Liz Hurley has teams up with comparethemarket.com to launch a special Agent Maiya toy.
We caught up with the actress to chat about getting involved in the new campaign as well as what film projects she has on the horizon.
- You are fronting a new campaign for comparethemarket.com so can you tell me a little bit about the campaign
I’ve been working with comparethemeerkat.com to unveil the spy past of one of Aleksandr Orlov’s meerkat friends, Maiya and unveil a special edition spy Maiya toy.
- How and why did you get involved with the campaign?
I’ve always been a fan of the meerkats and never mind an opportunity to go back to my spy girl days.
As I shoehorned myself into the black, leather catsuit I definitely had flashbacks to Austin Powers.
- Away from the campaign we are going to be seeing you back on the big screen in Turquoise, so can you tell me a bit about the film?
It was wonderful to play opposite Gerard Depardieu, who has long been one of my favourite actors. We shot in Chechnya and Moscow and it was quite an experience.
I saw the most exquisite dance performances in Chechnya and my son and I came home with full national dress costumes.
- You take on the role of Alexandra Ivanov in the film, so what was it about this character and the script that initially drew you to the project?
Turquoise is a thriller, shot in the film noir style. It’s beautifully lit and the story is poignant, albeit extremely violent.
My character has been in love with Gerard’s character, Victor Lambert, for years and when the movie opens Victor has just returned to Moscow after a long spell in jail.
Alexandra is a very strong woman and it was actually a change, and a challenge, for me to play the ‘good’ role-as I seem to have been playing ‘bad’ for a long time now.
- Philippe Martinez is in the director’s chair for the film, so how did you find working with him? What kind of director is he?
I adored Phillippe. He wrote the script as well as directing and he had a very strong vision of how he wanted the movie to be. I was very flattered that he wanted me to play Alexandra for him.
He broke his ankle on the first day of filming so had to direct from a wheelchair which was frustrating for him as there was so much action but he coped brilliantly.
- It was revealed last week that you have been cast in the pilot for a new U.S. drama based on the British monarchy. So can you tell me a little bit about that?
This is an amazing job for me and I really hope it turns out well. I play HRH Queen Helena and the show is called ‘The Royals’. We are a fictitious version of the British royal family.
I think we’ll have a lot of fun making this and I hope it’s fun to watch. The locations will be glorious and the script is riveting.
- Gossip Girl has been a big project for you most recently so how does working in TV compare with working in film?
American TV is an experience unto itself. You shoot very fast and after Gossip Girl it was a real luxury to shoot the movie Turquoise and go back to spending half a day being shot getting in and out of a car. I adored my character in Gossip Girl, who was very bad indeed!
- You have enjoyed a very successful career so how has the way that you choose your projects changed over the years? Are the certain things that you look for in your acting projects that perhaps you didn’t look for when you were starting out?
I took eight years off from filming to raise my son, so I’m thrilled beyond belief to be working again.
I loved what I did in the interim-starting my beachwear company, running my farm and shooting lots of endorsements and campaigns-but it’s great to be back doing what I love best.
- You have also been working with closely with children’s’ charity Hop Skip and Jump so can you tell me about the charity and the type of work that you do there?
I am president of Hop Skip Jump which helps more than 6,500 children in the Cotswolds area per year through play and support centres for children with life threatening illnesses, or special needs, and their families.
Since having Damian, I realise more and more how unbelievably challenging it would be to have a child with disabilities-sometimes I find it difficult not to feel exhausted bringing up a healthy child.
Centres like Hop, Skip and Jump are vital for parents who have extra-challenging children because, as well as helping the kids themselves by giving them a safe environment to play and learn, where they don’t feel different to other kids, and where they are not stared or even sneered at, it also gives the parents some very valuable moments of respite.
Shane and I recently raised close to two hundred thousand pounds by hosting a cricket match in the Cotswolds and half the money raised went to Hop, Skip and Jump and half went to Shane’s foundation in Australia.
- Finally what is coming up for you over the second half of this year?
I start shooting The Royals in a few weeks and I’m also revving up for my annual fund and awareness raising tour for Estee Lauder’s Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) campaign.
This year I will be lighting buildings pink in New York, Vancouver and London and giving away pink ribbons and signing product to benefit the cause.
This tour is the highlight of my year and I’ve travelled the world spreading the word.
Elizabeth Hurley is working with Comparethemeerkat.com to reveal the spy past of Aleksandr Orlov's meerkat friend Maiya and launch the limited edition Agent Maiya toy available at comparethemarket.com.
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