There was nary a mention of the “D word” — divorce — when Rebecca Romijn-Stamos sat with a group of showbiz scribes to discuss her new movies, “The Punisher” and “Godsend.” Those not living under a rock are surely aware by now that the leggy model turned actress recently split with John Stamos, her husband of six years and a man who is destined to toil forever in the shadow of the mighty Olsen twins.
OK, so we didn’t ask Rebecca for her thoughts about a future without a hyphenated surname because, frankly, we didn’t know at the time that her marriage was kaput. And even if we had known, it really isn’t any of our business. Movies, though, are our business, so let’s get down to it … QUESTION: “Godsend” is as good an argument against cloning as anything the religious right could dream up. What are your feelings on the controversial science?
REBECCA ROMIJN-STAMOS: In the right hands, and used for the right purposes, cloning could be good. We had a doctor consulting on this movie who is working on cloning organs. He’s close to perfecting that, the only thing he can’t do is the liver for some reason. That’s pretty amazing.
Q: Given that the film was shot in only a month, how were you, Greg Kinnear and young Cameron Bright able to develop a family chemistry?
RRS: Nick (Hamm, the director) had us spend some time alone, going to the park and hanging out. We didn’t have time to go back to our trailers between takes, so we would play games and make up songs and throw stuff at each other. On weekends, we’d go to the movies together.
Q: We’re assuming you didn’t throw stuff at co-star Robert DeNiro, though.
RRS: He’s great. Super mellow and low-key. He also came up for rehearsals before we started shooting and, you know, it’s always uncomfortable whenever you’re just getting to know each other — him included.
Q: What was it like working with Thomas Jane on “The Punisher?”
RRS: I wasn’t extremely familiar with his work going in, but I knew that he was really good. I had no preconceptions about what he was going to be doing with his character, and I couldn’t believe it when I got up there. He’d already been working on it for a month, and that character is such a weirdo that Thomas was in a really weird place by the time I got up there. I was, like, who is this person? But he really raised the bar for all of us. I thought he was awesome.
Q: “The Punisher” is the first R-rated comic book movie, a genre that traditionally caters to a PG-13 audience. Was going “R” a bold move or a bad gamble?
RRS: I was in shock. Even I wasn’t prepared for all the violence, but it’s punk rock. It’s fun, and unapolo-getically macho. They went for the R-rating because that’s what the Punisher does — he punishes. If they’d gone for a PG or PG-13 rating, it would have pissed off a huge fan base.
Q: You’re now part of two successful comic book film franchises. Did you immerse yourself in the source material prior to making those movies?
RRS: Not really. I wasn’t familiar with “The Punisher” at all, and I hadn’t really been familiar with the “X-Men” when I started on those either.
Q: You were featured in a recent issue of Premiere Magazine dressed as some of the most iconic women in film history. That must have been an enjoyable gig, huh?
RRS: It was so fun, especially Sandy from “Grease.” We had this amazing make-up artist who really knew how to contour my face to look like those actresses faces. Once he started making my cheeks look like Olivia Newton John’s, I started getting teary-eyed. It was the best half-hour of my life. They put on that song — you know, “You’re The One That I Want” from the end of (the movie) — and I did the whole dance and sang at the top of my lungs
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 30, 2004. Read the original PDF.