Blake Lively: More than a ‘Gossip Girl’

LIVELY. Wants a man, who can overcome his challenges and can help her overcome hers.RUBEN V. NEPALES

LOS ANGELES—Blake Lively was talking in general about what she looks for in a man in our recent interview. Perhaps Leonardo DiCaprio, whom the “Gossip Girl” and “Green Lantern” star is dating, meets her requirements.

“If you meet somebody who claims to be fearless, he’s not being truthful,” said Blake, fetching in a yellow dress, her long blonde hair cascading seductively. “It’s the ability to overcome fear or any of life’s obstacles—that’s what you look for. You want somebody who can overcome his challenges and can also help you overcome yours. In any relationship, whether it’s with somebody you’re in love with or a friend or a family member, you always look for somebody you can lean on and help support you. You can be that to the person, as well. It’s about giving and receiving.”

In this recent chat, Blake, who got good reviews in “The Town,” the Ben Affleck-directed drama released late last year, seemed more animated and engaging than usual. She gesticulated with her hands expressively, with dazzling Lorraine Schwartz rings on her fingers having an almost hypnotic effect. “I wish these rings were mine,” she said with a laugh.

“I’m just overwhelmingly expressive in real life,” Blake explained. “I was silly enough to watch my first time to guest on David Letterman’s show. I was like, ‘Do I really talk like that? That’s embarrassing!’ I do remind myself to be still. I would be a really bad actor if I was onscreen, being myself. People would be like, ‘She’s over the top; she’s horrible.’ I have to fight the urge to be myself onscreen.”

Real trouper

Well, she’s succeeding. Oliver Stone handed her the plum female role in his next film, “Savages.” Martin Campbell, who directed her in “Green Lantern,” told us, “Blake is going to be very big. She’s stuck in ‘Gossip Girl’ at the moment, but she’s a real trouper. She’s very funny, smart and never complains.”

“I’m very, very, very happy,” said the actress, whose photos with Leonardo as they vacationed in Europe were all over media. “It’s rare that I get any time off.”

She’s especially glad that breaks from shooting “Gossip Girl” allow her to make films. “We shoot ‘Gossip Girl’ 10 months a year, five days a week, 16 hours a day,” she pointed out. “I shot ‘The Town’ on weekends.

In the case of “Green Lantern,” where she plays Carol Ferris, the fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart of Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), she filmed her scenes during her months off from “Gossip Girl.” “I finished filming ‘Gossip Girl’ at one in the morning in New York, and I was in New Orleans at six in the morning, shooting the movie,” she shared.

“But, before the filming, I went up on weekends for rehearsals.” She explained, “The shooting schedule fit perfectly. The day that we wrapped ‘Green Lantern,’ I was on a plane to Paris to start the new season of ‘Gossip Girl.’ I was lucky.”

Blake hoped that she and Ryan would fly jets to prepare for their roles—but, instead, they trained in flight simulators. “I did get to meet some pilots,” she said. “We got invited to go up in some of the fighter jets for a flight. I’m hoping that we can get to do that soon.” She teased her costar in the superhero movie: “Ryan’s too chicken to do it. Maybe he will get nauseous.” Laughing, she added, “Don’t tell him I told you.”

Court jester

Asked about working with Ryan, Blake answered with a smile, “The eye candy was covered in a gray motion-capture spandex suit with tracking dots. His face was covered in dots, too. Then, the mask came with white contact lenses, so he looked absolutely absurd the whole time. I wasn’t able to enjoy People magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive,’ because he looked like a court jester. But he looks great in the film. He made my job harder, because he works out. I said, ‘Now, I have to work out so that you don’t look better.’ I’m the girl. I’m supposed to look better. Because of him looking the way he did, I had to go to the gym a few days a week.”

When Blake had another four-week hiatus from her hit TV series, the face of Chanel decided to study French. “I spend a lot of time in Paris with Chanel,” she shared. “I love everything about the French culture. I felt handicapped by the fact that I didn’t know the language.” The actress even had shoes named after her by famous French shoemaker, Christian Louboutin.

When she began her lessons at the French Institute in the South of France, Blake claimed that she “didn’t speak a word of French. By the last week, after 18 days, I was able to give a 20-minute presentation, speaking only in French. It was something I worked very hard on. You weren’t allowed to speak a word of English from the first day. They charge you a Euro for every English word you speak.”

Blake’s next break will be equally productive. She starts shooting “Savages” in the next few weeks. “I’m excited to work with Oliver,” she gushed. “He is unbelievably talented. He has some of the strongest opinions of anybody I’ve ever met. To be a female in one of his movies  that are so driven with adrenaline and testosterone is something I’m really looking forward to!”

Gifted actors

It’s quite a role—Blake plays the girlfriend of two gifted actors—Aaron Johnson (last seen as John Lennon in “Nowhere Boy”) and Taylor Kitsch (“Friday Night Lights”). The rest of the cast isn’t bad, either: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benicio del Toro, Emile Hirsch and Salma Hayek.

The actress, who also admires filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, tells us the film’s story: “‘Savages’ is about two marijuana growers whose business is being overtaken by the Mexican drug cartel. The two guys (Aaron and Taylor) do things in a very untraditional way—very green, kind, friendly and safe. They’re not so violent. They’re forced to manage their business in a very violent way when their girlfriend, whom I play, is kidnapped by the drug cartel.”

“Everybody in the story is a different element of the human character,” she continued. “My character is a reflection of everybody. She has the darkness of the cartel. She has the spiritual nature of one of the characters, Ben (Aaron). She has the heart and edge of Chon (Taylor), who’s this ex-soldier. It’s a very interesting character to play.”

Blake was asked about working with actress Robin Wright and writer-director Rebecca Miller in “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.” These two women could give her pointers on living with a high-profile man like Leonardo. Robin was married to Sean Penn (they divorced last year), while Rebecca is the wife of Daniel Day-Lewis.

“What’s amazing about Robin and Rebecca is that they are very much their own people,” she replied. “They’re not defined by the men standing next to them. They are unbelievably talented, strong and powerful. They are stimulating and challenging. I feel so lucky to have worked with them. They’re always giving bits of wisdom.

“In watching a performance of Robin’s, you’re always gaining something. The main thing is just watching them live their lives. I admire how they handle their fame and success. To me, the way they treat their family speaks the greatest about their character. I aspire to be like them!”

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