PARTY GIRL

FRESH FROM SHOOTING BRIAN DE PALMA’S UPCOMING FEMME FATALE, REBECCA ROMIJN-STAMOS TALKS ABOUT MAKING OUT WITH ANTONIO BANDERAS, LAUGHING AT THE TABS, THE PECULIAR ATTRACTION OF SAPPHIC LOVE—AND HOW TO STAY HAPPY IN A HOLLYWOOD MARRIAGE

Put aside visions of her come-hither Victoria’s Secret days. Banish thoughts of all that House of Style fashion chatter. And definitely forget the cobalt-blue villainess that was her Mystique in the 2000 megahit, X-Men. What you need to know about Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is that she’s a self-professed “goof,” a woman who lives out of the Hollywood loop in the hills of the San Fernando Valley with her man of eight years, husband John Full House Stamos, in a 100-year-old “gingerbready log cabin” that once housed a brothel and will soon, if Rebecca has her way, be home to a couple of….llamas.

“First I wanted pygmy goats,” says the twenty-nine year old star as she slides into a booth at a nearby coffee shop. “Then it was an ostrich, then it was an emu, and now, having seen these, like, infomercials advertising how llamas make the greatest pets, I’m just dying for a llama!” Feel free to laugh, but the girl isn’t kidding.

Despite her giddy joie de vivre, the face of Liz Claiborne has proved to be one mannequin-turned-actress who can actually, well, act: Off to shoot the X-Men sequel next month, she’s just starred as the dour heroine of Rollerball and is about to unleash a comedic cameo with Al Pacino in SImOne. But the real news is her role as Laura, the bad-to-the-bone con woman who blindsides Antonio Banderas in Brian De Palma’s upcoming thriller, Femme Fatale—a movie she proudly describes as a “real De Palma film, twisted and kinky.” It’s her first bona-fide leading-lady turn, and her biggest acting challenge yet. And it’s a subject—along with sex, married life, and the joys of Sapphic love—that this five-foot-eleven beauty is busting to discuss. (No wonder Mr. Stamos refers to the chatty missus as “Rebecca Remain Silent.”) But first things first. Right now, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, makeup-free and in black sweats, is dead serious about a far more pressing matter….

Hungry?
I’m starving! I just came from Pilates, and—[to the waiter] Hey, can I get some ketchup, please? [Pours it on and attacks her eggs Benedict]

That’s a big meal for a supermodel. But I guess you are a strapping thing.
But I want to be petite and feminine!

Too late. After all, you’re a kick-ass action babe now. So, are you psyched to get back into your X-Men blue skin and scales? I hear it only takes a zippy seven hours or so.
Oh, yeah, can’t wait. And do you know that at the end of that seven hours it’s actually, like, “All right, Rebecca, this is it---b-e-n-n-n-d over”? [Demonstrates proferring her buttocks for a paint job]

You must be terribly close to your makeup people.
[Laughs] You have no idea! And, you know, I’ve been going around saying for years that I don’t do nudity, but for all intents and purposes, that’s nudity.

Yep, and there’s more to come in Femme Fatale. You even have a lesbian love scene in that, don’t you?
Yeah—it’s a pretty graphic scene. It was supposed to be me and a model, and Rie, the new Gucci girl, is a really good friend of mine, so I asked Brian if he’d audition her, and she got the part I mean, I saw her at nightclubs [researching the role], and the way she hit on girls, well, John and I watched with our jaws on the floor, ‘cause if she was a man, she’d be in jail! Anyway, it was great having a friend to do it with me instead of some stranger.

Did it give you any new ideas?
You know, in my early twenties I wondered if I was interested in women and so I kind of, well….did my homework. [Grins] And it turns out I’m pretty straight.

Explain something to me: Why do men find two women together so hot?
Straight men love boobs, and the only thing better than two boobs is four boobs!

And just why are men so obsessed with, um, boobs?
Because they don’t have ‘em! [laughs]

Okay, but how does John feel about his wife baring hers on-screen—let alone making out with hunks like Antonio Banderas?
I’m not gonna lie. He hates [the nudity], so it’s something we talk about. Look, I’d never do it just to do it—it’s gotta have value to the story. And, you know, it’s funny, I didn’t feel nude in X-Men. I’d look in the mirror and think, This costume is a work of art. Now, as for kissing Antonio: On the record, John and I, both being in the industry, have a deep understanding of what the other does, and work is work. Off the record—but you can print it—is that it’s…well, it’s awesome to kiss Antonio Banderas. I mean, he’s hot—he’s Antonio! You know, I’ve heard people call what we actors do “legalized cheating,” and I don’t know if I’d go that far, but, hey, if you want to call it that, great.

So was Melanie Griffith on set supervising Antonio?
She was around, but when you’re married to somebody and the only time you can be with them is on the set, you go to the set.

Though it was printed last year that you made sporadic surprise visits to John’s Thieves set to, quote, “keep him on his toes” and away from his leading lady.
That’s such bullshit. First of all [Stamos’s co-star Melissa George’s] husband was down there 24/7. And second of all, well, she was sweet, but I certainly wasn’t intimidated. Anyway, the rags always have those “trouble in paradise” stories about me and John.

Speaking of Thieves, it was canceled, putting John out of work just as your career is blasting off. How do you two keep the old Star Is Born syndrome at bay?
We realize everything is cyclical, and what goes up comes back down again, and it’ll keep on doing so.

Still, people can downright cruel about the current disparity in your careers. One “respectable” mag all but said, “What is this red-hot-commodity-who-could-be-with-anyone doing with this has-been?”
And it was such an insult to me. I’m, like, “Guess what, buddy? I married somebody I felt was my match and my equal!” It certainly wasn’t about status or power—I mean, I made good money modeling, so I’ve got my own money—I married John because I was in love. Period.

So what’s the secret to keeping a Hollywood marriage intact despite nasty tabloids?
First off, I’m not proud of it, but I’ve gotta say I love the tabloid rags. I’m always going, “I can’t believe they made up that horseshit about me!” and then turning the page and reading about someone else and going, “Aha—I always knew about that her!” John thinks it’s despicable. [laughs] But, to answer your question, John and I have a real life that’s very, very private. We have barbecues with friends, and mostly we just give each other room. Like, he gives me space to say, “Yeah, it was fun to kiss Antonio Banderas,” and I give him room to say, “I have a crush on Britney Spears.” I mean, you’re still going to be attracted to other people.

And, anyway, you are Rebecca Romijn-Stamos—you can always do a private Victoria’s Secret modeling session for him to keep the home fires burning, right?
I wish—but my lingerie situation is really awful, pathetic! I feel terrible—it’s like false advertising: Here he’s thinking he was getting such a great deal, and all I have is this ratty underwear! So I hope he wasn’t disappointed. [Flashes a cover girl smile.] But you know what? I’m pretty sure he’s not.