USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Baywatch’ sees Priyanka Chopra as vampy villain
‘ Baywatch’ villain kicks some butt in her Louboutins
Worried fans, don’t fret. Conspiracy theorists, cease. Priyanka Chopra is fine and has a case- closed explanation for how she took her high- profile tumble while working on her FBI drama Quantico.
The star, who plays recruit Alex Parrish, was wearing flat shoes and running on wet asphalt when she slipped and hit her head, requiring her to take a break from the ABC show to recuperate from a concussion.
“I blame it on the flats. If I was in heels, I would have never fallen,” Chopra says, laughing. “When you take off my heels, I lose my superpower. But I’m a superhero in heels.”
More like a supervillain: Chopra, 34, made a glam Hollywood movie debut as vampy Victoria Leeds in Baywatch ( in theaters Thursday night), the R- rated movie remake of the campy TV series. The former Miss World rocks power outfits and 5- inch Christian Louboutins as an evil real- estate developer able to look meddling lifeguard Mitch Buchannon ( 6- foot- 5 Dwayne Johnson in the role made famous by David Hasselhoff ) dead in the eye.
“Being a villain is awesome. It’s so good to be bad,” says Chopra. She surprised herself by gleefully unleashing her “inner Victoria” each morning on the set.
It’s this kind of unbridled baddie joy that compelled director Seth Gordon to cast Chopra after a Skype call to discuss a part for her as a lifeguard. Gordon saw her dark side and immediately changed the film’s planned baddie from Victor to Victoria while rejiggering the shooting schedule to accommodate Chopra’s Quantico work. “I knew from my first conversation with Priyanka that she is an absolute killer,” says Gordon. “One Skype and it was a done deal.” Chopra brought her own scheming ideas to the Miami Beach set, including digging her nails into the neck of a lifeguard ( Jon Bass) dancing wildly in front of her as a diversion for the Baywatch gang. “I told Seth I wanted to hold ( Bass) with my nails by the back of his neck like a cat,” she laughs. “It was very mean. But Seth loved it.” Chopra was fine missing out on playing one of the Baywatch lifeguards she admired as a childhood fan in India. She was able to avoid the rigors of being swimsuit- ready. “Screen lifeguard is so much pressure. You’d have to eat, like, one almond a day to stay in those swimsuits. I like my food too much,” she says.
There were perils, including showstopping outfits such as the form- fitting black gown in the finale that took her breath away — literally. The dress was so tight it was hard to breathe.
“That was super- uncomfortable and I had to do action with it, running with Louboutin stilettos,” says Chopra. “But I’m Miss World, I’m a pro.”
A just- announced, shortened third season of Quantico will allow Chopra to pursue more movie projects.
“This seems like a win- win to me,” says Chopra, who promises a movie announcement is imminent. Meanwhile, she’s happy with her diametrically opposed characters.
“Alex Parrish is the ultimate hero. Victoria Leeds is the opposite,” says Chopra. “Alex wants to save the world, Victoria wants to own the world.”