Tarantino Almost Replaced Salma Hayek With Madonna In the Cult Scene
The actress had to undergo therapy in order to play the four-minute scene.
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez created a true masterpiece that was released in early 1996. From Dusk Till Dawn contains elements of fantasy, horror, thriller, action and even comedy.
One of the most memorable scenes in the movie was a dance extravaganza with a large snake performed by Salma Hayek. However, it turns out that another actress could have played the role had Salma not overcome her fear of snakes.
According to the script, Salma Hayek played the role of a stripper and at the same time the hostess of the night bar Titty Twister. At the climax of the evening, the hostess herself takes the stage and performs an erotic dance for the guests.
No one prepared Salma for the dance and no one rehearsed with her. Director Rodriguez told her to just listen to the music and move to it.
On her way to this role, Hayek had to overcome many obstacles. The actress grew up in a Catholic family where traditions were always respected, while in the movie, she had to play the embodiment of evil and Satan.
But the main obstacle for Salma was the presence of a large snake around her neck during the dance.
The actress is extremely afraid of snakes and she had to overcome her fear in order to shoot the scene. Some sources claimed that the actress went through two months of hypnotherapy before deciding to do such an act.
In addition, according to the actress herself, Quentin Tarantino threatened to replace her with another actress who had already agreed to dance with the snake:
"Quentin told me, 'Oh, by the way, you're dancing with a snake.' I said, 'I can't do that, I can't do that. It's my greatest fear.' He said, well, Madonna will do it, I already talked to her, and she's willing to dance with the snake.'"
It is unknown if this was a farce to motivate the actress or if Tarantino actually considered Madonna for the role, but either way his plan worked.
Salma overcame herself and, thanks to the strength of her will, one of the most iconic scenes in the history of cinema was born.
Source: Yahoo Entertainment