Salma Hayek’s Like a Boss Character Was Inspired by Drag Queens

If you've seen the trailer or posters for Like a Boss, you've seen Salma Hayek's transformation into makeup mogul Claire Luna, a larger-than-life villain that Hayek calls "deliciously ridiculous."

"I'm very proud of it because it was my design," Hayek told Out during the film's press day in New York City. "The character was written very straight and very typical business...very stiff, and not even that funny." But that's not what movie goers will see in theaters. Instead, Hayek wanted to create a character "that you could actually impersonate for Halloween."

In fact, the character's look and attitude was inspired by drag queens. "She's fabulous...everything has to be perfect, and she reminds herself all the time how fantastic she is and how great she's done in life," the actress said. "And I just love her."

Of course, we couldn't pass up the chance to ask Hayek about her next big film role as a celestial superhero in The Eternals, which will feature Marvel's first openly gay male character. When asked if she thinks the LGBTQ+ community will be happy with how that character's identity is represented, she gave a hopeful yes.

"it's just their real life...it's just part of life," she says. "And I think that right now, a lot of the superheroes, what we like about them in other movies, is that they have a lot of human qualities....And so it's nice that we represent a larger gamut of humans, and this particular movie has a lot of diversity."

Like a Boss is in theaters January 10.

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