Salma Hayek says she was hesitant to meet with Marvel for 'Eternals' because she assumed she would play a grandma or an 'old prostitute'
- Salma Hayek told Entertainment Weekly that she was hesitant to meet with Marvel for "Eternals."
- The actress assumed they'd want her to play a grandmother, "the extra," or "the old prostitute."
- Hayek was more receptive when she learned that Chloé Zhao was directing the superhero movie.
Salma Hayek said that when she was first approached about starring in Marvel's "Eternals," she was wary because she assumed the role would be minor.
"I said, 'Forget it,'" Hayek, 54, recalled in an interview for Entertainment Weekly's latest digital cover. "I said, 'God knows what kind of grandmother they want me to play.' I'm used to being [told] I'm going to be the extra or the old prostitute. And then they said the director was Chloé Zhao, and I said, 'Okay! Let's have the meeting!'"
In "Eternals" the actress will be front and center as Ajak, the leader of the titular immortals.
"I was shocked," Hayek said. "Imagine in your 50s you get a call from this director that you're crazy about, who says, 'You're going to be a superhero.'"
Hayek, who's previously spoken out about fighting for her characters to have more depth, said that fans can expect to see Ajak embracing her instincts as the group's motherlike figure.
"She's full of contradictions," the actress said. "She's the bridge between the Eternals and the Celestials, and it's never easy to hold two sides together."
Joining Hayek is an all-star cast that includes the "Game of Thrones" stars Richard Madden and Kit Harington, plus Gemma Chan, Angelina Jolie, and Kumail Nanjiani.
"Eternals" will draw from the comics and chronicle the powerful group's existence over thousands of years. The film will also address why the Eternals didn't interfere when catastrophic events, like Thanos' "Infinity War" snap, took place.
"Eternals" is scheduled for release on November 5 as part of phase four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.