LAist recently sat down with Malin Akerman, one of the stars of the upcoming comedy Couples Retreat. She opened up to us about the other half of her real life couple and shared one of the ways she keeps her marriage strong even when she can’t find the time to retreat to a tropical paradise.

LAist: You’ve been in quite a few big comedies. In The Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller you were not so much a loveable character…

Malin: Nope. (laughs)

LAist: And you were Tess, the crazy, selfish sister in 27 Dresses. You’ve played some rather wicked yet hilarious people.

Malin: A lot of times when you have a Leading Lady role, which is not to say that’s not something I want to do, I really want to do a leading role someday, but a lot of times the sidekicks and the costars are always the most quirky characters and they are always the most fun to play.

LAist: Your new film Couples Retreat certainly has some quirky characters. What would you like to tell us about the movie?

Malin: Um, go see it! I think it’s just one of those films that everyone can relate to in one way or another. Anyone who is in a relationship or has been in a relationship, you’re going to be able to identify with one or another of these couples. I hope everyone enjoys it.

LAist: How was it working on this film? I mean Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn together on set, how was that?

Malin: It was amazing. It’s one of those things where I’ve been watching them for many years now and all of a sudden, to be on set with people you idolize, it’s a pretty phenomenal feeling. And to watch them go off, you know they’ve known each other for so long they’re fabulous when they just start riffing off each other, a lot of improv ensues. They’re just hilarious together, and I mean all of them are. Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, they’re all just incredible comedians. I always think of a coach telling me, I used to be on the track and field team, and he goes, “Never practice with someone who’s slower than you, always practice with the runners who are quicker because then you’re going to speed up your time.” And that’s sort of how I feel whenever I get the opportunity to work with people who are so immersed it their business and they’ve done it a long time, you learn so much just by watching them.

LAist: What was your favorite part to shoot?

Malin: I have to say that my most memorable day was going swimming with the sharks. I think that was pretty spectacular. In one day we went swimming with stingrays and sharks. It was an unforgettable moment and an unforgettable day in my life. I’ll remember it forever.

LAist: So your husband in this movie is Vince Vaughn.

Malin: Yes, indeed. The tallest man alive.

LAist: I can imagine! Did you have to wear really high heels?

Malin: Well it was hard because we were on a vacation, so you wear flip flops so I had sort of platform flip flops, and I’m not a short person, you know, I’m still 5’9”, but we added to that with the shoes so it didn’t look like too much of a height difference.

LAist: You also work with Kristin Davis on this movie. Were you a fan of Sex and the City?

Malin: You know, I’m not a big TV watcher, I mean I’ve seen a few episodes and I saw the movie and think it’s great, but, no, I never really followed it when it was on.

LAist: I can’t imagine shooting a movie with her and not feeling like I was hanging out with Charlotte.

Malin: No, exactly! My stepmother came to set and she’s a huge Sex and the City freak so when she saw Kristin Davis, she almost fainted. She came all the way from Sweden, so coming to Hollywood and seeing Charlotte from Sex and the City who she’s been watching for the past ten years… she couldn’t even breathe. So I understand when you are a big, major fan of something, that is the reaction.

LAist: Have you ever had one of those moments since you’ve been in Hollywood?

Malin: Um, yes! All the time. (laughs) There are so many people. I am a big music fan and I was at the Cannes Film Festival just recently and I happened to brush shoulders with Mick Jagger and I almost fainted. I’m a huge Mick Jagger fan and my husband wanted to touch my shoulder afterwards. He was like, “I can’t believe your shoulder touched Mick Jagger!” So we’re a bit freaky about musicians, for sure.

LAist: You two have been married for about two years now. How did you meet your husband?

Malin: We were in a band together. He was the drummer and I was the attempted singer, and listen, we were just drawn to each other. I mean you look back behind you and see this gorgeous Italian man beating on some drums… It’s so sexy. I was hooked right away and now, six years later, we’re still together and now married.

LAist: Is your husband still a musician? Is he still performing?

Malin: Yeah, he is. He’s a session player. He does a lot of studio recordings and he works with artists, sort of new and upcoming artists, here in LA and does some shows around here. But yeah, he’s definitely still doing the music thing.

LAist: Do you ever get to go be groupie for your hubby?

Malin: Absolutely! Are you kidding me, that’s my favorite thing to do is go watch him bang on those drums. (laughs) It’s a good way to keep the relationship strong.

LAist: Absolutely. I was talking to one of my girlfriends the other day, her husband is a drummer as well, and she said, “I’m not so much groupie as roadie. I’m breaking down equipment and loading things into the car…”

Malin: Right! But then once you see the show you’re just like, “Ahhh.” I mean, I don’t know about you, but I just think musicians are so attractive. When they just let loose on stage I think it’s one of the most attractive things in the world, so I’m happy to be a roadie, too.

LAist: Have you and your husband ever done anything like a couples retreat?

Malin: No, we haven’t actually. Our thing is we have a lot of couples, a lot of friends who come over for dinner, that’s our big thing. My husband’s a great cook, so we do a lot of dinners, that’s our favorite thing to do with our friends. It’s almost too difficult to coordinate with two or three couples to have the same vacation time. Everyone’s always so busy and everyone’s schedules are so different, but we have a group now and we’ve been talking about it seriously like, “Guys, we have to rent a villa in Tuscany!” This is like our dream vacation with our friends, you know, because obviously it’s so much cheaper and you just rent a place together and bring all your friends and just hang out there for a week or something. It would be an awesome vacation.

From LAist

Malin is featured on the cover and inside the October 2009 issue of “944″ magazine!

I have added some MQ scans into our photo gallery for now, and I will be adding HQ scans once I can get a copy of the magazine!

Malin is featured in the newest issue of “OK!” (US Edition) magazine! You can read her interview below and see photos from the photo shoot in our photo archive!

Malin Akerman rocks. Literally. The Swedish-born, Toronto-raised stunner started her career singing lead vocals for The Petalstones, and two years ago married the Italian band’s drummer, Roberto Zincone. Next up in her acting career, she stars in the rom-com Couples Retreat, out Oct. 9, alongside Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell and Kristin Davis.

“Vince is hilarious,” says Malin. “The things he comes up with? I don’t know how his brain works.” The 31-year old sat down with OK! in Malibu recently to dish on fashion, family — and why she shaved off her eyebrows!

Couples Retreat sounds like a blast. Was it a fun shoot?
We laughed a lot. It was a big group of comedians — Vince, Jon and Faizon Love. Basically high school kids telling jokes constantly. We were also on Bora Bora for three-and-a-half weeks, so you can’t complain.

Did you girl-bond with Kristen and Kristin?
Absolutely. Especially being on an island — you can’t go anywhere, so you all have dinner together. Kristen Bell and I stay in touch because we live really close.

You recently shaved your eyebrows off for your part in Josh Radnor’s upcoming HappyThankYouMorePlease. How come?
I play a woman who has alopecia universalis, a condition where you lose all the hair on your body — so yes, I had to shave off my eyebrows. We wrapped up my hair. I have a really big forehead, so it just looked like I had no hair.

Is your husband supportive of your career?
He gets more excited for me than I do when I get a role. When I do love scenes, it’s not his favorite thing, but I always introduce him to the people I’m going to make out with so he feels comfortable.

Is trust an important factor in your marriage?
Trust and communication. They have to be there from the beginning. You can’t change a person so don’t go into a relationship thinking that.

Any talk of children?
Yes. But we’re waiting a year or two. Before I started acting, I was [at Canada's York University] studying to be a child psychologist — I have an infinite love for kids. I’d like biological children but would also love to adopt, especially after going to Africa. There are so many orphans — why wouldn’t you help?

An actor’s career is more than just the sum of their most memorable catch-phrases, but that’s sometimes the best they can hope for. Ask the typical movie nerd what comes to mind when they think of Al Pacino, and nine out of ten of them will yell back in a regrettable Cuban accent, “Say hello to my little friend!” Nowhere is this more true than in comedy. Steve Martin could win a dozen Oscars and he’ll still be remembered as the guy who says “Excuuuuuuuse me.” Mike Myers will be asking the rhetorical question “Do I make you horny?” six nights a week on the inevitable Indian casino tour of his future. And Steve Carell, long after The Office is just a distant memory, will never stop being asked to repeat “That’s what she said” like a comedy parrot.

But consider poor Malin Akerman. Her career is still in its infancy, and yet it could be argued that she’s already stuck with the catch-phrase that will follow her forever: “Cock me.” That’s right, “cock me.” When she first uttered this chestnut of inappropriateness, during a sex scene with Ben Stiller in the Farrelly brothers’ 2007 comedy The Heartbreak Kid, it didn’t seem like the sort of thing that had legs. But two years later, it’s still the two words most movie audiences associate with her. Despite appearing in mainstream flicks as diverse as 27 Dresses and Watchmen, if you ask the average person if they recognize the name Malin Akerman, most will respond with, “Oh, you mean the blonde girl who screamed ‘cock me’ to Ben Stiller?”

I called Akerman to ask about her new ensemble comedy, Couples Retreat (which opens nationwide today), and I’ll admit I was anticipating the worst. The ability to repeat funny lines written for you by other people does not automatically mean you have a personality. But she was unflappable and quick-witted and hilariously dirty. When describing how fans would stare at her at ComiCon, she went off on an inspired rant about her need for clarity in their creepiness. “Is that a ‘I loved you in Watchman’ kinda stare,” she wondered aloud. “Or a ‘I want to murder you, cut off your hair as a souvenir and bury you in my crawlspace’ stare? Just let me know up front, that’s all I’m asking.” How do you not fall in love with a woman who can make off-the-cuff jokes about being murdered by comic book fanboys?

Eric Spitznagel: In Couples Retreat, your husband is played by Vince Vaughn, who is freakin’ huge. Did it ever feel like you were acting with a golem?

Malin Akerman: He is absolutely gigantic. He’s like six-five, and I’m only five-eight. The height difference was pretty ridiculous. I’m usually asked not to wear heels in my movies. But this time, to make our relationship look even remotely believable, they had to boost me up by a foot or two. But we were on an island, so obviously heels weren’t an option. For most of our scenes, I was wearing platform flip-flops.

Because otherwise you’d be emoting towards his stomach?

(Laughs.) Yeah, exactly. It’s just easier to act with somebody if it’s eye-to-eye. Or chin-to-eye, which was as far as we got, honestly. It’s better than having to focus on the tummy area.

Does Vince still smell like Jennifer Aniston’s sadness?

(Laughs.) Aw, come on! That’s not nice. No, I can assure you that he doesn’t smell like sadness at all. He smells like… new-found fiancée love.

Is it true that Couple’s Retreat is getting a PG-13 rating?

I know as much as you do. But the last I heard, that’s gonna be our rating. And I think it’s great. I want everybody to be able to see it.

A lot of your fans are going to be disappointed with this movie’s flagrant lack of boobies.

Well, you gotta switch it up every now and then. You know what I mean? Sometimes you gotta make the husband happy. He’s been like (deep sigh), “So is there another crazy sex scene in this one, too?” And finally I can say, “Hey, babe! Guess what? No sex at all!” I like making the fans happy, but you also gotta remember to make your husband happy.

Why are you usually so comfortable doing nude scenes?

If it has a purpose in the film, I’m happy to do it. I won’t do it if it’s gratuitous. That’s not my thing. Especially when it’s comedy, it’s so much easier because you’re doing it for the laugh. It’s not like you’re gonna get all hot and heavy watching The Heartbreak Kid when Ben Stiller and me are going at it and I’m calling him a faggot and telling him to smack me and I’m peeing on his back.

Really? Speak for yourself.

(Laughs.) Okay, I wouldn’t get hot and heavy watching something like that.

Don’t judge me and my fantasies of peeing on Ben Stiller.

In a general sense, it’s more about the comedy than the sexuality of that moment. Also, I think it helps that I grew up in a Swedish culture with a Swedish family. It really isn’t that big of a deal over there. It’s not like people walk around naked or anything like that. But there are breasts on television. It’s just a normal part of what you see every day. So I grew up with a healthy view of sexuality and my body.

Everything I know about Sweden comes from those Swedish Erotica porn films from the 80s. Is that a pretty accurate reflection of your home country?

(Laughs.) Totally. Yeah. We’re like that all the time. Those movies are almost like a documentary.

So sex is the official Swedish currency and everybody looks like Seka?

Yeah, pretty much. You know what? You should head over there and find out. I’m just trying to encourage tourism in Sweden. But don’t give out my number if people get disappointed. I don’t want to get any calls like, “Where are all the horny platinum blondes?”

You had some great comic quotables in Heartbreak Kid, all of which are a little X-rated. Do you have a lot of fans running up to you on the street and saying, “Cock me?”

(Laughs.) More than I’d care to admit. I can tell right away when somebody recognizes me from that film, because their faces turn a nice shade of red. “Oh my god, you’re that girl! You’re the one who said ‘cock me’ to Ben Stiller!” There’s really no point in denying it. “Yep, that would be me. And wow, thanks so much for bringing that up when I’m standing here next to my brother and sister.”

It’s been said that life imitates art, and vice-versa. Have you, or anyone you’ve known, ever requested that a partner cock you?

It’s never happened to me, but I was curious if that line was derived from a true story. I will tell you that it was somebody on the Heartbreak Kid crew and he claims that a girl actually yelled “cock me” at his face while they were doing the deed.

Read the rest of this entry »

You know it’s going to be a good interview when “Couples Retreat” star Malin Akerman starts off by saying, “Time to unwind, undress and get skinny-dipping!”

Coolest woman ever? Probably. Mind you, her call to party wasn’t completely out of context. MTV News had traveled quite a ways to hang out with Akerman and her co-stars Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Kristin Davis and Jon Favreau. On this particular day in paradise, Akerman decided to mix up some cocktails in the midst of an interview — what she dubbed a Bora Bora margarita: pineapple nectar subbing in for lime juice.

“I like my stuff strong,” she warned. “I don’t know about you guys.”

Vince Vaughn, who said he prefers a beer or a Greyhound, with maybe a little cranberry juice thrown in if he’s in the mood, was impressed. “Yet another thing to throw on the résumé of awesomeness,” he told her, adding that getting drunk during an interview is usually a very bad idea

We disagree, Vince! How else would we learn, as you confessed with a laugh at one point, that your vacation of choice is not on a tropical island but somewhere you can “be in full chaps doing a cattle drive”?

As the booze flowed, the hilarity ensued. When it came to substantive answers, though, we’d probably have to rely on earlier, alcohol-free interviews, when we hit up Akerman, Vaughn and the rest of the cast with pop-quizzes about another. After all, they’d spent a couple months hanging out together, making this film about couples who head to an idyllic setting for vacation and end up in the midst of no-holds-bared relationship therapy. How much do they really know about their fellow stars?

Bell knew that Bateman got his start on “Little House on the Prairie,” though Bateman couldn’t name the HBO show on which Bell appeared (“Deadwood”). Akerman and Vaughn both struck out: she couldn’t name his first movie (“Rudy”), he couldn’t name her HBO show (“The Comeback”). And when it came to Favreau and Davis, well, Jon decided to rephrase some of the questions.

“What game did I play that would have made it impossible for us to have slept together in high school?” he asked.

“Badminton?” Davis laughed. “Volleyball?”

If you must know, the answer is Dungeons & Dragons.

From MTV

While the likes of Demi Moore, Hilary Swank and Natalie Portman have made it acceptable to shave your head for art’s sake, it seems Malin Akerman has brought the trend to the face. The rising starlet just wrapped “HappyThankYouMorePlease” in which she plays a girl suffering the hair-loss disease alopecia.

“I shaved my eyebrows off, they only just grew back,” Akerman told Tarts at the premiere of her latest comedy “Couple’s Retreat.” “It was so surreal; I felt like a different person. We filmed it. It was like going to the doctor and you don’t really want to take that needle but know you have to.”

But surprisingly, the 31-year-old actually felt more physically attractive without those arches of beauty.

“I was a little nervous but the final look was kind of beautiful,” she added. “I didn’t mind doing it, but I’d heard so many stories that eyebrows don’t grow back – that was the fear. But it was so interesting without eyebrows, when you’re in the shower everything just drips into your eyes and realize what function your eyebrows actually have.”

From Fox News

Malin was interviewed by Reelz Channel at the Bora Bora press junket and the premiere of the film. You can view both videos below!