Rie Rasmussen

“ If you are going to show your breasts, you gotta do it for Brian De Palma. ”

PLAYBOY.COM: You can have an intimidating presence. Where does that come from?

Rie Rasmussen: I think it comes from my family and being able to have imagination. I come from a huge family with a lot of brothers and sisters. There are nine of us with me. My imagination is what separated me.

PLAYBOY.COM: You were born in Copenhagen, but you moved to New York at the age of 15. How did that happen?

Rasmussen: I wasn't baptized as a baby. My mom was a communist. You have your confirmation on your 15th birthday, and I didn't have that. All my friends did. My father said, "Come with me to New York." I didn't want to come home.

PLAYBOY.COM: The openness you have about your body is remarkable.

Rasmussen: I've been nude all my life. So have my parents and my brothers and sisters and the society I lived in. People are topless in Copenhagen. This is the most natural attitude. This part is an innocent freedom that I have.

PLAYBOY.COM: Your opening scene in Femme Fatale with Rebecca Romijn is set during the Cannes Film Festival and is inter-cut with a robbery sequence. It's a great scene.

Rasmussen: If you are going to show your breasts, you gotta do it for Brian De Palma.

PLAYBOY.COM: The film was not a big commercial draw, but it became a cult hit. What was the impact on your career?

Rasmussen: I was a writer, and I wanted to do my film. Brian choosing me for the part was fantastic, but I never wanted a publicist, a manager, any part of the Hollywood [culture], because I never pursued acting. I proceeded to do my first short film [Thinning the Herd].

Photo: Rie Rasmussen (self-portrait)

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