Salma Hayek: a one-of-a-kind, behind-the scenes look at the inner life of one of Hollywood's most daring and hottest—by a photographer and interviewer who's not bad on the big screen herself

Interview, April, 2003 by Penelope Cruz

PC: Well, I want to thank you for having so much trust in me.

SH: That's how much I believe in you as a photographer, Penelope: I risked my life for you. Your pictures are beautiful. And I know you've been doing this for such a long time and it's a passion of yours.

PC: I have always looked at photography as my main hobby. I don't want to look at it in a different way at this point, but I love doing it. I had a lot of fun with you because you have an amazing face and are great to photograph.

SH: We've been talking about doing pictures for a long time.

PC: Yes, for so long. My next victim is going to be Pedro [Almodovar], I think.

SH: Oh, that's going to be tough. He will talk about it. Every time you ask him to do something, he'll want to talk about it: why it's a good idea, why it's not a good idea....

PC: [laughs] We've been talking about it for a couple of years now.

SH: Hey, how much did we scream when we heard his name called at the Oscar nominations? [Almodovar was nominated for Best Director and for Best Original Screenplay for Talk to Her.]

PC: When I heard his name and I heard your name, I was so happy. You both really deserve it.

SH: I went temporarily insane. I heard my name and I felt relieved, because my parents and friends were so sure I was going to be nominated that they had been celebrating for weeks already. It added so much pressure. The night before, I said, "I'm not going to be nominated, and they're going to be depressed for a month." [both laugh] So when I heard my name, I was relieved, and I was excited, and then they announced the nominations for Alfonso Cuaron for Y Tu Mama Tambien and Pedro Almodovar for Talk to Her for Best Original Screenplay. But, being temporarily insane, I hear, "for Best Picture." I started crying, screaming, jumping [Cruz laughs], running down the halls, throwing myself on the floor. I made such a scene. And everyone said, "What's wrong?" And I said, "Two of the five Best Picture nominees were in Spanish, and they were by my friends!" [Cruz laughs] And they go [in a droll American accent]: "No, no, that's not correct. They were nominated for Best Original Screenplay." [Cruz laughs] I was deliri ous.

PC: I was very happy about Alfonso's nomination, because I love Y Tu Mama Tambien.

SH: Oh, me, too. I was so excited, and then I found out about the other five nominations that Frida got. Remember my friend Felipe [Fernandez del Paso], who I brought to your birthday party? He did the production design on Frida.

PC: And he got a nomination?

SH: He got a nomination. He used to come to the set of the soap opera I worked on in Mexico, just to hang out, and now we're going to the Oscars together.

PC: Well, that movie was magical, and it truly deserves all the attention it's gotten. And Pedro's too. He just wrote me an e-mail. He's really happy and also very tired.

SH: I'm telling you, all this happiness makes you very tired. But it's a good tired.

Penelope Cruz is currently filming Head in the Clouds, directed by John Duigan, with Charlize Theron, and Gothika, with Halle Berry, for director Mathieu Kassovitz.