Malin Akerman

Wednesday, 30 September 2009 19:00

There are three things Malin Akerman can't make up her mind about: career moves, hair color and nudity.

The star of this month’s Couples Retreat showed up for this interview in a decidedly blonde mood, and she dished on getting assigned Vince Vaughn as her mate and how making love on-screen can be classy—especially with the right pair of heels. (Though she'd much rather be getting into character putting clothes on than taking them off, she’s happy to do anything that doesn’t involve a corset.)

The former model and Petalstones lead singer got her start going topless in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. She went on to ditch singing for an acting career after marrying The Petalstones' drummer, Roberto Zincone. Since then, we’ve seen her in movies like 27 Dresses, Watchmen and The Proposal. Here, Malin shares her thoughts on facing off against freaky fans whenever necessary, staying in shape (it’s really easy!) and the benefit of living with funny toes.

By Prairie Miller

You're blonde today.
Yes. It keeps going back and forth, but it feels best like this. Blondes have more fun!

You're back into comedy with Couples Retreat. Is that a case of “once you work with Ben Stiller and friends, you're in for life?”
A little bit. They all know each other; their paths cross all the time. But I think maybe once you've shown your comedic acting chops, people have more faith in you.

I think after doing The Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller, Vince knew that since Ben does a lot of improv, like he does, then he could probably rely on me to bat with him back and forth.

What's it like having Vince as your leading guy?
It's sort of like when you trained for track and field, you should always run with the fastest person so you can try and keep up and get to that point. That's the way I felt about working with this caliber of an actor; they make you better.

What else grabbed you?
I love that it's more about the characters, relationships and where human nature takes you. That’s part of what we do as people.

What's your secret for getting into character?
It always helps when you put the clothes on. Especially for women, when you put on a pair of heels you just change—your persona changes. It’s just a regular day job, but it's a pleasure to play these characters and live vicariously through them. You fall in love and you make love, and if it’s done classily and beautifully, I’m in!

How about getting into the sex scenes and shedding all your clothes?
It's one of those things where it's never comfortable. You're not walking around going, “Please let me take my clothes off!” But I would say it’s OK, as long as it's not gratuitous and it's beautifully done. You know, classy and respectful.

When I read a script, I’m checking it out to see if the sex is gratuitous or not. I don’t really have an issue with showing certain parts of my body; it's cool. I’d rather not, but it’s not a big deal.

How about back in Sweden, where you were born. Are they more liberal there about sexuality?
Growing up in Sweden, it’s natural over there. But when you're sitting somewhere half naked, it's never the most comfortable thing, no matter who you’re with. Unless it’s your husband!

Well, how does your guy react to your sex scenes?
I'm extremely lucky that I have a man who is so supportive. He's not the slightest bit jealous about the things I do in any scenes.

Do you think we're on a nude trend in movies, or at least half-nudity?
I hope so.

What does the kind of celebrity you've gotten to experience after Watchmen mean to you?
I get to live like a rock star. But I actually don't have words for the feelings. The magnitude of this was bigger than anything I've ever been part of. It was a little bit nerve-wracking, crazy and exciting all at once!

Any freaky fan stories?
Not yet! I have heard a lot of stories about how freaky it can get. But I'm like, bring it on.

Can you still walk down the street?
I hope so! I hope there was enough incognito with the wig [in Watchmen].

How do you keep your great shape?
Don't hate me, but I've always been skinny. I got lucky! I can't walk by chocolate without eating it.

What do you see in your future?
I want to do everything; I don't want to miss out on anything. But I would love to do a time piece set in the 1800s. Actually, maybe not, because that would involve corsets like in Watchmen again! Maybe I’ll do something different, like a horror film. That's the one thing I love about this business, you can go out and challenge yourself every day.

What do you love most about acting?
Trying to make your character real and believable, making people laugh or cry and just trying to top your best performance. There isn’t one day that is the same as the next, and I love that diversity in my job.

Is there any secret about yourself that you're in the mood to share?
Well if I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret anymore … OK, I have webbed toes on my right foot.

So it's really true about that webbed toe thing, and not just a rumor?
True!

Have you ever whipped it out, like to impress anyone?
I whip it out all the time! Sometimes to scare people off, one or the other!

Do they ever come in handy?
For swimming!