As years go by, Hollywood keeps getting better and better about diversifying the content it puts out, and Marvel Studios is a company that has been getting better about the representation and diverse talent it uses in its films and TV series. One of the MCU’s newest additions, Eternals, is a prime example of this diversity, and star Salma Hayek was thrilled to be a part of the talented ensemble. But apparently, the iconic Mexican American actress was originally "terrified" of her elaborate superhero costume, and she explained just why.
Salma Hayek has played plenty of iconic, badass women over the course of the three decades she’s been acting, yet she’s never played a superhero. Marvel’s Eternals gives her an opportunity to try something new, and it sounds like Hayek couldn’t be happier about starring in a very different kind of superhero movie. Well, maybe only if her costume had a little less going on. In an interview with Variety, the Savages actress says that her costume originally made her pretty nervous due to her claustrophobia, as the actress was convinced she wouldn't be able to breathe while wearing the complex outfit. Here it is in Hayek’s own words:
I am claustrophobic. I was terrified of the costume. I was terrified. Because if I cannot move and it’s kind of thick… I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m not going to be able to breathe. It’s going to drive me crazy.’ And I went to put it on, I found myself profoundly moved. It was a very strange experience because I didn’t expect it. I forgot about how does it fit? Am I going to get a claustrophobic attack? All I could see was, ‘Oh my God, here’s a Mexican female in this outfit and this is really happening. And yes, we get to be superheroes.’
Apparently, the experience of being able to be a female Mexican American actress in the position of a superhero was great enough to overcome her fear of closed spaces (or in the case, clothes). This makes even more sense when you see the outfit because, although there is a lot going on with it, she looks absolutely regal in the superhero costume.
Eternals is pretty much poised to be an epic production with an impeccable, all-star cast, and even a few Marvel Cinematic Universe firsts. With filming having already finished up, and after some delays, we can now expect Eternals to grace big screens around the world later this year. We can only hope some of that profound feeling Salma Hayek experienced when she put on her superhero costume translates to the screen and, knowing her, it certainly will.
Eternals arrives in theaters on November 5th.
