something that comes naturally to her. Today, she and her husband sit on the board of the Kering Foundation , which aims to “eradicate gender-based violence . ” In September, the foundation hosted a gala dinner, Caring for Women , in New York City, attended by celebrities including Kim Kardashian , Dakota Johnson , and Julianne Moore . For Salma, it’s important that “95 percent” of the work she does happens off camera. “It’s very strategic,” she says. “ I’m giving myself an infrastructure for that. You won’t see me talking about it on Instagram.” Instead, her Instagram is a place of joy: bikini shots, snapshots from Paris Fashion Week (like a video of her with Harry Styles at the Valentino show ), backstage photos at other events. Salma tells me the question that always bothers her about her cause: Has she been a victim of domestic violence herself? — which she hasn’t. When she answers in the negative, we ask her why she is committed. “If we only commit to causes that concern us, are we really committed?”
Salma has always been outspoken and candid about the plight of women in and out of the entertainment industry, and about her experiences as a woman of color in the industry, which have always inspired her to support others in their plight, including her best friend Penelope Cruz, whom she took under her wing when she first came to Hollywood—they co-starred in 2006’s Bandidas . But Salma has sometimes berated herself for her blunt and direct nature. “In hindsight, I think, ‘Oh my God, what did I do?’ But ultimately, I don’t seem so blunt anymore because everyone is so much more so,” she reflects. “ Everyone is so polarized, so I stay silent. I get bored with conversations that have nothing to do with real issues and everything to do with the desperate need for attention.” A lot of people are less interested in the issues they claim to care about than they are in being right. The issue is them. Frankly, there are issues so deep that I have no illusions. I have supported these causes for so long that my opinion will not change anything.”
In her free time, Salma watches “a lot of crap” because it’s the only thing that relaxes her. “Good stuff, for me, is work , ” she says. If she watches something interesting, her brain switches on; the producer’s brain, so to speak. “Mediocrity does me good. I’ve found a way to make the most of it.”
It’s impossible to gauge Salma’s influence in both charity and entertainment, but her fight for Latino inclusion in Hollywood has had tangible results. The success of Ugly Betty certainly got people talking around coffee tables, and since then, more Latino-centric shows and movies—with or without Salma—have emerged, including Jane the Virgin, Roma, and Coco . When I ask her where her lack of self-confidence comes from, she doesn’t give a specific answer. But her success and influence may be among the many things that make her feel insecure—a feeling women are no strangers to. “There are times when something makes me feel really insecure, and then I bounce back feeling more confident. I like that insecurity,” she says. “ I don’t let it affect me or overwhelm me. That’s the secret. If I didn’t have self-doubt, I’d be arrogant and I wouldn’t learn anything.” Accepting your flaws is part of self-confidence. Many of our insecurities stem from a collective undermining of women. After a while, you can stop feeling guilty about wondering if you might just be extraordinary.”
