Salma Hayek has spoken out about how being “typecast” in the early stages of her career meant that she wasn’t able to star in a comedy until she was in her forties.
The actor will soon star in the third and final instalment of the Magic Mike films, Magic Mike’s Last Dance.
Although she has been able to star in a variety of projects since the Nineties, Hayek has recalled a time when she was only considered for roles that highlighted “sexiness” as a key quality.
“I was typecast for a long time,” she told GQ in an interview published on Monday (6 February). “My entire life I wanted to do comedy and people wouldn’t give me comedies.”
Referring to the 2010 comedy Grown Ups, Hayek then explained that it was the first time she’d been allowed to show her funnier side on screen.
“I couldn’t land a [comedic] role until I met Adam Sandler, who put me in a comedy, but I was in my forties!” she continued.
“They said, ‘You’re sexy, so you’re not allowed to have a sense of humour’... Not only are you not allowed to be smart, but you were not allowed to be funny in the Nineties.”
Though she was disappointed as it was happening, Hayek has confirmed that she is no longer troubled by the previous lack of diversity, as her persistence in the industry has meant that she’s been able to perform in “every genre”.
She said: “I was sad at the time, but now here I am doing every genre, in a time in my life where they told me I would have expired – that the past 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.”
Magic Mike’s Last Dance is out in cinemas on Friday 10 February.
