Salma Hayek says Angelina Jolie is the best director she's ever worked with. Hayek began her career on television in Mexico in the late 1980s before making her breakthrough in Hollywood in the violent action-western, Desperado. From there, her career kicked off at a brisk pace with her starring in films such as From Dusk Till Dawn, Fools Rush In, Dogma, and 54. One of her latest roles, the MCU superhero film Eternals, had her star opposite her future director, Angelina Jolie.
Jolie began her acting career at a very young age but it wasn't until 1995's Hackers when her career truly took off. She subsequently starred in hit films such as The Bone Collector, Gone in 60 Seconds, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. In 2007, Jolie made the jump to the director's chair with the documentary A Place in Time. However, her first narrative feature came in 2011 with In the Land of Blood and Honey. She has since directed three more movies: Unbroken, By the Sea, and First They Killed My Father. Now, Jolie is working on her next picture, Without Blood, a story based on the novel of the same name by Alessandro Baricco about trauma and healing after a war. The film stars Hayek in a lead role alongside Godzilla vs. Kong's Demián Bichir.
In a recent interview with People, Hayek praised Jolie's talent as a director. While discussing Without Blood, Hayek stated that Jolie is "probably the best director I've ever worked with. And I worked with some pretty good ones." Bolstered by Hayek's long, storied career, the actor's praise for her director is massive. Read more of what Hayek said about Jolie below.
"I've always loved her as a director, but I think this might be her best, or one of the best."
"It was a tough film to do. And then somehow, it was a joy to suffer so much [because]...she was shockingly good."
Hayek's comments are the highest praise any director could receive from an actor, especially from an actor who has been working in the industry for over 30 years. More weight is added to Hayek's claim when one looks at the long list of acclaimed Hollywood directors in her filmography such as Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith, Oliver Stone, Steven Soderbergh, Robert Towne, Ridley Scott, and Chloé Zhao. Placing Jolie above Academy Award and Golden Globe winners is an immense compliment.
Through Hayek's wealth of experience in over fifty films, she can most assuredly recognize talent when she sees it. Jolie has proven herself time and again as an actor, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress with her work on Girl, Interrupted. However, with only five narrative features under her belt as a director, and with both Unbroken and First They Killed My Father receiving much critical acclaim, she still has decades to delight audiences with directorial work. Without Blood is currently in production and has no set release date yet.
Source: People