Salma Hayek Developed an Unhealthy Habit While Filming ‘Frida’
Actor Salma Hayek had the opportunity to film her dream project Frida back in the 2000s. And although she had a good time shooting the project, she walked away with a habit that took some time to shake off.
Salma Hayek became who she used to judge while filming ‘Frida’
Frida was a project that was very close to Hayek’s heart. The film was based on Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, an artist who Hayek admired. It took Hayek seven years to make a movie about her late role model. She could’ve released the biopic sooner, but she was waiting for Frida’s story to be a little more polished.
“The hardest thing was for me to be satisfied with the script,” Hayek once told Spliced Wire. “I could have made the film five years ago, maybe six years ago. But I just never felt all the elements were there. I wanted to make a film about Frida Kahlo, but I wanted to make the right film about Frida Kahlo or else not make it at all.”
She not only ended up starring in Frida, but producing it as well, giving her considerable authority over the film’s direction.
Hayek did her best to immerse herself in the role and do her idol justice. But because Frida was a known smoker in real life, Hayek had to pick up the habit of smoking as well. The problem was that Hayek became a bit too addicted to the habit. Which was ironic considering she considered smoking the worst addiction to get attached to.
“I used to have a terrible judgment of smokers. I was like, Why do they do this? It tastes bad, it’s going to kill them, and it doesn’t even get them high. It’s the s***tiest vice you could possibly pick. Then I got hooked during Frida. I’ve tried to quit before,” she once told Marie Claire.
However, the Dusk Till Dawn star reached a point where she was determined to quit the habit once and for all.
“But this time I’m done with it. I’ve changed. I know I can do it. I’ve reinvented myself a thousand times-it keeps me from getting bored of myself,” she said.
‘Frida’ changed Salma Hayek’s career for the better
Frida changed Hayek’s life in a positive way as well. One of her main motivators for doing the feature was to change how she was perceived in the film industry. Although she was successful, Hayek felt Hollywood prioritized her looks over her acting ability. The 58-year-old actor hoped Frida might help prove that she was more than just a bombshell.
“And so I thought, ‘This is what I want to do. I want to do one movie that if I die the next day, I know I left one thing in this world that I was very proud of, that other people can see, that meant something to me, that had my voice.’ Because God forbid I die tomorrow, I’m the bombshell for the rest of my existence,” Hayek once told Oprah.
“Then I became very angry. I said, ‘I have become what they decided I am. When did I fall in this trap?’ Somebody decided I was this, and I became that,” she added. “And I said, I’m going to change it now. I’m going to define myself. So I decided to change the way I approached my work, and that meant that even my sentimental relationships changed. I eventually decided to create projects for myself and other Latin women. I decided I had to change everything so completely.”
It seemed Frida accomplished everything Hayek wanted and thensome. She’d gotten an Oscar nomination for the role, an honor only a few actors have received.
“Frida changed my life but I’m not really sure if it was the Oscar nomination or the film itself. Just the fact that people were able to see me in a role like that. But it’s still hard to find good parts,” she once told The Independent.
