Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek: When Fame Turns Fractious
Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek’s relentless Puss in Boots promo tour in 2011 pushed their patience to the limit, straining their working relationship and leaving both stars exhausted.
It’s not every day you hear someone grumble about being paid a fortune to jet around the globe, stay in flash hotels, and spend time with Salma Hayek. Yet, for Antonio Banderas, that was the reality back in 2011, and it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. The pair, both lending their voices to the animated spin-off Puss in Boots, found themselves caught up in a whirlwind of interviews and appearances that would test even the most patient of mates.
Relentless Rounds of Interviews
The promotional circuit for the film was nothing short of brutal. Banderas and Hayek were roped into a staggering 739 interviews over just 11 days, crisscrossing nine countries and three continents. It sounds like a dream gig, but the constant repetition quickly wore thin.
“We travelled to nine countries, nine premieres, three different continents… It was fun and difficult too. It’s just weird when you’re doing interviews. Basically, they (reporters and interviewers) ask you the same question again and again… and you answer the same thing… and when you’re doing pair interviews – because Salma and I were just doing interviews all the time together – it’s just weird.”
The endless cycle of the same questions and answers, day in and day out, left both stars feeling more like robots than actors.
Tempers Flare on Tour
As the days dragged on, the strain began to show. The constant proximity and lack of downtime started to chip away at their good humour. Banderas didn’t mince words about how things went south:
“By the time that we were in Rome, we started kind of hating each other. By the time we were in Sydney, we wanted to kill each other – because we knew exactly what the other (person) was going to answer… We were just so tired.”
The fatigue was real, and the novelty of the experience had well and truly worn off by the time they hit Australia. Even the glamour of international travel couldn’t make up for the monotony and exhaustion.
Perspective and Reconciliation
It’s easy to poke fun at celebrities for complaining about what seems like a cushy gig, but the reality of back-to-back interviews and relentless travel can grind anyone down. While most locals would swap places in a heartbeat, the toll it took on Banderas and Hayek’s working relationship was clear. Still, the experience didn’t put them off for good. Both returned for the 2022 sequel, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, proving that a bit of time (and a decent pay packet) can mend even the most frayed tempers.