Erika Eleniak Is Open To Learning

AM: Erika, out of all the women who have been on ‘Baywatch,’ you seem to be the only legitimate actress.

EE: Wow, that’s a really nice compliment for you to say, thank you. I always wanted a serious acting career. My goal was always to be versatile. This is also why I left ‘Baywatch’ after two seasons. It was fabulous but I was ready to go do something else. 

AM: In regards to Playboy, did it concern you that you wouldn’t be taken seriously as an actress?

EE: It did concern me to a certain extent, in terms of being able to still have the kind of career I had always wanted,after posing for the magazine. I started acting when I was ten so was already fairly established when I did Playboy at eighteen.

AM: That’s the only time to do it! 

EE: That’s right, it’s the only time to do it as far as I’m concerned. Gravity hasn’t knocked on your door yet! I didn’t pose for Playboy naively. I do think I had to work twice as hard to get some of the opportunities I did get by the grace of God ,to prove myself as an Actor.

AM: What is life like today?

EE: I just recently turned forty-three. My daughter is six and half. I feel six and a half too. Since she arrived my entire perspective has changed. 

AM: Are you talking about deep and organic change?

EE: I feel whole now. A book I recently read mentioned we can be the hero of our story or the tragedy of our story, which is so true. I can look back at the choices I’ve made and say look at how much I’ve overcome.

AM: I know that feeling. 

EE: I feel like I was sleep walking before my daughter was born. I feel like a shell of who I was. I feel as if I’m just now getting in touch with some of the feelings I had as a little kid, especially with creativity. I really feel like I woke up, like we are spiritual beings having a human experience together. 

AM: Have you always been spiritually inclined?

EE: Always...I like to call myself a seeker. I do want to make sure I never stop seeking, but I don’t want to be perpetually seeking. I want to enjoy ‘the now.’ 

AM: Yes I agree it’s important to really appreciate ‘the now.’

EE: A seeker can sometimes not be fulfilled. I’ve been seeking since I was eleven. Right now if I were going to go back to school for something, it would be theology. I’m not religious but I love learning about all the different religions. At the end of the day, and this is my humble and personal opinion, there is a thread that runs through all of it, no matter how you label yourself. That is the essence of my spirituality, what I choose to call God in all places and people. 

AM: We should always expect to experience the good in life.

EE: You just said something so key and that is the word ‘expect.’ I never want to be a person who preaches or tries to cram my ideas down someone’s throat. We co-create our life experience. If your glass is half full or half empty will change the entire experience of your life.

AM: Attitude is everything!

EE: I have a new mantra and that is “I will no longer place any limitations or restrictions on what I intend to accomplish or manifest.” This is from Dr. Wayne Dyer. One of the things I don’t believe in with respect to religion, is being condemned if you don’t share the same beliefs as that religion- that somehow God will condemn you or punish you. This is not the God I know.

AM: I’m with you on that. 

EE: I like Deepak Chopra’s message of try to stay in the moment. Do it for five minutes at a time and see how difficult it can be. It’s a challenge. 

AM: Five minutes turns into five years!

EE: Our minds are either in the past or in the future. We’re so rarely in the moment. If you are in a really challenging time, stay in the moment and that’s where you’re safe. 

AM: You are definitely intelligent!

EE: Well thank you! I’d like to expand myself in this life as much as possible. I’d like to live long and contribute and express the highest good as much as possible. In order to do that you have to be open to learning. 

AM: Erika, I mentioned earlier that your beginning was ‘Baywatch’ but that’s not even true, you were in ‘E.T.’! 

EE: Yes, it’s the thirtieth anniversary of the release of ‘E.T.’! I was twelve when I got that part.

AM: How did you get the audition?

EE: I was in a performers audition showcase and because my scene partner was an adult in a father daughter scene, I was able to do the adult showcase ,as well as the kid showcase. Steven Spielberg had a talent scout in the audience. 

AM: Wonderful!

EE: Steven had me come in and all we did was talk. There was nothing to study or read. He asked me to stand up and I was substantially taller than Henry Thomas...like by a foot! (laughter) At twelve I had no idea who he was. What did I know? I was talking to a really nice man, completely unaware of his brilliance, at the time!

AM: Don’t you love that? How nice to not be impressed because you are so young.

EE: Yes!! To have no clue because you’re twelve! Big deal, it’s a movie about a boy and an alien. Anyway, Spielberg asked me if I wanted to be in the movie and I said yeah, sure. (laughter) I will be forever grateful to be a part of such a beautiful and timeless film. 

AM: You have grown into an Independent Movie Queen! 

EE: The funny thing about that is for the longest time, the work I was getting was all so commercial for television and film. My agents at the time told me I was so girl next door they needed to get me in the independent world. Once that happened the reverse happened and I stayed in the independent world. Also the industry has changed so much. Remember when all the networks used to make these great movies of the week? 

AM: Yes, of course.

EE: I made a ton of those. Then I made a movie in Canada and moved to Calgary, Alberta in 2001. 

AM: How did you like living in Canada?

EE: Love, love, love, loved living there. That was one of the most difficult decisions I had to make about moving back to Los Angeles. The best way for me to get in touch with my spirituality is by being in nature. That is paramount to my well-being. I owned my home in Canada and had to sell it to come back here and start over.I also left behind some of the best Friends I have ever had in my lifetime.

AM: That always takes so much courage.

EE: I was also worried about not having quick access to nature but as you can see by where I live I am very close. I hike by some waterfalls and if I want to go in I can. It’s a real hike though, I’ve had my share of run-ins with snakes and tarantulas. You have to be careful, but I love it. I hike every day.

AM: You stay very fit that way too. How were you ever on ‘Celebrity Fit Club’?

EE: I actually like that story now. It used to bother me, but the funny thing is I got the call for that on April 1st and I thought it was a joke. It was April Fools Day! (laughter) When I realized it was real I said no five times. Every blockade I threw up they tore down.

AM: So they broke through? 

EE: I did have a voice in my head telling me “Look you’ve been up in Canada a long time. It’s very endearing to other Moms out there to see a new Mom who has gained weight during pregnancy.” It was all this chatter. Personally it was an amazing experience. I met amazing people and I got to try Krav Maga ( a non-competitive martial art developed in Israel that includes Karate, Boxing, Kick-boxing, Jujutsu, Wrestling, and other techniques) and I always wanted to try that. I got to train with Chuck Liddell.

AM: How did you do that?

EE: The producers made this happen for me. They tried to do something special for each contestant. I like to train hard so they got Chuck and his coach. They were laughing when I walked in and I hung with them for two hours and finally I was either going to pass out or throw up so I called it and I was surprised. I have trained hard before but I had never trained that hard in my life! So from a personal stand point it was a brilliant experience. From a career standpoint, it was treacherous! (laughing)

AM: Why?

EE: First of all I have to say every person on VH-1 was awesome. It was an amazing family. But you know what happens when you are an actor on a reality show and have gained weight...what is your first reaction? We don’t even need to say it. It’s the same thing I thought at the time. I didn’t listen to my gut feeling. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t. Again, not the end of the world. The one thing in Hollywood is as fickle as it is, it’s also very forgiving. Do you think the people that give you your next job are watching ‘Celebrity Fit Club’? Once again I am grateful, grateful and from a personal standpoint it’s in the top 5 best experiences of my life. 

AM: Well that sounds like it was worth it then!

EE: It was worth it. 

AM: Before we end I have to talk you about the boxing you have done in two films. It looks all too real for me. I love ‘The Opponent’.

EE: That movie had very little financing. Everything was sponsored. It was so gritty. I was asked if I would do my own fighting. I moved to New York for a few months to film it. I ended up having four different trainers by the end of filming, who each had their own number systems and I always had to start over and learn them. I did not have a stunt fighter. At one point, I was hit in the head so hard that my head gear popped off! 

AM: By a trainer?

EE: No, it was an actor, playing a trainer ( a former boxer himself).It was a scene in the film where I was training Mike Tyson style with my hands tied behind my back. It was totally an accident.

AM: That was in the movie wasn’t it?

EE: Yes and I remember when that happened I was so mad that I body slammed him out of the ring. It was just such an adrenaline surge. I also remember this poor girl who had a boxing scene with me and we didn’t have a choreographer so I was really nervous and instead of backing up she leaned in and I connected one and moved her nose to the other side of her face. There was blood everywhere. I said, “OK, We have to stop now! This is not alright.” Aside from a few of those tough moments, the whole experience was brilliant. That is my favorite independent film. It was hard-core but every second was amazing. 

AM: What is your favorite main stream film that you’ve made?

EE: The polar opposite studio release ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’. This is hands down my favorite project ever! Penelope Spheeris did a great job directing it. That was a hard job due to the public loving the TV show so much. I enjoyed it so much and went to work every day in awe of the incredible cast I got to work with.