las vegas press

 

SI.com: What was the hardest point of the transition you made from modeling to acting?
MS: That probably would have been when I was living in New York, still working in Europe, and trying to take an acting class in L.A. I did a two-year Meisner [acting] course. I took like 70-something red-eyes during that time. I completed the Meisner program. A lot of people want to be actors their whole lives -- they start in high school, taking drama and doing plays. I think I did one play in high school, but I didn't have drama. I wanted to be a lawyer. I never had the basic training to act. I'm still in class. I had two hours of voice and dialect today. I got extremely lucky. I learned my craft while I worked, and a lot of people don't have the opportunity to do that. Plus I got a heck of a lot of frequent flier miles -- I have over a million!


SI.com: In 2004, you had a role in Starsky & Hutch with Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Vince Vaughn. What did you learn from working with them?
MS: Those guys are so talented. A lot of people don't realize that what they say and what they do are often not on the page -- they improvise. They start even before they say "Action." Vince gave me such a great piece of advice. He said, "You're good, but remember one thing: commit to whatever you're doing. If you're the straight guy, play it straight, all the way. If you're playing the funny guy, play it funny, all the way. But commit."


SI.com: You're one of the stars on Las Vegas, currently in its third season on NBC, on which you play James Caan's daughter. Any Jimmy Caan stories?
MS: Oh, Jimmy. The first season, I was scared of him. He's very old school -- he can be in a really s***ty mood, but you have to understand that he was used to doing film. The one thing I've learned about Jimmy is, he won't respect you unless you respect him. You can't kiss his ass -- if you kiss his ass, you're dead in the water. He doesn't talk about acting unless he's asked, and he won't tell you to do something unless he trusts you. He tells us about Nicolas Cage and Marlon Brando. He'll smoke cigars on the set and I'll kill him. One story we kept asking him about was the scenes he had with Kathy Bates in Misery. We're like, "You're in a bed for the whole movie. How did you get that angst?" He goes, "Because I was in a f------g bed! It was so uncomfortable, and I was so tired of being in a bed, that I used it."


SI.com: Who gets the most fan mail on the set -- you, Caan, or Josh Duhamel?
MS: Well, I don't do badly, but probably Duhamel. Because the girls write more fan mail than the boys. He's a great guy. Being humble and that good looking, and he's very talented -- he has that movie star quality.


SI.com: What's one thing that has happened to you in Vegas that stayed in Vegas?
MS: I got flown there on a private plane to go to the opening of Light in Bellagio. My boyfriend at the time and I got there and ate something. All we had to do was go to the opening. We ended up laying down, and we missed the party! We woke up at like 2 o'clock in the morning and we ran down there, but it was basically over. They were a little disappointed, I got to tell you -- to fly us there in a private jet, put us up in the Bellagio, and then we stayed in our room. That was one thing. Then one time we went out and partied until like five o'clock in the morning, and then we decided to go get a drink. We fell asleep outside by the pool at the Hard Rock, and we got completely toasted! Lobster red. I was shooting a couple of days later -- they weren't happy, either.


SI.com: Are you a gambler?
MS: I like blackjack. I learned to play craps when I was shooting Sports Illustrated this year in Vegas, actually. We went out that night, the photographer, all of us. Slowly, the croupiers taught me how to play -- they couldn't believe I worked on a show called Las Vegas and didn't know how to play craps. I did well! I think I left with like $600.


SI.com: What other projects do you have coming up?
MS: I have a movie coming out in April called The Benchwarmers. Rachel Hunter has a small part in it too -- she plays one of the baseball moms. I'm married to Rob Schneider, and he obsessed about playing baseball. I'm obsessed about getting pregnant, so it's like him and the guys playing baseball and then him coming back and me wanting to get it on and make a baby. I didn't really see Rachel on-set, and I was kind of the only girl on that one, like on Starsky. There was another girl who had a little thing for David Spade, but I was definitely in a boys' club there. A lot of testosterone. They're comedians. It's funny, working with Rob and David and Jon Heder. They just keep going and you don't know when you're going to start your lines. Rob was awesome to work with. He gave me tips. I was trying to get out this long monologue, and he was like, "Just say it to me." What I found so amazing about these guys is that they'd do these long speeches, and they'd do an R-rated version, then PG-rated and then PG-13- rated. They're professionals.


SI.com: Rob Schneider aside -- what would you say are the most attractive features in a guy?
MS: Eyes. Humor. Ass. Oh, and must love dogs. I have two Yorkshire terriers -- Poupette and Chloe.


SI.com: If you could date any athlete who has appeared in the pages of SI, whom would it be?
MS: I loved Steve Young, from the 49ers. Oh, I loved him. I thought he was cute. I love Tom Brady, but he's dating one of my best friends, Bridget Moynihan, and we love her. She's awesome. The surfer Kelly Slater's cute, but I think Gisele's dating him now. You know who I love -- Allen Iverson. So cute! I love him too. Peyton Manning's awesome. Also, Freddie Couples.


SI.com: That's one of the most diverse lists of athletes we've ever heard. What's the common bond?
MS: Freddie's George Clooney-ish. Steve is a little George Clooney-ish, but a little more mysterious. Allen's like the bad boy, you know. And Peyton's just cute.


SI.com: You attended Vanderbilt for two years. Are you a big Commodores fan, like Ashley Judd is with Kentucky?
MS: No. She's a huge Wildcat fan. Honestly, the Commodores kind of sucked when I went there -- they're better now. I like the Giants because I lived in New York, I like them a lot.


SI.com: Moving on to the swimsuit issue world for a moment, what was your most embarrassing moment on a shoot?
MS: In Argentina, my room caught on fire -- a log came out of the fireplace and started burning up the couch. I ran out in a really short cream cashmere sweater and a turquoise thong, yelling that my room was on fire. The guys at the estancia saved me, but at first I think they weren't listening because they were shocked to see a girl standing there in a cream cashmere sweater and a turquoise thong. I went back into the burning room and grabbed a pillow to cover myself.


SI.com: Speaking of not wearing lots of clothes: how about that thirty million dollar bikini you're wearing in this year's issue? Looks like it would be a little tough to swim in.
MS: Honey, when they pulled those three pieces out of the box, I went into hot sweats! Of course, it barely covered me! I swear to you, between the band-aids being placed in the right positions, the diamonds being placed in exactly the right place ... By the time that shot was over, I think I lost like a pound of sweat, I was so nervous. I was like, "Oh my god, am I showing too much ass? I don't have an ass! I don't have a Brazilian ass. I'm not Brazilian and I'm not 16!" It was thirty million dollars, between the necklace, the two diamonds on the breasts, and then the huge diamond on my ... girlfriend, let's call it my girlfriend. Thirty million dollars! But I thought thirty million dollars would go a little farther!


SI.com: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
MS: Hey, if I start getting a little loopy, tell me. I've just fasted for four days. I was at clean-up and detox. I went to this place called We Care and you have to drink these concoctions and do these colonics and the whole thing. I was sick last year and was on antibiotics from getting the flu, and I wanted all that out of my system. Let me tell you something -- honey, you're a man, your colon and your prostate are the worst things against you. I promise you, it's one of the best things you can do. Do you eat meat? Honestly, you have no idea what comes out of you. I'm a little lightheaded now, to be honest.


SI.com: Thanks for the advice! Are you a vegetarian?
MS: No, not at all! I'm from the South -- are you crazy?


BR: No, but let's go back to my last question: where do you see yourself in ten years?
MS: I'd like to continue acting, but ultimately I'd like to have a family. I want children. I've always wanted them. To find that perfect man and to have that perfect family -- I think that's all I'm lacking. I was saying to a friend the other day, if my career ended today, I've done a lot. I've had three different careers. I've traveled the world. Not bad for a good old girl from the South.


SI.com: Maybe you should give Steve Young or Allen Iverson a call.
MS: Exactly! But I think they're married.