Salma Hayek Jokes That Her 'Day at the Office' on the Magic Mike Set was 'Amazing and Mesmerizing'

Salma Hayek has been in some pretty spectacular and awards-nominated films, but for the star, joining the cast of Magic Mike's Last Dance was a "dream come true."

The Puss In Boots: The Last Wish actress, 56, says on the latest episode of the PEOPLE Every Day podcast that she relished her role in the popular series' final installment, due out in February — and the chance to star opposite lead Channing Tatum.

"It's a dream come true for me to work with [director Steven Soderbergh] and Channing, who cannot be nicer and cooler, you know?" Hayek says. "He's amazing. And we really got along well. It was a really fun job, and really, I think I made some good friends in that one."

Hayek adds that her "day at the office," which included observing 12 shirtless dancers do their thing, "was amazing and mesmerizing every day for a couple of weeks."

The Oscar-nominated Frida star joined the cast of the movie earlier this year when Thandiwe Newton dropped out, and told PEOPLE in August that she was happy to have been given the opportunity.

RELATED: Salma Hayek Teases Channing Tatum's Lap Dance in Third 'Magic Mike' Movie

"It's the strongest love story, the strongest female character, from beginning to end," Hayek said about her role. "How lucky am I?"

Warner Bros. Pictures. Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek in Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023)

In addition to the inclusion of a dynamic female character in the third movie, the star also confirmed at the time that Tatum, 42, had upped the ante on his moves in the forthcoming film.

Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.

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

RELATED: Everything to Know About 'Magic Mike's Last Dance'

Tatum previously told PEOPLE that he wanted the new movie "to be the Super Bowl of stripping," as well as offer a feminine side.

"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," he said at the time, and then added: "I want to have an equal, if not even more centralized female character for Mike to really play off of and almost to."