Salma Hayek is one of the more thoughtful and articulate Hollywood stars, all the more remarkable because English is not the 38-year-old, Mexican-born actress' first language.

Hayek's cooperative nature is a boon for any film journalist who has heard Keanu Reeves try in vain to complete a thought (or even a sentence) or who has endured the petulant snarls Tommy Lee Jones thinks all questions deserve.

So Hayek lends herself to the question-and-answer format because she actually does try to put content in the answer portion. The setting is the terrace of the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in Nassau, Bahamas, where the Sun and others sit down to chat with Hayek about her life and career, about her new movie After The Sunset (which was shot primarily in and around Nassau) and about her fascination with miniature donkeys (no kidding).

The Brett Ratner movie, a breezy romantic comedy set inside a jewel heist plot, co-stars Hayek and former 007 Pierce Brosnan as sophisticated thieves and lovers who are trying to retire in the Bahamas while being chased by a frustrated U.S. secret agent played by Woody Harrelson. Hayek plays the sexy Lola in bikinis and sun dresses. But, in life and on screen, she is no brainless sexpot.

How did you create the sensuous and even sexual on-screen chemistry with Pierce Brosnan?

"I think that's something that either it happens or it doesn't happen. I think it's very hard to create chemistry between two actors. There are some brilliant directors who can create a beautiful sensual scene by the way they shoot it and the way they light it, but the actual chemistry, it's something that is either there or not.

"And it's something that very often has nothing to do with chemistry in real life. How many times have we seen actors fall in love and they get married but, when they're together on screen, it doesn't work? And how many times they are killing each other on the set and, on the screen, they just sparkle?"

How did that work specifically with Brosnan?

"It was a lot of fun working with him and we had great chemistry off-camera. It wasn't one of those cases where we hated each other. We like each other very much and we have a lot of things in common, Pierce and I."

Things in common? That sounds strange.

"We both come from other countries and I think that there are a lot of similarities between the Irish and the Mexicans. Maybe it's because of the Catholic background combined with very passionate, energetic and spirited people. Maybe it has to do with having a very powerful neighbour right next to us. We have the United States. They have England.

"And we both have production companies and we have developed things. We both started in television. We both have a passion for nature. I mean, there are a lot of things that I can learn from Pierce. I enjoy picking his brain."

Even if it's a romantic comedy, the story poses the dilemma of a woman trying to settle down with the man of her dreams in paradise. What is your dreamboat?

"He needs to like sunsets and nature and be able to calm down and chill at times and just enjoy the moment. And he needs to have a unique perspective of life, of the world, something that makes me think. (He needs to be) not someone who is completely like me or not someone who is completely the obvious. I like individuals who are different."

Does he really exist?

"Oh yeah, he has existed a couple of times already. And I'm sure there's more!"

What is paradise for you?

"I think paradise is in the head. I think that you can make many different situations paradise. But definitely it would involve a place that has nature. Part of paradise is the ability to not be limited to one image of paradise but actually move around and rediscover it in different places. Why should we limit paradise to one territory? It's exciting to get to see different things and different places."

Speaking of paradise, do you enjoy the Hollywood party scene?

"No, I don't. And I don't know exactly what is the Hollywood scene. But, if a friend has a premiere, it's sometimes good to go and support him although I haven't been supportive in a while because I haven't been there! I do have a lot of friends who are actors. That doesn't mean you're part of the Hollywood scene."

Do you cultivate "a personal style" as part of stardom, like many of your fellow actresses?

"That's constricting. I don't think of myself as, 'This is my new personality and this is what I do now!' I just go with the flow. It's almost like the paradise thing. I like freedom! Can I have the planet as my paradise? Do I have to pick an island? And what's my personal style? Can my style be to do whatever I want and wherever I want it at whatever time I want?"

Your roles have a personal style, don't they?

"For this movie, I get to be sexy. I wear bikinis and little skirts and summer dresses. And, for Frida, I wore this magnificent wardrobe that has its roots in the art and style of the Indians of Mexico."

How important is it to choose your co-stars, especially in a run of movies in which you have appeared with Alfred Molina, Antonio Banderas, Pierce Brosnan and, in your next two films, Colin Farrell and Penelope Cruz?

"I had a good year, eh? It's important because you're going to be living with these people for such a long time. But also because you're only as good as the people around you -- and I try to work with people I respect. Even if the movies haven't (always) turned out that great, I've worked with some good people."

Okay, what's with the miniature donkey fetish? You want to find one to add to your farm menagerie.

(After explaining actor Steve Zahn, one of her co-stars in the current production Bandidas, suggested one as the perfect way to herd a flock of sheep): "The image of the miniature donkey is haunting me ... I have to have one!"


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