Good to be bad
By Bruce R. Miller, Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, August 22, 2008
AnnaLynne McCord, above with Dustin Milligan, heats up the halls at West Beverly Hills High in the new drama “90210” set to air this fall on The CW.
LOS ANGELES -- In a photograph promoting the premiere of "90210," AnnaLynne McCord is in an oh-so-skimpy bikini, smiling seductively.
"Yup, that's pretty much what I wear," the 21-year-old Georgia native says with yet another seductive smile. "But coming from 'Nip/Tuck,' it's an improvement."
On the cable show, McCord often wore, um, nothing. "I'd go in my dressing room and see there weren't any clothes and realize, 'Oh, I'm naked today.' If I wasn't naturally thin, I'd never do those scenes...or ones in a bikini."
In Hollywood, McCord says, "you've gotta be thin, you've gotta be beautiful. It's a huge thing." It's a form of currency and, yes, it has worked to her advantage. But she knew that at 15 when she left home to model. "I was with people who were upwards of 25 and you realize you have to grow up fast."
Modeling, she says, was good preparation for acting. It taught her how to hit a mark and still express emotion. It introduced her to causes, too, and showed her she could make a difference if she used celebrity to help others. Starring on a much-talked-about television series, she says, could help her shine the spotlight on issues like sex trafficking (a huge problem, she says) and child abuse. "You read about 5-year-old kids sold by their parents...and that happens in the United States. It's brutal. I have a voice. It's criminal if I don't use it."
But playing the sexpot on "90210"? Isn't that a bit disingenuous?
Not at all, McCord says. The show gives her a chance to show what's really behind girls like Naomi -- the rich snob whose parents ignore her.
"In the first episode, you'll define her as a bitch. But by the second episode you'll start to see all the stuff she goes through. She's just like any normal girl except she has a lot of money and happens to be beautiful. Everybody thinks you have it all, but you're really more isolated than the girl who stands in the corner and doesn't have anything."
Though she knows the character well -- "those girls are everywhere" -- McCord insists she wasn't one. "I was the dork. I was the math nerd and the 'Star Wars' geek. I was the tomboy, so this is totally opposite of how I grew up."
Playing the Paris wannabe, though, is great fun. "It's all about precision," she says. "Everything is calculated. She's like a chameleon. You just need to have a bunch of faces, figure them out and switch when you need to. You can be sexy and coy with one person, then evil with the next and pouty with a third."
When girls try to play the game with her, "I walk away. I'm very honest...that's how it is...and I don't want those people around me."
Instead, she'd rather do "guy" things -- like target shooting.
"I love Angelina Jolie for more reasons than one," she says. "Her humanitarian works are unbelievable. But she's also a kick-ass actress. 'Tomb Raider'? That's what I'd like to do."
"Supergirl"? "Done," she says with yet another smile.
In person, McCord looks a bit like Charlize Theron. The big hair and oh-so-revealing clothes, however, suggest something else. "This isn't the real me," she says. "The guys who make me look good get the credit."
When the paparazzi come calling, she knows it's just an image they're attacted to. The "real" AnnaLynne is someone else.
"I don't like the idea that my privacy can be violated but it's OK. It comes with the territory." Growing up in the world of modeling, she learned how to be aware of her surroundings and how to deal with unwanted advances.
"I'm good at shutting off," she says.
But, now, all systems are "90210"-go.
"Yup, that's pretty much what I wear," the 21-year-old Georgia native says with yet another seductive smile. "But coming from 'Nip/Tuck,' it's an improvement."
On the cable show, McCord often wore, um, nothing. "I'd go in my dressing room and see there weren't any clothes and realize, 'Oh, I'm naked today.' If I wasn't naturally thin, I'd never do those scenes...or ones in a bikini."
In Hollywood, McCord says, "you've gotta be thin, you've gotta be beautiful. It's a huge thing." It's a form of currency and, yes, it has worked to her advantage. But she knew that at 15 when she left home to model. "I was with people who were upwards of 25 and you realize you have to grow up fast."
Modeling, she says, was good preparation for acting. It taught her how to hit a mark and still express emotion. It introduced her to causes, too, and showed her she could make a difference if she used celebrity to help others. Starring on a much-talked-about television series, she says, could help her shine the spotlight on issues like sex trafficking (a huge problem, she says) and child abuse. "You read about 5-year-old kids sold by their parents...and that happens in the United States. It's brutal. I have a voice. It's criminal if I don't use it."
But playing the sexpot on "90210"? Isn't that a bit disingenuous?
Not at all, McCord says. The show gives her a chance to show what's really behind girls like Naomi -- the rich snob whose parents ignore her.
"In the first episode, you'll define her as a bitch. But by the second episode you'll start to see all the stuff she goes through. She's just like any normal girl except she has a lot of money and happens to be beautiful. Everybody thinks you have it all, but you're really more isolated than the girl who stands in the corner and doesn't have anything."
Though she knows the character well -- "those girls are everywhere" -- McCord insists she wasn't one. "I was the dork. I was the math nerd and the 'Star Wars' geek. I was the tomboy, so this is totally opposite of how I grew up."
Playing the Paris wannabe, though, is great fun. "It's all about precision," she says. "Everything is calculated. She's like a chameleon. You just need to have a bunch of faces, figure them out and switch when you need to. You can be sexy and coy with one person, then evil with the next and pouty with a third."
When girls try to play the game with her, "I walk away. I'm very honest...that's how it is...and I don't want those people around me."
Instead, she'd rather do "guy" things -- like target shooting.
"I love Angelina Jolie for more reasons than one," she says. "Her humanitarian works are unbelievable. But she's also a kick-ass actress. 'Tomb Raider'? That's what I'd like to do."
"Supergirl"? "Done," she says with yet another smile.
In person, McCord looks a bit like Charlize Theron. The big hair and oh-so-revealing clothes, however, suggest something else. "This isn't the real me," she says. "The guys who make me look good get the credit."
When the paparazzi come calling, she knows it's just an image they're attacted to. The "real" AnnaLynne is someone else.
"I don't like the idea that my privacy can be violated but it's OK. It comes with the territory." Growing up in the world of modeling, she learned how to be aware of her surroundings and how to deal with unwanted advances.
"I'm good at shutting off," she says.
But, now, all systems are "90210"-go.
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