Alfred Molina is no stranger to the big screen. His first notable film appearance was in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" back in 1981. Since then his extensive film credits include "Chocolat", "Boogie Nights", "Magnolia", and his most recent film, "Frida"
Why do you think your character, real-life artist Diego Rivera, was so attractive to women?
The thing I found really interesting is here's a man who is hugely fat and not attractive in a conventional sense. It must have had something to do with sheer charisma. They say that talent is a great aphrodisiac. Maybe he just exuded some confidence or charm. There's a scene in the movie when his ex-wife says he had a way of pointing out your most vulnerable imperfection and making it beautiful. I think we're all susceptible to that.
Knowing Diego was a bit of a player, there must have been some good stories that were left out...
Yeah. He used to hang out with Errol Flynn. Apparently he had this great affair with Paulette Goddard. There was also a rumour, I don't know how true it was, that he had an affair with Rita Hayworth. I can't imagine Rita Hayworth and Diego giving it a go!
How was it working with Salma Hayek, on a project that was so personal to her?
She's very easy to work with. She's a very focused and very committed women. Her spending those seven years to get the film off the ground is a phenomenal achievement really, considering she is the victim of the two worst prejudices in Hollywood. One being she's a woman, and the other one that's she’s Latina. She's also cursed with drop-dead good looks, which always seems to work against a lot of actresses in Hollywood. The assumption is if you're beautiful, you can't act.
