There is another man in Salma Hayek's life these days, besides her husband, the French magnate Francois-Henri Pinault.
That would be Antonio Banderas, her co-star in movies going back to Frida and Robert Rodriguez's Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
These days, they've been travelling the world together promoting their voice roles in Puss in Boots -- he as the sword-wielding title character of Shrek fame, and she as Kitty Softpaws, the Spanish cat-burglar who is both Puss' nemesis and love interest. That includes stops in Cannes, Moscow, Miami and Chicago (where, immediately after speaking with us, they paid a visit to the Oprah Winfrey Network studios for an interview with Rosie O'Donnell).
"We have intense times," Hayek says of their current duo-tour. "But then we'll get a week off from each other."
Her relationship with Banderas she describes as, "the case of that thing when you don't see someone for a long time, and then when you see them, it's as if you just saw them yesterday. In 18 years, it's like that, even if we don't see each other for chunks."
In her mellifluous accent, Hayek pronounces it "chonks" and refers to "our esposos" when she dismisses any suggestion of jealousy between the Banderases and Pinaults. "My husband just loves him," she says.
"But I tell you I'm always happy to see (Banderas), because every time I see him, somehow, he comes into my life, my life changes and it's for good. Desperado, my life changed. Frida, here again my life changes.
"And this movie (Puss in Boots), it's my first animation movie and the biggest film I've ever done. It's huge. So I'm always happy to see Antonio.
"And y'know what? When I was nominated for an Oscar for Frida, the first person that phoned me, it was him."
Hayek is motivated to expand as an actress these days. Long sought after for voice work for stereotypical Latina roles, she finally said yes to one that provided her with an action role. Kitty is Puss's equal at swordplay, a masked mystery who, when we meet her, is an accomplice of the scheming Humpty Dumpty (voiced by Zach Galifianakis).
I compare Puss and Kitty's relationship to Batman and Catwoman. "You're the first person to say that," she says. "But I wonder if Batman and Catwoman can dance like we can." Indeed, the love-hate relationship plays out in flamenco moves that defy gravity (it is an animated movie after all).
"My character is really created based on his character, as a match, a counterpoint he has to contend with, who can fight with him. He has to learn to stand his ground against the challenge of this independent cat."
The counterpoint notion was taken seriously enough that the producers took the unusual step of allowing the two actors to record scenes together.
"I had been called to do an animated film, like, four times before, and I passed. I didn't like the ones they were offering. One was stereotypical (Latina), others I just didn't feel the character was interesting enough. I guess if you have an accent or a voice that's very identifiable it becomes interesting to them. But I'm so happy I saved myself for this one."
Her favourite positive review came from one of the harshest critics she knows -- her four-year-old daughter Valentina.
"My daughter loves it, which is so good because she doesn't like all the animated movies just because they're animated. I'm proud of her taste. She likes very much The Rescuers, and she likes Amadeus. I had to edit some parts, but it's her favourite film."
Still on the hunt for roles that "are not just the sexy girl," she just finished the Oliver Stone movie Savages, in which the brutal ruler of a drug cartel and gets to order assassinations and decapitations.
"It was the most disturbing character of my career," she says. "I wouldn't even let my daughter on the set."
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