David Rensin met with actress and instantly identifiable Revlon model Lauren Hutton over lunch in Los Angeles. His report: "I know there are men who cut out all the ads that Lauren Hutton has appeared in. I play baseball with those guys, and they would give up a .500 batting average just to spend two hours with her. Lauren is, of course, beautiful. And intelligent, intriguing, ingenuous and inspiring. She also knows how to have a good time. In fact, eating lunch with Lauren Hutton is even better than sitting in a pile of Ultima II ads all day long. She can call me any time."

Q 1

PLAYBOY: Do most people think you're taller than you actually are?

Lauren Hutton: Yeah. Everybody does. But that's when I had more of a magazine identity to people. Since my movie roles, it hasn't happened that much. Actually, I was one of the smallest models in the business. I'm 5'7¾". When I started, it was in the days of the giant Germans. A short girl was 5'11". Veruschka was 6'4". It's one reason why it took me so long to get started. So I talked very loud, moved very fast and wore very, very high heels.

Q 2

PLAYBOY: Has your modeling kept you from getting the movie parts you wanted?

Lauren Hutton: Sure. I would never have gotten the chance to test for the role in Gigolo if John Travolta--who originally was cast in the lead--hadn't wanted me. After that, Paul Schrader, the writer-director, met me for five minutes at a party and found out I could walk and talk at the same time. That's prejudice. You have to work harder to overcome it. So my work has to be that much better. I was in Mexico, lying on the beach, when all the reviews for Gigolo started coming out. My old man came up and threw me a copy of Time. I forced myself to read the review line by line. And it was wonderful. I didn't even realize I was going to be so scared. Richard Schickel said I had "open, vulnerable playing" and that he "believed every minute of it." For the rest of the day, I felt so good, so legitimate. And then it started sinking in that I had considered myself illegitimate for the past eight or nine years. Fortunately, I'd been so busy I had never had the time to sit and stew about it.

Q 3

PLAYBOY: Who do you think is heir apparent to your top-model crown?

Lauren Hutton: There's a really beautiful girl named Roseanne Vela. There are lots of them now, really. We'll just have to wait and see.

Q 4

PLAYBOY: You're 36 now. Isn't America becoming more fascinated with mature women like you, instead of nymphets?

Lauren Hutton: I think it's both. We're finally getting an idea of sexuality's full range. It's nice. It's a good time to be an actress. Roles that explore sexuality, explore life. Try to think about some change in your life that wasn't at least partly ticked off by sex. There are finally some parts for women who are real, not just adjuncts to men. But only in the past five years.

Q 5

PLAYBOY: What do you think of women's movies?

Lauren Hutton: Real women's movies, to me, are just as boring as real men's movies. What's erotic for me is to have it mixed. What's erotic is something totally different from oneself. I guess that's why I'm heterosexual. Once in a while, it's interesting to go into a men's bar. Recently, I was in a place in New York with about 300 guys all shoulder to shoulder. And I was invisible. It was great. I haven't been around a crowd of people where I was invisible for a long time.