She sported a tash in Frida and dons a full beard for new flick Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, but Salma Hayek will always be a beauty in our eyes - besides, it’s not necessarily always her face that has everyone’s full attention, is it? Despite her impressive physique, the 43-year-old has a reputation for being one of the smartest people in the business after her production company developed hit show Ugly Betty. Luckily for us, she’s not about to give up on being in front of the camera though – as well as Cirque du Freak, she’s got several new films in the pipeline, so what better time for Playboy to catch up with the Latino lovely?

Playboy: Salma, where have you been? We’ve not seen as much of you recently…

Salma Hayek: Well, yes that's true - but I have been looking after my baby, Valentina.

Playboy: Of course! How was it returning to work?

Hayek: This movie [Cirque du Freak], it was great. It was in New Orleans, it was with people that I love, some friends and some people that I didn't know but that I've always wanted to work with. It was the perfect movie too. It's a family movie in a way, and it's about youth and it's about love and family. And I could take my daughter with me to work. It was perfect.

Playboy: Was it weird for you to see yourself with a beard?

Hayek: I'm not totally used to seeing myself with a beard. But John [C Reilly, co-star] made me feel really good about it. He'd say, "Oh, my God, you look so hot with a beard," and I'd be like, "Really?" It was like when I was a whale and swollen from the pregnancy, and I'd never looked worse in my life, and people said, "Oh, you glow." They have no words to tell you how bad you look, so they tell you that you glow, and then you feel like you glow. It was the same with the beard. They made me feel good about it.

Playboy: What do you think about the recent vampire explosion?

Hayek: I don't have a fascination for vampires. It's quite ironic. I've actually been a vampire in a movie [From Dusk Until Dawn], and I've been in love with a vampire in another movie, and yet I have no fascination whatsoever with vampires. But, I did love this script for Cirque du Freak. It wasn't the fact that it was vampires.

Playboy: What was it that was so special?

Hayek: I actually found the concept of the circus freaks a lot more interesting than the vampires, maybe because there's been less movies done about that. But, it doesn't matter what I like 'cause they were interesting characters. I also liked that it was a film that is for young people, but it doesn't treat young people as a cliche. It's respectful of their uniqueness. It doesn't tell them exactly what they're supposed to think. It gives them space to take different things in different ways. I thought it was quite smart and refreshing, so that's what attracted me to it. It just happened to be a vampire project. It also just happened I had to have facial hair, and it's the third time I've done some kind of freak facial hair in a movie.

Playboy: What sort of tips can you give for growing and maintaining a beard?

Hayek: [Laughs] I think it's very important to steam, so that you get the root of the hair. It's important not to drink a lot, the night before you shave, so that your hands don't shake and you don't cut yourself. And, at some point, it's important to just let it grow and accept yourself with all the hair you have.

Playboy: This movie ends in such a way that is very open for a sequel. Are you signed on for more?

Hayek: We did sign a contract. We don't know if it's going to happen or not, but they made sure that we cannot just escape that easily, if it does well. I think it's going to do really well, and I think it's going to surprise many people.

Playboy: When you were young, would you have wanted to leave and join the circus?

Hayek: I did dream a little bit about being a contortionist or a trapeze artist. I would have loved to have done that.

Playboy: Your character in the film can see the future. Do you have any powers of prophecy?

Hayek: Do you know a woman that doesn't have that power, a little bit? But, I don't have them any more than the average.

Playboy: What has come true for you?

Hayek: I'm not going to tell you that. Do you really think, if I had some kind of mental powers, I'd be talking about them at a press conference?!

Playboy: With the way that actors and celebrities are treated now, with the paparazzi and everything, do you feel like you are part of the Cirque du Freak?

Hayek: I don't think that we are the freaks. What's freaky is the guy behind the camera who is desperate and so excited because he's seeing you walk into a supermarket. I think that's freaky. They're the freaks. I'm not the freak. I'm attacked by the freaks, sometimes. That's the strange part.

Playboy: What have you got coming up? Do you have any projects that you are looking to produce with your company?

Hayek: Yes, I have some plans. We are developing some movies and some television shows with my company."

Playboy: Are you going to be back for more episodes of 30 Rock?

Hayek: Oh, I wish, but I can't. I had so much fun, but I had to move on. It's complicated because it's in New York.

Too bad… Thanks for your time, Salma!

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