“I really needed to pay the rent”: Salma Hayek Had No Choice But to Dance With a Snake After She Was Threatened to Get Replaced in Quentin Tarantino’s Movie
Having various phobias can often hinder an actor’s talents and this could have been the case with incredible actress Salma Hayek who’s now an inspiration to many in the world of entertainment.
Hayek has worked with the film industry’s most talented director Quentin Tarantino in the action horror film From Dusk Till Dawn. However, we would have never been able to witness Hayek as the mysterious and seductive dancer if she hadn’t overcome her phobia of snakes. The actress needed money to pay her rent, for which she defeated her fear and performed with a giant snake in the movie.
Salma Hayek Almost Lost Her Role in Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn
Thanks to Salma Hayek who successfully overcame her phobia of snakes while filming From Dusk Till Dawn which indeed captivated us all. Little did people know that Hayek wasn’t a well-established figure in the industry at that time and was in debt to pay her rent and at the same time she was asked by the director to dance with a giant yellow snake. The Once Upon a Time in Mexico star initially refused to film the scene and put herself in jeopardy.
Quentin Tarantino and the makers were all set to replace Hayek with another actor who wouldn’t refuse to dance with a snake. She told E! News that:
“I have a phobia, It was not on the script. I agreed to the movie and then, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino decided that the dance is with the snake on me.”
She added:
“They said, ‘Ok then, we’ll just go to another actor that wants your part. Frankly, I really needed to pay the rent.”
But the Mexican-origin actress didn’t let her fear take away her thrilling role and for that, Hayek executed research and found what a snake means in different cultures. Hayek mentioned:
“In some culture, the snake represented—I started doing research—your inner power, and my whole thing that I brainwashed myself into doing this was about dancing with my own inner power.”
Salma Hayek is also the first Latina to have established a respectful and highly acclaimed status in the world of entertainment.
Salma Hayek Successfully Crushed Her Dyslexia
Salma Hayek is not only known for her impeccable acting skills but also for demolishing dyslexia which brought immense struggles in her life especially after she stepped into the film industry. Dyslexia is a disability that affects a person’s reading abilities and makes them stress on their brain and can vary in severity. The Bliss star who has this same condition hustled with it and didn’t let dyslexia dictate her life. According to Celebrity Spotlight, Salma Hayek revealed:
“Everybody thought I was so out of my league. The people in Hollywood were the first ones to try and discourage me. ‘Go back,’ they said. ‘You have no future here.”
Hayek explained that during the initial period in the glitzy industry, nobody believed her due to her disability thinking that might never let her perform well in movies. The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard actress added: “Some people read really fast, but you’ll ask them questions about the script and they’ll forget. I take a long time to read a script, but I read it only once.” Explaining that she only reads the scripts once and it works for her. Salma Hayek has undeniably become one of the most influential figures in Hollywood and is a perfect example for those who believe disabilities can hinder talents.
From Dusk Till Dawn is available to stream on Prime Video.
