Have you ever felt like your dreams were blocked by the industry? Salma Hayek has, and in a new interview with GQ UK, she revealed that Hollywood blocked her from starring in a comedy for nearly 20 years because she was deemed too sexy for the genre. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the discrimination Hayek faced in the industry and how she eventually got her chance to be funny.
Salma Hayek has starred in some of the most iconic romantic comedies of the last two decades, from Fools Rush In to Breaking Up. However, it wasn’t until 2010’s Grown-Ups that she got the chance to star in a traditional comedy movie. Hayek credited Adam Sandler with finally giving her the chance to be funny.
“I was typecast for a long time,” Hayek said. “My entire life I wanted to do comedy and people wouldn’t give me comedies. I couldn’t land a role until I met Adam Sandler, who put me in a comedy [2010’s ‘Grown Ups’], but I was in my forties! They said, ‘You’re sexy, so you’re not allowed to have a sense of humor.’ Not only are you not allowed to be smart, but you were not allowed to be funny in the ’90s.”
It’s sad to think that Hayek was denied the opportunity to do what she loved for so long, but she’s now able to laugh at the situation. “I was sad at the time,” she said. “But now here I am doing every genre, in a time in my life where they told me I would have expired – that the last 20 years I would have been out of business. So I’m not sad, I’m not angry; I’m laughing. I’m laughing, girl.”
Hayek is back in romance mode for her new movie, Steven Soderbergh’s “Magic Mike’s Last Dance.” In the final installment in the “Magic Mike” franchise, Hayek plays the older love interest of Channing Tatum’s eponymous stripper. Her character, Maxandra Mendoza, works with Mike to create a male stripper revue. Hayek said the movie is more than just a love story between an older woman and a younger man. “It’s about a middle-aged woman that has a lot of potential and is sick of being undermined her entire life,” she said.
Hollywood may have blocked Salma Hayek from starring in a comedy for nearly 20 years, but she’s now getting the chance to do what she loves. Her inspiring story shows that it’s never too late to follow your dreams, no matter how many obstacles you face.
Source: variety.com
