Rachel Nichols

Relative newcomer Rachel Nichols may have hit the jackpot, starring as Scarlett in the big-budget, action-packed blockbuster, G.I. Joe (in theaters this weekend, August 7). As I found out, her return to New York, the city where she graduated from studying economics and psychology, shows the full circle Rachel has come from her first role in Sex & The City, to her role in this huge franchise.

Moviehole’s Tim Johnson also asked whether there was any possibility of a role in the ”Sex & The City” sequel, and she tells who enjoyed flirting with on set, in this one-on-one interview, bedside in a suite at New York’s prestigious Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Rachel: (laughs) I got my sweats on, I got this (sweater) yesterday at Andrews Air Force Base, I got my t-shirt on… But I did hair and make up!

Tim: How is it being back in New York? You studied at Columbia right?

Rachel: I graduated from Columbia. So, I have a huge, huge soft spot in my heart for New York. And it’s so nice to be back in the States. We’ve gone on this whirlwind tour, starting in Australia, and now we’ve come back to the States and it’s quite nice.

Tim: And you studied math and economics?

Rachel: Yeah.

Tim: How did that evolve in to modeling and acting? How does that work?

Rachel: I know, it’s kind of funny. I majored in economics at Columbia, minored in psychology, and you know, I’m from Maine. And the acting, modeling, music doesn’t really exist where I’m from. So, you get out of Maine, you go to school. So that’s what I did, I went to Columbia. And while I was in New York, as New York tends to do, a bunch of beautiful things happened. I ran into modeling agents, and started modeling and moved to Paris for eight months and learned how to speak French, and came back and got my degree, I did graduate from Columbia, and then got the acting bug a little bit, because I had done a few little things here and there, and I moved to L.A…

Tim: And it blossomed.

Rachel: The rest, I’m knockin’ on some wood here, it’s been a fun ride.

Tim: Do you still follow the economy in the news? Does that still interest you?

Rachel: Yeah, yeah I am. And I really try to pursue, and it’s difficult in L.A. because it is such a one industry town, but I really try to keep mentally stimulated in other areas, because otherwise it becomes very insular and it’s this one little thing, and you forget there’s this entirely other world out there. So, I really try to remain very much in, at least knowing, what’s going on. And I try to read things, other than scripts as well.

Tim: Read the paper now and then?

Rachel: Yes. And I read that massive Warren Buffett biography, Snowball, that came out. The author was on the Today show, and I thought, ‘Ah, that would be a good book to read’. So I try to not let my brain atrophy.

Tim: That’s a commitment to finish that book!

Rachel: Yes!

Tim: So congratulations, the movie as well, but the book!

Rachel: (Laughs) Thank you!

Tim: So how did the movie come about? Did the producers contact you, or was it an audition?

Rachel: You know, I think Sienna was just offered the film, and Channing was just offered the film, and I went in and auditioned. I went in and met with Stephen (Sommers, director). The sides, the material I had for the audition was actually sides from Van Helsingm, because they hadn’t released the script yet. So I went in, I worked with Stephen. Then I did a screentest, where I finally got sides for Scarlett, but I didn’t get the script. Then they did a mix and match with a couple of guys they wanted for Ripcord, neither of whom were right for the role. And then I got offered the job. And freaked out, because I’d wanted it so badly. And you know, I’d jumped through all the hoops. And then Stephen said, tomorrow can you come in and read with Marlon Wayans. And I said, that would be an interesting choice for Ripcord, I’ve never met him before. And the next day I went in and met Marlon, and within about fifteen seconds, both of us decided that we had to do the film together. He was perfect.

Tim: He comes across like a really cool guy.

Rachel: Oh my god, he was amazing. I literally met him for fifteen seconds, and we had a joke back and forth, and kind of a little flirt, and it was just perfect.

Tim: The chemistry was there.

Rachel: Yeah, the chemistry was there, because you know, Ripcord can’t be smarmy. And he’s got to be, yeah a little cocky, but in a charming way, and if you’ve met Marlon, he’s got that in spades.

Tim: And how was working with Stephen? He’s done some big action films, how much knowledge does he bring to a film like this?

Rachel: Stephen is this bundle of enthusiasm, which is infectious. And that’s what you need on a set like this, that’s so massive. You need someone who’s so excited to be making this film, and so dedicated to maintaining every aspect of the fan base that’s already there, and creating new fans. He was so excited, it was just infectious. He knew exactly what he wanted, he knew exactly how to do it, and when he would say ‘trust me’, because he would say some outlandish things, like ‘react like the Eiffel Tower’s coming down’, OK, that’s impossible, and then he would say, ‘just trust me’. And some of those one-liners, you know, like ‘Stephen, really?’ And he really did an amazing job, and all of us learned to really, trust Stephen. He knows what he wants, he knows what he’s looking for, and he’s good at his job.

Tim: And the outcome…

Rachel: Yeah, and we saw it for the first time in Australia, and all of us left the theater going, ‘wow, we knew it was good, but we didn’t know it was this good, this is amazing!

Tim: What about the stunts, it’s a huge stunt-featured film, and you’d had all the experience with stunts in Alias, how did they compare?

Rachel: I’m really fortunate that I had the background from Alias, because when I started on Alias, I started training with Valerie Waters, who was Jen Garner’s trainer, and I kept training with her, so when I got the job for G.I. Joe, we immediately put on muscle. Then Sienna (Miller, co-star) and I had to train for our massive girl-fight, so we trained for six weeks before shooting that fight, five days a week, a couple of hours a day. Because it’s like learning a dance, and you’ve got to make it look instinctual and natural, and not ‘oh now I throw a punch, now I throw a kick’.

Tim: And it’s completely choreographed?

Rachel: Yeah, yeah, it’s one move, then another, and then you sort of learn five moves and group them together, and it’s very much like a dance. It was really fun, it was hilarious. Sienna and I became really good friends because of all the intense training and kicking each other’s butts.

Tim: Six weeks of it! And what about the rest of the film, how do you go about researching something that was based on an action figure?

Rachel: Well, luckily, Stephen had every piece of information you could ever want up in his noggin’, and I went through and did a fair amount of research on Scarlett, and I think Marlon and Chan (ning Tatum, co-star) and everybody had found out who their characters were and brought their own personality to the character, which is great. And I knew who Scarlett was, and I knew she’s been raised in sort of the ‘Joe’ scenario, and these guys were like brothers to her. And that’s why it made the relationship with Marlon so easy to create, because that wasn’t something you’d seen in Scarlett previously. There’s this softer side, that’s confused by boys. So that was kind of fun, because Marlon and I got to do that, it was completely new.

Tim: Did you consult your brother at all? I heard he was into G.I. Joe growing up.

Rachel: He played with G.I. Joe and I always played with Barbie. I was a huge Barbie fan, and I used to make Barbie date G.I. Joe. He was hotter than Ken! He had a uniform, and he was bigger. And Hunter would wonder where his toys had gone. But I think any fan of G.I. Joe, even if they were a fan of the cartoon or the action figures, I think this movie will work for them, because it’s an updated version of their classic favorites.

Tim: One of your earlier gigs was a one episode role on Sex & The City, with the second film beginning production, is there any chance you could make an appearance?

Rachel: Oh my god, I would love to. Given the fact that it was on for five seasons, and I was only in one episode…

Tim: And how did that come about, did you go to an open casting call?

Rachel: Yeah, my modeling agent in New York was compared with a commercial agency, and I had started doing commercials as well, and they said ‘do you want to try acting?’ and I said ‘yeah why not’, and they sent me on the audition for Sex & The City, which miraculously I ended up booking. And I’d never really done a proper audition before, I didn’t know if I was supposed to look at the person reading with me, or the camera, I was really confused. And then I got on set, and was really nervous, and Kim Cattrall was so nice. I was so nervous about meeting her, because I was basically telling her at six in the morning I’d never acted before, and she could have been really not excited about it. And she was great, and I had such fun that day, that day actually made me want to pursue it more seriously. Of course I’d be in the Sex & The City movie, I don’t think they’d remember the girl from A Vogue Idea, but we could keep our fingers crossed.

Tim: Hey, we’ll get it out there! And you’re from Augusta, Maine, which is a little, small city.

Rachel: Tiny.

Tim: How’s the response when you get back there? Because you’re actually on the Augusta notable residents list.

Rachel: I am. I love to go home. I was just home before we left for this press tour. I did a week at home. I’m really close to my family and I go home and I sleep in the same bed I did when I was growing up, and I play with the same Scrabble set with my mom, we play Yahtzee and we do family things, and my dad will cook fish. It’s so nice to go home, because I feel the most centered there. And the reason I like going home, is because everyone at home is also great. Everybody that I went to high school with, that I used to know, that I never knew, that I’ve only met recently – they’re really welcoming. I’m really good with Maine press, any time they want to do newspaper articles, or magazine articles, I love to do those interviews, because I didn’t know of anyone from Maine, growing up in Maine, that had gone out to L.A. or New York or Paris and had done this. And I’d like to be that person who helps someone else say ‘hey, I want to do this, I bet I can do it’ or travel the world ‘I bet I can do it’, because sometimes it feels very small there.

Tim: And you’re an example, it can be done.

Rachel: Yeah, I’d like to be that example, because I went to college, I graduated from college and was still able to pursue this really different, interesting life. And they’re always very kind to me there, let’s be honest.

Tim: You’re their girl.

Rachel: Yeah, nobody’s gonna hate on me.

Tim: And what’s next for you?

Rachel: Well, I shot this amazing tiny, little film with Nick Stahl and Kellan Lutz called Meskada, right before I went home to Maine, and it’s totally different from G.I. Joe, tiny budget. It’s kind of about the psychology of a small town, and how people support each other, because it’s about a crime in a small town, and the psychology of people protecting their own. And then I’m gonna go home for a bit, and then I have another film I’m going to do, but the deal’s not done yet so we’re keeping it a secret for now.

Tim: Well thank you so much Rachel!

Rachel: Thanks so much Tim, I really appreciate it, and thank you for coming in to my room, with me in my sweats!