1. Cover Story
FEBRUARY 2007 BELL TV MAGAZINE | 7
IN ONE OF THE MORE MEMORABLE SCENES FROM
Zoolander, erstwhile butter-substitute spokesman
Fabio is onstage at an awards show making his
acceptance speech upon winning “Best Slashie,”
or Best Model/Actor. Tongue firmly planted in cheek,
he gushes, “What this, the Slashie, means, is you
consider me the best actor-slash-model, and not
the other way around.”
Though Fabio’s not exactly known for his drama
chops, it’s a nice moment of self-parody that takes
aim at the prevailing stereotype that fashion models
can’t act their way out of a paper bag. In some cases,
like Cindy Crawford’s painfully wooden performance
in Fair Game, the stereotype proves true. Of course,
not all models are without acting talent, yet the
stigma remains a considerable obstacle for aspiring
thespians who once prowled the catwalk.
“It’s funny,” says Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia
Helfer. “You look at a movie like Zoolander and it’s so
over-the-top, but it’s fun to make fun of yourself. I
think what I read into that was how true it is in terms
of people’s perceptions of models turned actors.”
A former Elite model (the Alberta native was
scouted outside a movie theatre at the age of 16),
Helfer has appeared in ad campaigns for Ralph
Lauren, Chanel and Giorgio Armani, and walked the
runway for the biggest names in couture, including
Christian Dior, Givenchy and Dolce & Gabbana. A
supermodel by any standard, Helfer once graced the
covers of Cosmo and Vogue, yet after eight-and-a-half
years at the top of her game she decided to call it
quits and give Hollywood a try. In 2002 she sold
her New York home and moved out to Los Angeles,
where she pursued her new-found love of acting.
Almost overnight, the statuesque blonde shifted
from the top of one food chain to the bottom of
another. “I went from having a good income and
being at the top of my profession to moving out
here and not knowing a soul and having to make
[my] agent believe in [me]… They’ll throw you into
an audition for a one-line walk-on part for a pretty
girl, and that’s not what I want to do.”
Suddenly, Helfer found herself in the unenviable
position of such notable slashies as Rebecca Romijn
(X-Men) and Molly Sims (Las Vegas), handicapped
by her prior success. And while it’s not uncommon
for women in film and TV to get their start as models,
the same stigma does not apply to those who never
became major names in the fashion world before
crossing over to acting.
“I think it’s really hard for someone who’s so well
known as a model to make it as an actor because
people see them as supermodels,” says Helfer. “The
people that were most successful – Charlize Theron,
Cameron Diaz, Famke Janssen – weren’t big models
PHOTOS:
ONCE A SUPERMODEL
AND NOW A SUPER CYLON,
SCI-FI’S NEW IT GIRL
TRICIA HELFER SPEAKS
OUT ON THE STIGMA
OF BEING A “SLASHIE”
IN HOLLYWOOD
by CHRISTOPHER PARÉ
MODEL
ROLES
SPACE
➔
Tricia Helfer plays
Number Six in
Battlestar Galactica

2. 8 | BELL TV MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2007
to begin with. People say, ‘Oh yeah, they were
models,’ but they weren’t at the level of Cindy
[Crawford] or Linda [Evangelista]. I kind of
noticed that when I started acting, because I
wanted that separation – I didn’t want a casting
director to be looking at a Nordstrom catalogue
and then all of a sudden recognize me.”
Her biggest challenge, she says, was being
taken seriously, and that wasn’t going to happen
by doing one-line walk-ons (though a brief
cameo as a model on CSI certainly didn’t hurt
her career). Her big breakthrough came in 2003
when she was cast to play Number Six, a Cylon
agent in the TV remake of Battlestar Galactica.
Originally conceived as a miniseries, the show
has become a huge ratings hit, with Helfer’s
character now a regular. Her sci-fi success was
followed by a stint last year as host and produc-
er of Canada’s Next Top Model, where aspiring
slashies learned that modelling and acting are
very similar pursuits.
“One of the things I used to say to the girls
is that I consider modelling the baby sister to
acting. To be a good model you have to be a bit
of an actor, and you have to be able to get into
a character. One day you could go to work and
you’re trying to sell business suits, so you’re
a corporate woman, and the next day you’re a
rocker chick in a band. If the girl can’t get it
in her mind and be able to portray that through
her eyes and body language, she’s not going to
make a good model.”
What frustrates Helfer most, however, isn’t
so much the stigma of being a model/actor as
the double standard of actors who model. From
magazine covers to TV screens, A-listers like
Halle Berry and Scarlett Johansson are scooping
up jobs once considered the exclusive domain
of supermodels. Even more infuriating is how
no one sees fit to call celebrities to task on their
modelling abilities, whereas people like Helfer
are under constant scrutiny from critics and
audiences alike.
“You certainly can’t say, ‘Well, a model can’t
act but an actor can model.’ It isn’t fair, and it’s
grown to such an extent that you really don’t
have a [magazine] cover with a model anymore.
That’s not to say they’re taking all the jobs, but
I would say 70 percent of makeup campaigns
use actors now.”
But Helfer remains hopeful, and feels the
playing field is beginning to level out now
that people are starting to get over the whole
models-can’t-act thing. These days, she’s being
offered more roles – serious roles – and that’s
gratifying, especially considering how hard she
worked to prove herself in the beginning. In
fact, not having to prove herself all the time
is an accomplishment in and of itself, if only
because she’s close to being free of having to
hoof it on over to casting calls.
“That’s definitely a goal of mine: to not have
to audition so much.” ■■
When to watch...
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA [Space] Sundays, 10 p.m. ET/
7 p.m. PT (two-part season finale March 18 and 25)
LAS VEGAS [NBC] Fridays, 9 p.m. ET/PT
CSI [CTV] Thursdays, 9 p.m. ET/PT
JOB COMPETITION
MODEL RATINGS
Critics weigh in on the performances of
model/actresses, a.k.a. “slashies”
SLASHIE: REBECCA ROMIJN
Model record: Victoria’s Secret, Sports Illustrated.
Hosted MTV’s House of Style from 1998-2000.
Movie: Rollerball (2002)
What they said: “Romijn is merely eye candy
as the Eurasian team member and love interest.”
– Frank Ochieng, Movie Eye
ROLLERBALL [Showcase Action] Feb. 1, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
SLASHIE: KATHY IRELAND
Model record: Sports Illustrated. Head of Kathy Ireland
Worldwide, a design empire with over $1 billion in
annual revenues.
Movie: Necessary Roughness (1991)
What they said: “[Ireland] has to fend off a lot of, uh,
passes, but she does so with surprising grace. And it’s
cute when she and [Peter] Tuiasosopo fall helmet over
cleats for each other.” – Rita Kempley, Washington Post
NECESSARY ROUGHNESS [Showcase Diva]
Feb. 6, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT
SLASHIE: MOLLY SIMS
Model record: MTV’s House of Style, Sports Illustrated.
Once posed in a bikini valued at $30 million.
Movie: The Benchwarmers (2006)
What they said: “Perhaps the funniest gag stems
from the casting of Molly Sims as Schneider’s
eager-to-be-pregnant wife.” – Frank Scheck,
The Hollywood Reporter
THE BENCHWARMERS [MFun] Feb. 16, 8 p.m. ET
SLASHIE: MILLA JOVOVICH
Model record: Revlon, L’Oréal. Reportedly the
highest-paid supermodel in 2004.
Movie: The Fifth Element (1997)
What they said: “Jovovich is really rather good
as the wholly innocent and kookily amusing Leeloo.”
– Ed Colley, Future Movies
THE FIFTH ELEMENT [IFC] Feb. 18, 12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT
[Showcase Action] Feb. 17, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
ULTRAVIOLET [MExcess] Feb. 5, 9 p.m. ET
DAZED AND CONFUSED [IFC] Feb. 24, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
HOLLYWOOD’S TOP-PAID ACTRESSES ARE CASHING IN ON LUCRATIVE FASHION BEAUTY CAMPAIGNS
Elizabeth Hurley, Gwyneth Paltrow
Campaign: Estée Lauder
Salary: $5.4 million each
Lucy Liu
Campaign: Revlon
Salary: $2-4 million
Salma Hayek
Campaign: Avon
Salary: $1 million
Scarlett Johansson
Campaign: L’Oréal
Salary: $4 million
Chloë Sevigny, Uma Thurman
Campaign: Louis Vuitton
Salary: Under wraps
Nicole Kidman
Campaign: Chanel
Salary: $5 million
Supermodel Cindy Crawford in Fair Game
©2006WARNERBROS.ENT.
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