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Interview with Heidi Klum
While many feel that Heidi Klum is an angel, she plays a bit of a devil as Dr. Katya Nadanova in the latest James Bond game, James Bond 007™: Everything or Nothing™.
During a recent press tour, we got a chance to chat with Heidi about her role as the "good" Doctor Nadanova and here's what she had to say.
EA: How were you approached by Electronic Arts to provide the voice for the character of Dr. Katya Nadanova in James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing?
Heidi Klum - They just called me and asked me if I wanted to do this, and that was it, really. I didn't have to audition; I didn't really need to do anything. They called me and asked me if I wanted to do this and of course I said yes, straight away.
EA: When and where did you record the voice over? How was the recording process any different than your previous acting experiences?
Klum - We did it five or six months ago at a studio down in Los Angeles. It was easier than I thought it was going to be because people don't see your expressions.
It's not like acting would be in a movie, so it was not as hard as I had imagined. I had to do a bit more with my voice and feelings, but since you don't see the body or don't see my face it was definitely much easier.
We would build it up by starting slow with normal sentences, then we got more and more to where I had to fight and I had to be all "huffy puffy" as if I was just running two miles. Then I have a fighting scene and screaming around and you're in danger because you're about to get killed. It's a little scary and intimidating to do these things when you don't have an actor with you, you do it by yourself. You're in this sound proof box and someone tells you to say these sentences like "you're being just chased by someone with a gun to your head". You have to be in a certain voice, so it feels a little awkward.
EA: Is it easy to envision yourself in those kind of situations or was it a challenge for you to imagine that?
Klum - No, it wasn't that hard. You just don't know how loud you should go. Or when you're screaming to be really mean, you do it. But you don't know how that comes across, then you listen to it a little bit or they basically say to you, "That was not loud enough, go louder."
Then you're like "Get out of the way [jerk]!" Then they're like "Louder!" So you do all these things over and over again, and then they're like "Ok, let's tone it down a bit." Like with all things you just have to go for it and just experiment.
EA: You play Dr. Katya Nadanova in the game, Everything or Nothing. Can you tell us anything about this character? What did you think of your role as her in the game?
Klum - I like it because she can do all these crazy things. She can jump off buildings, she can shoot really well, she's flies the helicopter, and gets to kiss Pierce Brosnan. All these cool things that no one can really do. As one of those characters you can do that stuff, so that's pretty cool.
EA: Did you get any inspiration from the movies for your role? Do you have a favorite "Bond-girl"?
Klum - No, not really. I'd have to say I like the old days when it was a big thing like who's the next James Bond girl and everyone could name the James Bond girls because it was so special then.
EA: And you're playing an old Bond girl too, in a movie.
Klum - Oh yes. I'm playing Ursula Andrews in the Peter Sellers movie. It's a small part, but those were the glamorous days of when the girls appeared on the screen, you know what I mean? Everything else about James Bond has become better in a way, because of the special effects, and the cars and all these amazing things that they do. I think the girls have become too high tech in a way. They're supposed to be these dream women that are almost not real.
EA: Did you enjoy the project?
Klum - Oh absolutely!
EA: It helps to add to the mystique of being a Bond girl. Was your likeness cyber-scanned? Have you seen your character render - does it look like you?
Klum - Yeah, I like it a lot. It looks very close.
EA: What was the most memorable moment of the project?
Klum - I liked everything from sitting there and being cyber-scanned because all the things we did that day I'd never done before. To be cyber-scanned is pretty cool because you look into the computer right after it's done and you see your head in perfect measurements right there.
And to see the technology of how they drew that is pretty wild. And for the voice overs, you're like a rock star screaming around in this little studio with the microphone right in front of you. It's fun! It's things I don't get to do on a day-to-day basis. So all of that was very interesting.
EA: Thank you for your time, Ms. Klum.
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