Inside the Actor's Studio with Gisele Bundchen

Can you tell this is a rehash from a 2004 writing class?

Gisele Bundchen, Brazilian supermodel, co-starred as the ringleader of a bank-robbing band of beauties in the 2004 movie Taxi. In her film debut, Gisele took on the role of Vanessa, a thief and master of disguise. Reviewers called it a breakout performance for this one time aspiring volleyball player. She recently took some time off from dating Tom Brady to meet with James Lipton and the members of the Actor’s Studio in New York. Here are excerpts from that interview.

James Lipton: “Tonight we’ll be exploring that most unlikely of thespian talents, the female supermodel. Gisele Caroline Nonnenmacher Bündchen is from Horizonte, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, one of five daughters born to Valdir and Vania Bundchen.

Gisele was discovered at the age of 14 when a modeling scout from Elite spied her eating a Big Mac and a large McFritas in a Sao Paulo McDonald’s. Naturally thin all her life, Gisele was frequently teased about her weight and she buried her sorrows by eating anything she wanted at any time.

Here we see another example of one of the common themes on this stage: childhood mockery. I know it touched my life. Cruel, unwashed children yelling at me as I walked home from dance class.

James Lipton: “Gisele, I understand you were also the subject of mockery when you were growing up.”

Gisele: “Yes I was so very thin the other children called me Somaliana, or one who comes from Somalia. It was terrible. But look at me now. Who is the mocker now?”

James Lipton: “In 2000, Gisele makes the first of many appearances in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. She floats onto the stage in the role of Angel with White Wings and Sparkly Bathing Suit Top. Later that year she graces the cover of the Victoria’s Secret “Christmas Dreams and Fantasies” catalog, donning two vintage doilies and a wreath. What some of you may not know is Gisele risked her career early on when she insisted on a “no-thong” rider in her contract with Victoria’s Secret.

Gisele works tirelessly to perfect her craft and her effort is rewarded when she receives the coveted Vogue ‘Model of the Year’ award in 2000 based on her perfect ratio of body to lip fat. In 2002, she appears in the critically acclaimed TV series ‘Fashiontrance’. Produced by the Style Network, Fashiontrance is billed as “fashion insider information and pithy quips popping up on-screen during great fashion shows set to hot music.” Hence the trance.

Gisele is a graduate of Brazil’s Escola Evangelica Frederico Jorge Logemann pre-school and the prestigious Dilson Stein Mannequin Course. She devotes most of her free time to “Tiny Shoes”, a non-profit dedicated to helping women with large feet camouflage their disability.

The Actor’s Studio is so very proud to welcome Gisele Bundchen.

After a five-minute review of Gisele’s film oeuvre, Lipton concluded the interview as always with the questionnaire by the formidable Bernard Pivot:

What is your favorite word?
Gisele

What is your least favorite word?
Bundchen

What turns you on?
Yahtzee

What turns you off?
Pregnant ex-girlfriends

What is the sound or noise that you love?
I don’t know the word in English but it is the sound you hear when you squeeze the bottle of suntan lotion.

What sound or noise do you hate?
EEEEEEEEKKKKK, like an angry seagull attacking me on the beach

What is your favorite curse word?
Puta

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Dog walker.

What profession would you not like to participate in?
Anything with fur.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Leo is here and he’s been waiting patiently.