B.L. Frida was something you fought very hard to get made. What was it about her story that drove you so passionately?
S.H. I think it's because I'm an actress that it's more noticeable as to how long it took me to make this movie. There are so many people who I'd like to acknowledge that have had projects for, like, 13 years.

B.L. But it took you something like seven years and you never gave up.
S.H. What's important is to believe in something so strongly that you're never discouraged. When it is important for you to say something and you find a vehicle to say it, then go for it. It's so rare when that happens, so I think every minute spent fighting for it is always worth it. Even if nothing ends up happening, it's still worth the fight.

B.L. But why Frida Kahlo? What made you connect with her?
S.H. There are some deep aspects -- but one of the most important is that I think women have been programmed to be an image of something that is not real. We get pressure from religion, from society, from family, from men -- there are so many expectations and we are always so eager to please. Here we have one woman who was completely unconventional about everything she did. She was truly unique and truly unusual, but not accepted. Her art was definitely not accepted at the time, especially in Mexico. People thought her relationship with [Mexican artist] Diego [Rivera] was crazy, and they were right. Even the way she dressed…

B.L. But she dressed so beautifully…
S.H. Yes, but at the time what was chic was to be French, everybody in Mexico wanted to be French. Then there was this woman who was connected to this beauty even if other people weren't seeing it. She didn't care that people made fun of her or that they didn't understand what she was painting. She was not influenced by all of these outside voices. She was able to find her own voice. I think all that was very inspiring. Also, I loved her passion for life. Although she had a lot of painful things in her life -- emotionally and physically -- it never brought her down. That's why I refuse to see her as a martyr. The cliché about Frida was that she was a martyr who suffered. She was just a woman who had a lot of pain in her life. But also had a lot of joy and a great sense of humor.

B.L. After working on this for so long and finally seeing the finished film, I was wondering, looking back on it all, did it change you in any way?
S.H. What changed me was the process of making the film. I learned how to have the courage to enjoy the process. I think, in the same theme of how we are programmed as women, we're also programmed to dream something that maybe shouldn't be your dream. I always had this illusion that I wanted to make a big, successful films and in the process of getting there I was miserable. Then you find your true dream. When it is really yours, you are always feeling invigorated by the process. This is probably the most important thing I learned from this experience.

B.L. I feel very strongly that you are going to get an Oscar nomination for your portrayal of Frida. Would that be the piece de resistance for you, or does something like that really matter?
S.H. I went through so much the last seven years, so much growth and so much maturity -- and I also learned that I have people around me who truly believe in me and have proven that they are loyal to me in many ways. I proved to myself that if I believe in something and set my mind to it I could actually accomplish it. There were so many things in this process that were so deep and have changed my life and my way of seeing things that I don't think there is anything that can happen that can actually top that experience.

B.L. Aside from your tenacity to get this film made, it could never have come about without your amazing director, Julie Taymor.
S.H. You are so right about that. She is an amazing woman, a visionary. I think that women in this industry are really not appreciated. There has never been a female director who has won an Oscar; there has only been one woman who won at the Cannes Film Festival. I strongly feel that we have been overlooked in that department. It's very hard to have a career as a female director. Here we have this amazing woman in Julie Taymor who is completely unconventional and unmovable. Once she believes in something, you cannot push her around. She fights for things like a lioness and she has this amazing imagination that can take you places you have never been. She was fabulous to work with and is truly one of the underrated geniuses working in this business