In her 50s and 'short with big boobs': Eternals star Salma Hayek admits she's the unlikeliest of superheroes

The Eternals are superpowered beings who are ordered to not interfere with human affairs.

At one point, that rule looks like it stretches to virtual press conferences as proceedings are an hour late in starting.

This virtual session for Marvel's latest superteam, ahead of the film's Nov 4 release in cinemas here, is packed with talent.

Nine of Eternals' 10 leads - including Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Angelina Jolie and Don Lee - are here along with Marvel Cinematic Universe head Kevin Feige, co-star Kit Harington and Oscar-winning writer-director Chloe Zhao.

The film is slightly different to what Marvel fans will be used to, an epic cosmic tale with romance and humanity.

It revolves around 10 immortals who have been on Earth for thousands of years, tasked by Celestials (seen in Guardians Of The Galaxy) to protect mankind from creatures called Deviants, but not to interfere in any other way.

So everyone asking why they didn't help fight Thanos from the Avengers films, there is your answer.

The cast is suitably diverse.

Salma Hayek, who plays team leader Ajak, is the most enthusiastic about the opportunity to play a superhero, especially a Latina one.

Said the 55-year-old Mexican-American star: "I dream big. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here at all. I wanted to be a superhero, to work with the best directors, have blockbuster movies and be in movies that are art.

"But it didn't happen that much for me. You fight for it in your 20s, your 30s and your 40s. Then you go, 'Oh, s**** them, they don't get it'.

"But now, it is very humbling when, in the middle of your 50s, a brilliant director gives you the opportunity to do that. I was wrong. Everything is possible."

Hayek is aware that she does not fit the stereotypical super-build.

"I mean, I am short with big boobs. It is not the normal superhero. I am not muscular."

She was able to indulge in some action scenes at least, joking: "They were not afraid that grandma was gonna break."

But it is the knock-on effect of Eternals' diversity that touches Hayek the most.

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"It's beautiful. Yesterday, (at the film's premiere on Oct 18), I nearly cried because I saw this Latino family - a mother and three little girls all dressed like Ajak. That they can see themselves in this, thank you to Marvel and thank you to Chloe."

The cast did not just have to tackle action scenes.

Pakistani-American cast member Kumail Nanjiani, 43, plays Kingo, a role he notably beefed up for, who hides in plain sight as a Bollywood star.

He said: "I am going to put Chloe on the spot. When we first talked about the movie, she said there's a Bollywood dance sequence and I was like, 'Chloe, I don't think I can do that'.

"She said, 'Okay, we will make it an action scene'. But, as soon as I got to London, it was a dance sequence."

Yet, the comedian had full trust in Zhao.

"Usually my instinct with an opportunity like this is that there would be a moment of excitement. And then fear. But just in meeting Chloe, I was like, 'Oh, she is not going to let me suck in this thing'."

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.