An Oscar nomination for Frida is the icing on the cake for the actress who began acting in her native Mexico in the primetime soap Teresa. Steve Pratt reports.

EVEN if Salma Hayek doesn't win the Oscar for best actress, she can console herself with the knowledge that she's achieved what both Madonna and Jennnifer Lopez failed to do - make a film about Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

After years of playing supporting roles and leading lady to higher profile male stars, the Mexican born and raised actress has finally made her mark in Hollywood.

She finds it fascinating that many people talk about beating other people to play the role. That's not the amazing thing for her. "What is amazing to me is that it got done at all," she says.

"It's amazing that I was able to convince the studio to do this film, to get someone like Julie Taymor to direct, and that I was able to convince all these big superstars to play small parts with no money and no perks.

"As for other people wanting to play this part, I find that absolutely logical. It's an amazing part. Why wouldn't other people want to make it?

"Some movies are made because there's a lot of money behind them, some because there's a lot of power behind them. This movie was made because behind it there were a lot of friends, a lot of passionate, talented people. So it's a very cool thing."

What kept her going through the many years of struggling to get the project off the ground was that she truly believed in it and gave it her best fight. "It's okay that doors were slammed in my face. I'm grateful for that today," she says.

"I wouldn't have learnt all the things I've done or grown like I have, if it had come to me easily. I know how to tell a story, how to put a movie together, where to find the money.

"We went through many possibilities of directors. We could have done this movie before but I didn't want to settle for what was there. Sometimes people say I suffered so much to get where I am. In a way that suggests you should like me now that I've earned it, but I don't want to take that position. I'm very privileged to have taken the road that I have."

Hayek even called on her boyfriend, actor Edward Norton, to polish the script. He and Taymor spent two months working on reshaping the final draft, although he doesn't receive a mention in the credits. "The truth is that he suggested it when we were in a bind. I knew he was very good," says Hayek.

Frida has been an inspiration in her life since she was 14. The artist had a stormy relationship with fellow artist Diego Rivera (played by Alfred Molina), and affairs with both Leon Trotsky and women.

"Of all the things that she was brave about, I admire most her courage to be unique," she explains. "She was bisexual at a very young age. Her paintings were not liked by many. She never changed her style whether people liked them or not. She had quite an unconventional relationship with her husband Diego. She didn't care what anybody thought and never apologised for who she was.

"On the contrary, she celebrated some of the things that made her different. For example, her moustache she exaggerates in the paintings. And her eyebrows, which she also exaggerates and sometimes she makes them into a symbol of freedom like a bird."

With six nominations, Frida is a major contender come Oscar night tomorrow. "It's so exciting because it was so tough this year," she says. "I thought a lot of people in our movie deserved a nomination.There was so much fuss and anticipation in Mexico, that I was really nervous."

Now that the film's done, what will replace that passion to get it made? "Don't underestimate my passion. I can be passionate about things that might not be meaningful," says Hayek.

"You have a dream and think about it. You involve other people in the dream, so that it becomes better. Then, when it's done, you put it aside and have the courage to dream a new one. I'm not going to compare anything else with this. I will just enjoy it, whatever it is. That is one lesson I learned from Senora Frida Kahlo."

* Frida (15) opens at Newcastle Tyneside cinema and York City Screen this weekend.

Published: 22/03/2003