Salma Hayek Says Lap Dance Performance with Channing Tatum in 'Magic Mike 3' Was 'Physically Challenging'

Salma Hayek Says Lap Dance Performance with Channing Tatum in 'Magic Mike 3' Was 'Physically Challenging'

Salma Hayek is getting candid about her experience filming Magic Mike's Last Dance.


While speaking with Entertainment Tonight earlier this week, the 56-year-old actress opened up about the challenges of playing her character alongside costar Channing Tatum in the third installment of the movie franchise.


In the film's official trailer, which dropped last month, Hayek can be seen in a steamy situation with Tatum, 42, during a lap dance performance.


"It's very physically challenging," Hayek told ET of the act. "My goodness. You just wait to see. It's complicated."


The Oscar-nominated Frida star joined the cast of the movie earlier this year when Thandiwe Newton dropped out.


Discussing her role in the film, she shared with the outlet, "I play a strong woman."


"You know what was my day going into the office? I would just sit around and watch, like, 12 men, semi-naked dancing and doing pirouettes. And I got to boss them around," Hayek continued.


Salma Hayek Says Lap Dance Performance with Channing Tatum in 'Magic Mike 3' Was 'Physically Challenging'


Speaking to PEOPLE in August, Hayek gushed over Tatum's skills to portray the stripper named Mike Lane in the movie.


"If you thought he could dance [before], you are going to realize you haven't seen anything. His dance skills — he just got better," Hayek said at the time.


Meanwhile, in February, Tatum teased his goals for Magic Mike's Last Dance with PEOPLE.


"I want it to be the Super Bowl of stripping," he said at the time. "I want dancing like we've never been able to do in the other two movies, because we had to be honest to what the reality of that world is, which isn't great dancing."

Salma Hayek Says Lap Dance Performance with Channing Tatum in 'Magic Mike 3' Was 'Physically Challenging'

In addition to featuring professional dancers, Tatum said it was important for the sequel to have a well-written female lead.


"I want to have an equal, if not even more centralized female character for Mike to really play off of and almost to," he explained. "I don't want to say, [to have her] take the baton, but really let the movie be about a female's experience and not Mike's experience, because it has been so much about Mike and the guys' experiences. These movies are very, very female-forward. At least that is our intention."


Magic Mike's Last Dance is in theaters on Feb. 10, 2023.