Elle McPherson: Interview
Is acting a natural transition from modeling?
No. Acting and modeling have nothing to do with each other. It’s like saying, “You’re a singer, so you should be able to act.” Or, who is it who’s a great basketball player and can’t play golf for shit? They’re completely different skills. One is purely emotional; the other is purely physical. One is a relationship between a steel camera (a static piece of machinery) and the model. The other is a relationship between two actors being spied on by a moving camera.
What’s the lure for you?
I just happen to like the work. I like preparing for a role. I like reading. I like analyzing. I like literature. I like emotions. I like working with other actors. I like being part of a team. I like getting up in the morning, going to work and coming home at night. I like things being very ordered.
You’ve worked with George Clooney, Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges and, now, Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins. Have you learned anything specific from these actors?
It’s more a kind of general osmosis that you receive when you’re in the company of greatness. I feel like I’m kind of an apprentice on my movies. It gives me the opportunity to watch people—the way they deal with situations, the way they behave and the way they handle dialogue or the director.
What types of roles are you looking for?
I choose movies, I never choose roles. I look at the script. I look at the director. I look at the other actors—and then the role.
That makes sense. So, what kind of movies are you looking for?
Well, I don’t have a specific thing. I would have liked to do [the upcoming] The Avengers, for example. I’d like to be in a place in my acting career where I could’ve done that and done a good job. But, I have a tendency toward romantic comedy. I like to make movies I like to watch.
How do feel about your work in The Edge?
You know, Mamet is not a huge writer of female parts. Most of his movies don’t even have women in them, so I’m lucky I’m in it at all. It’s very difficult with such little scene time to make a strong statement with a character—especially with so little dialogue. It was a huge challenge, and I enjoyed it. And Alec and Tony made me feel comfortable.
No matter how big your role, people are focused on you because of your modeling background. Do you feel the pressure?
People expect a lot more. I think they expect me to be doing more substantial kind of work. But I think what I’m doing is substantial. They say, “You’re just doing little roles.” I’d like to jump in and be the star, but I have to be realistic about my capacities. The better I get as an actor, the more range I’m going to have.
But you’ve already displayed a surprising amount of acting skill. You got a lot of praise for Sirens, for instance.
Yeah, I did, actually. It’s only been more apparent as the years go on. People remember it and talk about it more now. At the time, I got a lot of negative press. I had to deal with a lot of people going, “Yeah, here’s a girl who just takes her clothes off for a movie. It wasn’t so hard.” But as time goes on, people who appreciate good films really respect Sirens. I saw it again the other day, and it was a very good movie.
Along with the acclaim comes the media attention—some of it pretty intrusive. In light of Princess Diana’s situation, what are your feelings about celebrity?
Being a public person doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a piece of meat for everybody. It’s like saying someone has the right to rape you because they saw a nude picture of you. I think that being a public person, you should not have to forego your rights. If you’re a regular, everyday person, and someone’s following you, making you afraid, you go to the police. You can get a restraining order. Why is it that if you’re a public person, you don’t have that right anymore?
What was your reaction when the story of the stolen photos first started to break? Were you angry?
First, of all, I didn’t expect it to be in the press. The D.A.’s office released a lot of information I didn’t expect them to release. So, unfortunately, it had to be a public debate as opposed to a private one. But seeing as it’s still under investigation, I’m really not in a position to talk about it. Unfortunately.
Although you’ve been stung by some of the gossip, in your modeling days, the media was almost an ally.
People in the fashion industry have used the press a lot more than people in the film industry, because you have nothing to sell except for the image: The image is everything. The image is where you have dinner at night, who you’re seeing. It’s what car you drive and how you dress. People in the industry sell that, and it creates a dream. There’s nothing else. Since I’ve been acting, I’ve shied away from that, because it’s not interesting to me anymore. There’s no purpose for me to have my every waking moment recorded. I don’t particularly like seeing pictures of myself, unless it’s related to a movie. I don’t like everybody knowing what I’m doing, unless it’s related to a movie. I don’t like speaking to the press. I never did.
Have you ever felt like you were a prisoner of that image?
No. How could I complain? I’m financially independent, and I’m actually very happy. I’m in no position to complain.
And now you go from media spotlight to motherhood. Are you scared?
It’s always been very clear to me that I was going to be a mother and that my purpose in life was to give life. It’s always been a thousand percent clear in my head. It was just when. This came as a perfect surprise, and the father of my child and I are just ecstatic. It seems perfectly normal.
So, it wasn’t planned?
You know, I could go into the details of my contraception—which I don’t use. But I don’t think it would be particularly interesting. Or maybe it would be far too interesting?
Of all the supermodels, you were the one dubbed “the Body.” What changes did you noticed once you became pregnant?
Well, obviously, your breasts. That’s the first thing. The breasts go first, and then the waist and then the butt. Nobody ever tells you that you get a butt when you get pregnant.
Will everything change with the baby? Are you going to get married?
Oh, gosh! Everybody’s so concerned about this: This is the ‘90s!
And you plan to continue working after the baby comes, right?
Yeah, sure. As long as people want to see me in movies, and as long as I find it interesting, I’ll keep working. I just made Mom’s Up on the Roof, an independent film that comes out in February or March. I shot that during the first three months of my pregnancy. It’s a project that Penny Marshall is producing.
Have you set up a plan for being a working mother?
I think things will work themselves out. Arki and my child are definitely the most important things in my life. Later, we’ll see how much time I have to devote to my career. I’ll wait [until the baby’s born], and next summer, I’ll probably start working again.