Emily Ratajkowski: “I Would Love To Do Something That’s Not Just The Bombshell.”

Emily Ratajkowski. Photo: Getty Images.

It’s a story that will go down in Hollywood legend. Struggling to find the perfect girl to play Andie Hardy, the shiny, bubbly, very beautiful mistress in Gone Girl, director David Fincher decided to ask the film’s male lead - Ben Affleck- who he thought would work in the role.

“What about the Blurred Lines girl?” Affleck proposed. And just like that, Emily Ratajkowski – the 23-year old half-Polish bombshell brunette – went from modelling swimwear in New York to bunking down on movie sets in Hollywood.

Ratajkowski – or emrata, as she’s known to her 1.6 million Instagram followers – is following up her role in Gone Girl with a part in the eagerly-awaited, shrouded-in-secrecy, Entourage feature film and Zac Efron’s latest bromance flick We Are Your Friends. Get ready, this is only the start of the Emily Ratajkowski revolution. We sat down with the model turned actress to get her thoughts on Ben Affleck, Blurred Lines and why she wants to leave the bombshell image behind.

What was it like working with David Fincher and Ben Affleck on your first ever feature film?
It was amazing, it was sort of like a dream situation. It was my first film and I was very eager to learn, and they are very experienced and were happy to teach.

What about Reese Witherspoon, did you get to meet her at all?
Yeah I did, we were all in Missouri and there was a lost of cast and crew time. It was great because I really do look up to her, especially as a woman in Hollywood. There are a lot more men in the production side of things in Hollywood which is a shame. She’s a real idol in that respect.

Had you read the book before you auditioned? Did you know what you were getting yourself in for? [Ed’s note: Spoiler alert! But we’re sure you’ve all read Gone Girl…]
I had, and I had definitely heard a lot of people talking about the book too. Andie… Well, I think she’s such a nice person. I think it’s sort of funny because people are always like, “Oh you play the mistress,” But she’s actually just a really nice girl with a very big heart who really loves her boyfriend. I think maybe a lot of mistresses feel like ‘look I just love this guy’. So it was fun to play her. But she’s also one of the people who, throughout the whole thing, does what she thinks is best for the people around her. She’s a pretty selfless person. And actually coming out OK at the end of the story. When everyone else ends up a little bit screwed. *laughs*

We heard that you originally didn’t want to do the Blurred Lines clip…
Yeah, you know, I think the initial idea of naked girls in a music video didn’t sound like the right kind of thing for a model who wanted to have a long-term career. But I met with the director, and she’s a super creative, very smart lady and I just clicked wit her and liked her ideas. That’s what made me change my mind.

Were you prepared for the clip going viral?
I have to admit that I didn’t expect it to be anything. The reaction was definitely pretty shocking and unexpected. I sort of remember when I really started to realise that it had exploded and it had started to change my life. People would approach me on the street and then it started to happen every day. I was like, ‘Oh my god, wow a lot of people have actually seen this’.

What do want to do next?
I would really like to take a part that people do not expect me to take or can’t really picture me in. I would love to do something that’s not just about the pretty young girl or the bombshell.

What is something that people would be surprised to know about you?
Maybe a lot of things. I don’t know how people perceive me necessarily so I don’t know what would surprise them. I’m a very messy person. And I like to read a lot, I’m sort of a bookworm. One of my all-time favourite books is Super Sad Love Story by Gary Steinhardt. And I just read this great collection of short stories by this amazing woman called Rebecca Lee called Bobcat.

Gone Girl is out on October 2.