The heart promises to induce a pregnancy after the queen has eaten it.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you become involved in this project?
I never thought he knew me, because hes known for working with non-professional actors.
All my Italian friends who are actors, they dream of working with him but he rarely calls.
But he called you?
But for some reason, this one I answered.
And theres this guy says, Hi, this is Matteo Garrone, is this Salma Hayak?
And I said, Huh?
He said he was preparing a new film and he wanted me to be in it.
And now here was one of my hero directors and hes calling me on my personal phone.
What did he tell you about the film?
He said it was three dark fairy tales intertwined together.
But it was in the 1700s and that was all I needed to hear.
I watch anything that is a period piece.
And all the BBC stuff, anything historical.
You have to either be British or French or Russian to get into one of those dresses.
And he said, You play a queen.
And a bad queen, too.
Well, shes not a bad queen, I dont think.
And shes willing to do anything to have one and then anything not to lose him.
I would say shes obsessive more than bad.
Also, it depends on who you talk to about her.
Did being a mother yourself have an impact on playing the role?
I really wanted to be a mother and I didnt have my daughter until I was 41.
I sometimes thought I would never have a child, so those feelings were very alive within me.
And then the fear of losing that child in any way.
Oh, its profound.
And so even though the film is supernatural and set in the 1700s, its also contemporary.
And Garrone plays around with making the mood feel contemporary at times.
Hes so specific about, Not this chair!
And wed take down all the lights and move the whole crew somewhere else.
He never wanted to do anything that seemed too period-piece or too familiar.
Their dialogue sounds like theyre speaking today.
They are real-life twins, Christian and Jonah Lees.
So the scene with the heart.
It already seems like something of a classic.
When I read it, I have to admit, I thought it was really too grotesque.
And when I arrived, I saw the set and it was really Rococo.
So then I said to him, Um, how do I eat this?
And he said, I want you to eat the heart looking fearful but hopeful.
And I did that.
Then the next take he said, I want you to eat the heart with anxiety and desperation.
How many times did you do it?
Nine takes like this!
He had to cut twice because I was gagging.
But I never knew there were so many ways to eat a heart.
What was the heart actually made out of?
It was a combination of many different products.
But what made all the most disgusting is that they wouldnt tell me what it actually was.
Of course I did.
This is the Italians for you [laughs].
They asked me if I was allergic to anything and I told them.
And then I asked, Whats in the heart?
and they said [in a stern Italian accent], Nothing that you are allergic to!
And I said, I know but what is it?
And they said, We told you!
All things that you are not allergic to.
What did it taste like?
Everything was covered in that super sweet movie blood, so it made my teeth hurt.
Garrone wanted the inside to be biologically exact to a heart in textures and shapes.
So these poor people had to build it so that I would feel the arteries as they mushed apart.
There was one piece that my daughter determined was a marshmallow.
But I was still curious.
I mean, maybe there were brains in there.
I said to them, Guys, am I eating worms?
Oh, thats funny.
I was swallowing that stuff.
But then Valentina, my daughter, gave me a tip.
But speaking of eating, youre also inSausage Party, in which you play a taco shell.
[Laughs]Im embarrassed.
Just when you say the title, Im blushing.
I play a very, very naughty taco.
Shes a bad girl.
It was mortifying but it was liberating.
I never though Id ever say some of the things I say in this movie.
And Im embarrassed to admit I improvised a lot of it.
But what can I say?
Thats how I like them.
Weird and out of the box.
