Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek reflect on their long friendship and careers: ‘We were hot!’

Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek Pinault have starred in multiple movies together over the years, and it turns out their chemistry is just as dynamic off the screen.

The actors opened up about their friendship on TODAY Tuesday, sharing with Savannah Guthrie that they have been close buddies for decades.

“Oh my God, it means so much to me,” Hayek said, referring to her friendship with Banderas. “Number one, I’m very proud of him.”

She added that she and Banderas have known each other for over 20 years.

“Even more than that,” Banderas interjected.

“Even more than that. Maybe we don’t say how (many),” Hayek joked.

She said their friendship has withstood distance, with both of them living in different places around the world over the years.

“You have to go through living all over the place because Antonio not only has never stopped working — never, ever, ever — but also moves around and to stay friends like that for so long is great,” she said.

“And when he comes to work, he’s my good-luck charm,” the “Frida” star added. “He gave me my start.”

Hayek starred alongside Banderas in her breakout film, “Desperado.”

“We were hot!” she said with a laugh, looking at a still of her and Banderas from the 1995 action thriller.

Banderas also shared some heartfelt reflections on their friendship.

“Well, we practically started together in the industry here in America,” he said. “We were coming from our own countries, so we met each other at the beginning of this road.”

Banderas launched his acting career in Spain in the 1980s before making the move to Hollywood in the early ‘90s, transitioning to English-speaking roles.

Hayek, similarly, began her career in her home country of Mexico before establishing herself in Hollywood in the mid-’90s.

“She’s a real friend. Every time that we’ve been working together, immediately there is a chemistry that is very difficult to explain,” Banderas said. “I don’t want to intellectualize it. It just happens, and it’s great.”

The actors and old friends will join forces once again in the upcoming “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” which opens in theaters on Dec. 21.

Hayek is also slated to star in next year’s “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” and she joked she is “shocked” that Banderas isn’t involved in that movie, too.

“Maybe if we do another one, Antonio has to be a part of it,” she said. “And he can dance, too.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com