Malin Akerman Talks ‘Watchmen’ Superhero Style

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Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre in ‘Watchmen’
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Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman and Patrick Wilson attend the ‘Watchmen’ (‘Die Waechter’) photocall at hotel Bayerischer Hof on February 26, 2009 in Munich, Germany
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Malin Akerman at the premiere of ‘Watchmen’ in the UK
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Malin Akerman signs the cover of Entertainment Weekly

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FIRST PUBLISHED: March 2, 2009 1:19 AM EST
LAST UPDATED: March 2, 2009 10:38 AM EST

By Jim Kiernan

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

Malin Akerman, who filmgoers may recognize from her breakout role as Ben Stiller’s eccentric (if not straight-out nutty) wife in “The Heartbreak Kid,” or as Katherine Heigl’s self-absorbed man-stealing younger sister in “27 Dresses,” takes on a whole new kind of role in the dark adaptation of the graphic novel “Watchmen.”

Malin recently told Access Hollywood’s Scott Mantz and Dish of Salt, Laura Saltman, that working long hours on a film set in the form-fitting super heroine costume of the second-generation Silk Spectre was anything but smooth.

“I’m not gonna develop a fetish for latex,” she said. “It was an interesting process, let’s just put it that way.”

Malin discovered the hard way that typical garb for a costumed crime fighter in the colorful pages of a comic book does not always translate to a comfortable fit for the actors who have to conform to their real-life constrictions.

“It’s literally like pulling an elastic band over your whole body,” Akerman said, describing how her skimpy yellow and black latex costume breaks away from the thick leather jumpsuit style of the “X-Men” films or the colorful spandex seen in “Spider Man.” “Then you let go and let it snap and then you gotta wear it for 16 hours.”

“Throw a corset on top of that and some high heel shoes and you’re ready to fight, right?” she laughed. “I mean, it definitely looks phenomenal and fierce, but it’s not.”

Malin not only logged daily long hours on the “Watchmen” shoot in her costume, she also had intense sequences that required her to fight, walk through flaming sets, and perform various stunts as the Silk Spectre.

So if she were a true-life superhero, Malin’s outfit of choice to fight crime in would be far different.

“I’d be wearing sweats and running shoes, not high heels and latex,” she added.
“I actually have to say having to put that on, by the third month, I would rather have walked around naked.”

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