Malin Akerman Interview
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
If you enjoyed reading our interview with the talented Malin Akerman in the ‘Hollywood’s Hottest’ section of Issue 107, then take a look below for plenty more from the talented Swede. Malin Akerman stars in 27 Dresses, which is on sale on DVD and Blu-ray now from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Rising star Malin Akerman made her name hanging upside down off a bed – with Ben Stiller on top of her - in The Heartbreak Kid. She was playing a character who in her own words is ‘off her rocker’.
Every man in sight fall for her in the new comedy, 27 Dresses, but she seduces the man her sister (Katherine Heigl) is in love with - then the two actresses get into some vicious cat-fighting.
“Malin Akerman is one of those very fortunate people who is beautiful and she has such a great sense of comedy, that it is almost shocking to your system,” says director, Anne Fletcher,” because she looks so amazing that you think she shouldn’t be that funny. She completely goes against the grain and I am blown away by her comedic ability and her acting in general. And she is a lovely person. Watching her and Katie on screen is like magic. You talk about chemistry between a man and a woman, their chemistry as sisters is brilliant and they love each other. They get along so well.”
Known as Hollywood’s new blonde bombshell, the actress looks stunning in a short cream dress, with high heels, her long blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders. It is inevitable that there have been comparisons to Cameron Diaz. The Swedish model who grew up in Canada and lives in LA isn’t averse to embarrassing herself, is very funny and enjoys being the centre of attention. She spends her time off, belting out rock songs with her band The PetalStones, though she admits: ‘I can’t sing very well.’
In her next film role she plays Silk Spectre in the film version of the graphic novel Watchmen.
Married to Italian drummer, Roberto Zincone, the 29 year-old actress (recently voted the sexiest woman in Sweden), talks about her rebellious teens, her rocketing career, her rock-star aspirations - and her most excruciating moments – on stage.
Can you talk about 27 Dresses?
I play Tess, Katherine Heigl’s younger sister who always had her own way as a child. She is beautiful and used to getting all the attention. She is manipulative and knows that she can get what she wants. In order to get her man, she just lies. He is a vegetarian, so she pretends to be a vegetarian too. He loves animals and the outdoors and hiking so she pretends she has the same interests as him, but she really doesn’t. She’s a city girl. So she tweaks herself to fit in with his way of life. But deep down she is a good person. I would not call her a mean girl, I would call her insensitive and a little naïve, she is very childish and needs to grow up.
How mean is she?
I don’t think she is consciously nasty but Jane (Katherine Heigl) has always facilitated everything in her life and so she doesn’t think twice about asking Jane to do things for her. She will say: ‘do this, do that, cook me some pasta’, Jane has never said no, so Tess just pushes it in a very innocent kind of way. Somebody should be putting their foot down with her but they don’t – until everything blows up in her life.
She does not seem to be authentic, is she trying to be somebody else?
Yes because she is scared of being herself, she has not had good experiences in the past with men. She meets George and she actually is truly interested in him and wants to impress him. She really wants him to like her, because he is the first true and honest man she has encountered in her life. So she is trying to make herself appealing to him because she likes him so much. Her intention is not coming from a bad or evil place, she is desperate to be accepted.
So what does she pretend in order to win her man?
He is a vegetarian, so she pretends to be a vegetarian too. He loves animals and the outdoors and hiking so she pretends she has the same interests as him, but she really doesn’t. She is more of a city girl who loves fashion and enjoys dressing up. He owns a company making outdoors and camping wear, so she tweaks herself to fit in with his way of life. I would not call her a mean girl, I would call her insensitive and a little naive and not really aware of what she is doing, I think she is very childish and needs to grow up.
It sounds like this character is much more fun to play than the traditional, beautiful sweet girlfriend type of role?
I love it. I always enjoy playing a different type of character. I often find that the side characters, the supporting roles are more interesting, because they tend to be quirky and a little bit nuts. I love this role, I think it is great because she is off beat, you do not know what to expect from her.
How would you describe the appeal of this film?
I think it is a great romantic comedy. It is about romance and falling in love and there are a lot of laughs too.
Are you romantic?
Very - my husband is an Italian drummer, he’s a wonderful musician from Naples and we got married in Italy in the summer. It was great doing a wedding film because I got so many ideas; it was a perfect subject for me. The wardrobe ladies helped me and I had my wedding dress shipped out. It was interesting getting married at the same time as playing someone getting married.
Can you talk about working with Katherine?
Katherine is so much fun, I was so pleasantly surprised when I met her, she has a great sense of humor and she is so cool, we just hit it off right away, that was such a relief, because she was playing my sister. I was really excited and felt right away that I could imagine her as my sister and I would hang out with her in real life. We have become good friends. She is pretty hilarious and we laugh a lot together. It meant there was a great comfort level right away. Our characters fight a lot and in one scene there’s a lot of throwing of sponges and rags in a hardware store, which was fun – it was like going back to the basics of sisterhood when you are five years old. It is funny because Katherine and I actually went out for dinner the other night and four people randomly came up to us and asked whether we were sisters. So I think that the casting department did a great job.
Do you have siblings yourself?
I have two younger sisters and a younger brother. But in this film it is quite different and a little strange because it’s a role reversal for me. I get to be the younger sibling. But I’ve watched the younger ones in my own family and I know just what they’re like and how they can get what they want. In my family, the little one definitely knows how to get her way, because she’s watched the older one not get it. And she tries to do the opposite. I had to test the waters and I had to clear the path for them. I did all the hard work and they reap he benefits.
Have you been a bridesmaid quite often and have you worn some terrible outfits?
You know I’ve only been a bridesmaid once. Only one of my very good girl friends is married. And yes I had to wear a bridesmaid dress, but it wasn’t anything really that bad, it wasn’t close to these bridesmaids’ dresses that Katherine wears in this film. It was nice although not an outfit that I would wear at any other time. For my wedding, I just asked my bridesmaids to pick something that they liked and maybe would wear again.
What’s married life like?
I love being married. We got married on The Amalfi coast in Italy – outside in the gardens of a hotel. My father and his father married us, because we don’t go to church and don’t practice any religion. So that was perfect. We sipped cocktails by the pool and had a nine course Italian dinner, we spent five hours eating. The food was so delicious. My husband is Italian so he’s a great cook and he makes amazing pasta dishes, and I do eat them, I don’t diet.
How does it work – you both have busy careers?
The marriage works brilliantly, we have a two week rule and try not to go longer without seeing each other. But I have to say there’s something about being apart and having our own experiences away from each other – then getting together – that makes the relationship exciting. We always have so much to say to each other. Roberto doesn’t worry at all about my career or the way I look. He’s seen me with guys all over the place and crowds, we go to parties together and he’s not at all possessive We know where we stand in each other’s hearts and we believe in what marriage stands for, it’s a huge commitment. I feel really lucky, because he’s so confident and we truly honestly trust each other 150 percent. I love a man who can make me laugh, he’s very sarcastic and we can be silly and have fun together.
What’s it like being compared to Cameron Diaz?
It’s so much fun being compared to Cameron Diaz – she is so successful and fantastic. People assume that if you’re beautiful you can’t be funny, but I’ve never depended on my looks, because I was skinny and flat as a board as a teenager and I had braces. Guys always saw me as a friend rather than a hot chick. For me, it was all about making a fool of myself and making people laugh. I don’t mind being a dork, being goofy and silly, because that’s in my nature. I love to have a good time and I’m not self-conscious. I don’t think ‘look at me I’m gorgeous’, when I look in the mirror every morning, I just say ‘oh there I am, here we go, another day.’
How do you handle all the attention?
When I get dolled up to go out, men definitely turn their heads and a lot of them approach me, which can be flattering or annoying. I walked into a club one night with a friend and a guy grabbed my arm and said ‘I’m buying you a drink’ and I said ‘no you’re not’. And he wouldn’t let go of my arm and said ‘’Aren’t I good enough for you?’ I just said ‘if you think I’m a bitch, that’s fine, but I don’t want a drink and you are being rude’.
Can you talk about your childhood?
My parents split up when I was six and my father moved back to Sweden, while I stayed in Toronto with my mother. She married again and I have a half brother and two half sisters. It must have been really difficult for my mother and she worked very hard. She was an aerobics teacher and did a bit of modelling. I don’t really remember how I felt about my parents not being together, I think it’s something you end up suppressing as a child, I do know it was tough for me because I loved my father very much. I only got to see him in school breaks, at Christmas and summer. But it was an advantage that they split up when I was very young, so I could get used to it. I think it’s harder emotionally if your parents separate when you’re a teenager.
What kind of kid were you?
As a kid I hung out with boys. We would climb trees and throw rocks at cars. Once when we threw a heavy rock at a cab, the driver got out and chased us and we just ran away as fast as we could, as though our lives depended on it, terrified that we’d get caught. We would run into buildings and play ‘Nicky Nicky Nine Doors’ knocking on apartments and running away before they answered. There was one more girl in our group, older than me, she would come up with the crazy ideas but wouldn’t carry them out herself, I was always the guinea pig. And of course the guys were always up for anything and would go along with me.
What else did you get up to?
I got caught stealing chocolate in a store once. The owner yelled at me ‘never come back’ and I got really scared. Luckily my mum never found out.There was always trouble lurking around us though, lots of dares, and I didn’t want to be called ‘chicken’. I was with one of my friends when she stole a pizza from a delivery truck; we did a lot of stupid things like that because we were bored.
Were you a rebel?
I definitely had my rebellious moments like any teenager, drinking quite a bit. I would go to my friend’s house after school, her father had three different drinks cabinets and we would mix anything and everything: whisky and vodka and peach schnapps and rum – it was just disgusting. And we would feel sick and horrible later. We were just experimenting and wanted to know what it was like to be drunk. I remember one time mixing shots and my mother calling and saying ‘ok I’m going to pick you up to go ballet class’ and I turned up at my class completely drunk trying to do plies, feeling so sick. I think my ballet teacher knew exactly what was happening. I was 15 and said ‘I don’t want to do ballet anymore, I’m into partying and boys,’ so I gave up,that was it.
It sounds like you were a handful for your mother?
I was, I would call my mother say ‘I’m sleeping at a friend’s place’ but would actually go to a rave till 8 o clock in the morning. I went out partying a lot and I hung out with the wrong crowd for a while, who were not into the greatest things, but I never got into any major trouble. They always said ‘we know you’re not going to do anything stupid’.
You did some modelling, how did that happen?
My mother’s modelling agent told her I’d be great on camera, so when I was three or four, I did a few television commercials including My Little Pony, but my mother never pushed me, I enjoyed it. I got out of it when I was 12 because I just wanted to be a teenager and have fun. My mother was always struggling to pay the bills and at 16 I got back into modelling to earn some money. I was discovered by Ford Models and at high school I was ‘The ‘Noxzema Girl’ (for their skin products).
What are your views on nudity?
I am not embarrassed about taking off my clothes, I don’t have an issue with showing my body. I don’t enjoy it, it’s never comfortable and you are thinking of your family, who are going to see you naked, but I don’t mind if it makes sense for the film. I was born in Sweden and spent a lot of time there as a kid. It is natural over there and all over Europe, they are much more prudish in America. Doing the sex scenes in The Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller was so embarrassing, being upside down with my head hanging off the bed, with Ben perpendicular to me, on top of me. It was the most uncomfortable position you can imagine. We choreographed all the moves before we got unclothed, but it was still difficult. At least when you’re acting though, you get lost in the character and what you’re doing. But then they call ‘cut’ and you’re sitting there half naked, trying to cover yourself. What do you do? I just said ‘oh hi Ben, how’s your wife?’
How much do you enjoy singing?
I am by no means a great singer. My voice isn’t that strong. I had to learn and I’m ok with a lot of practice but get me into a karaoke bar and it’s a disaster. I don’t play any instruments well at all - apart from a few chords on the guitar. I’ve always wanted to learn but I’ve been very lazy. But in 2003 I started singing with my band (The Petal Stones), it just kind of happened, we started playing together. That’s how I met Roberto my husband, we spent a lot of time rehearsing and putting together an album. When you spend six hours a day together, you really get to know each other. I don’t think I’m one of those crazy, raunchy ‘hey mother-f…..s’ types. But you do get into character when you get up there on stage, you become a rock star. We would play in LA clubs: The House of Blues, The Roxy and we did the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, which is a big venue, so that was exciting. Now I’m acting a lot and all the boys are also session players, but we still have the band and want to record more songs.
I had a very embarrassing moment at one of our biggest shows. I was wearing a revealing outfit with a see through mesh top and just a bikini top under it. Towards the end of the show a guy got up on stage, took my hand to kiss it and jumped off into the crowd, body surfing the audience. Everyone was going wild and I thought ‘that’s never happened before’. I thought that was quite exciting. Then I got off the stage and Roberto looked at me and shouted: ‘oh my God your boob is hanging out of your top.’ And I looked down and sure enough my bikini top had completely shifted to one side. So the boys enjoyed that show.
What music do you like?
I love hard rock, it drives me crazy. I have so many music idols. Fu Fighters are amazing - I love them, The Strokes, Arcade Fire, Linkin Park. I grew up on the Doors, Guns and Roses and Led Zeppelin and I still love them.
How do you spend your money?
I drive my old jeep Cherokee which I am about to change for a hybrid car. I am not very extravagant. I’m going to buy a house and buy some nice furniture, but that’s a good investment. I’ve been sensible with my money,so far, I don’t want to spend it all but we go out to nice dinners and I love a nice bottle of wine.
How fit did you have to be for your new film Watchmen?
I had to do heavy duty training for Watchmen. (My trainers also worked with the cast of the battle movie 300 last year). It was really hard; I was in so much pain the first week I couldn’t move, although my body is in the best shape it’s ever been. I’ve been doing a lot of fight training to prepare for the big fight scenes. I hurt my knee doing a kind of spin kick. I’ve had a lot of bruises all over because my outfit is made out of latex and doesn’t have much padding. So when I go for it and hit the guys full force, I do get hurt. But it’s amazing, I feel like I could take on anybody. There is quite a bit of action. It’s a great, dark thriller, that’s emotional and political with psychological layers. I loved making it.
27 Dresses is out to buy and rent on DVD & Blu-ray now from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
