Starting her acting career with Mexican films and TV shows, Salma Hayek made her Hollywood debut with the 1995 action film Desperado. Following her debut with an action movie, she went on to star in a range of genres and also landed an Academy Award nomination for the 2002 film Frida. As she continued working in the industry, Hayek teamed up with actor-comedian Kevin James for the 2012 sports comedy Here Comes the Boom.
While it was not the first project they collaborated on, starring alongside his Grown Ups co-star did lead James to wonder if Hayek was too good-looking for him, especially after everyone suggested “ugly her up” for the movie.
Kevin James on Starring Alongside Salma Hayek
The 2012 movie Here Comes the Boom, starring Kevin James alongside Salma Hayek, follows a biology teacher who attempts to become an MMA fighter to save his school’s Music program. The film did pretty well at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics, who described it as “great family fun.”
Prior to the 2012 film, Hayek and James featured in the 2010 comedy film Grown Ups. While working on the Adam Sandler starrer, both became good friends and it was James who reportedly told the Black Mirror actress about the 2012 sports comedy.
Once she accepted the offer for the movie, the Zookeeper star was concerned if his co-star was too pretty for him. During an interview with Parade, the actor shared that there were concerns that the audience might not be able to accept his and Hayek’s characters’ relationship in the movie.
“Everybody said we have to ugly her up, but you can’t,” he said before adding that no one else was better than her for the role of Bella Flores in the movie. “But she was the best person for it since she does do that improv,” he said as he talked about how fun it was working with the Dogma actress.
Kevin James Offered Salma Hayek the 2012 Sports Comedy
Salma Hayek has shared that she learned about the 2012 film Here Comes the Bloom from her Grown Ups co-star Kevin James. The actress shared that she had a great time working with him in the 2010 film, and they also discussed doing “a movie together properly.”
“His talent shocked me. He is so good with physical comedy – very clever, very fast,” she shared during an interview. Hayek also shared that as they discussed working together, James assured her that she would be in his next movie.
And soon, she got a call from the Becky actor who told her, “I’m doing this film [Here Comes the Boom], and I’m writing you a part. Are you still up for it?” She accepted the offer and was cast alongside James in the movie.
Here Comes the Boom is available on Hulu.
Source: Parade
