Ryan Reynolds Says Salma Hayek Slapped Him For Real In The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard

Salma Hayek has been busting heads on screen ever since her breakout part in 1995’s Desperado, combining dramatic performances with various action roles to much acclaim. 2021 may be her biggest year yet, though, as she’s starring in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard this summer and making her MCU debut as Ajak in Eternals in November.

Hayek effectively had only a cameo in 2017’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard, but her part is substantially increased in the sequel, which will see Ryan Reynolds’ Michael Brice on a company-mandated break from bodyguarding. His free time comes to an end, though, when Hayek’s Sonia saves him from him being assassinated and enlists him to help rescue her missing husband. He agrees, but due to the terms of his sabbatical, has to do it without firearms or weapons.

Reynolds discussed working with Hayek on the movie recently, revealing one amusing bit of information, as you can see below:

“In Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, I’m slapped in the face twice by Salma and once by Samuel L. Jackson. For the record, it was Salma who didn’t pull the punches. Not even once. I can still feel the sharp sting of her tiny hand working its way into my soft Hollywood cheekbones. May God have mercy on her soul.”

He also praised her contributions to the film, saying:

“Salma is a writer. She comes to set with a writer’s mind and outlook. She’s constantly improving, rewriting, and reminding us all what the scene is actually about. She comes to play and build.”

It’ll be great to see Hayek on screen again, particularly as she recently revealed that she nearly died from COVID-19 last year. In an interview with Variety, she explained that her doctor begged her to go to hospital, but she said she’d rather die at home. Hayek then spent seven weeks isolated in a room of her house (at one point receiving oxygen) and still hasn’t fully recovered her strength.

Fortunately, she’s getting better now, returning to work in April to shoot Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci, in which she plays Pina Auriemma, a self-described psychic who was convicted of helping Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) murder her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver). Hayek describes this as “the perfect job just to get back to it” and says that though production was rushed, Scott made it “easy.”

But before all that, we can enjoy her in the very fun-looking The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which will hit theaters on June 16th.