Salma Hayek Says Her Black Mirror Casting Call Felt Like An Episode Of The Show

On June 15, 2023, the sixth season of the popular horror/sci-fi anthology series "Black Mirror" hit Netflix. The new series features five installments, each boasting a different set of filmmakers and a different cast. From the looks of the trailer, the new season looks to be just as clever, twisty, and intense as the seasons that have come before. 

One of the episodes of the new season is called "Joan in Awful." In it, a character named Joan (Annie Murphy) is at home with her husband (Ben Barnes), thumbing idly through a very Netflix-like streaming service called Streamberry, looking for something to watch. She stumbles upon a series called "Joan if Awful," which stars Salma Hayek. Curiously, Hayek is made to look like Joan. Indeed, the series seems to be a scripted recreation of Joan's life ... but presented in such a way as to make Joan look like a terrible person. The real Joan can only watch in horror as the Salam Hayek Joan overacts and makes her look monstrous. The story seems to be about Joan's attempts to get the show — naturally, a hit — taken off the air, as she also figures out how her life became fodder for "content." 

The Netflix meta-narrative is delicious and may recall "Bandersnatch," the Netflix choose-your-own-adventure movie. 

For "Joan is Awful," Hayek had to play both herself and the Fake Joan, presenting a fun challenge for the actress. However, in a recent interview with EW, Hayke admitted it was a strange request. Hayek was familiar with "Black Mirror" before she was offered the job, and was a little taken aback to be asked to play herself in what was, she felt, a horror movie. 

Hayek also noted that the version of "Salma Hayek" from within "Joan is Awful" is also an exaggerated, awful version of herself, so the meta-narrative goes one step further. Hayek recalls getting the call from her agent and feeling a great deal of trepidation. If Hayek was being asked to play "awful Hayek," did the producers really think she was a genuinely bad/violent/horror-appropriate person? The actress said:

"I had previously identified 'Black Mirror' with horror. [...] So when I got a very excited call from my agent saying that I had been offered a job where I play myself, and it was for 'Black Mirror' ... it's kind of weird when you are offered to play yourself in horror. It's like, 'Oh my god, how do they see me?' So that phone call was already like a 'Black Mirror' episode in itself. But then I read it and I was laughing so much. I was so excited to have an opportunity to make fun of myself and to work with Annie."

Given the nature of "Black Mirror," Hayek's suspicions seem justified. If you are asked to play yourself on "Black Mirror," and the episode is, thematically, about how Netflix shows can change a person's image ... and then you are asked to play against type and actually play an altered version of yourself ... yeah, that might make anyone's brain ache a little bit. It seems, though, that Hayek was game, and was fine playing a satire of herself. At the end of the day, the actress was completely professional. 

Coming soon to Netflix: "Salma Hayek is a Professional."