Today, Ratajkowski can laugh off the ‘dumb’ stuff
Emily Ratajkowski used to get angry when people judged her supermodel looks and assumed she couldn’t possibly be intelligent.
“There was definitely a period where it made me feel bad about myself, as crazy as that sounds, and it made me kind of mad,” says Ratajkowski, 26. “But I’m able to laugh about it now.”
More than that, the Gone Girl actress is using the experience of dealing with misconceptions about her glamorous life to get laughs and make a point, playing alongside Amy Schumer in the social-message-filled romantic comedy I Feel Pretty (in theaters Friday).
Renee (played by Schumer) instantly idolizes Mallory (Ratajkowski) after the two meet in a Soul-Cycle class, feeling certain that her new pal doesn’t suffer normal problems with men or life. In a pivotal scene, Renee finds Mallory in tears after being dumped and makes a joke about wanting to “punch you right in your dumb face right now” for expressing insecurities.
Mallory shoots back that she hates the word “dumb,” because it’s a “trigger word for me.” The scene was improvised by Schumer and Ratajkowski, who ad-libbed the exchange about “dumb,” sparking an instant reaction.
“Maybe the first 10 profiles ever written about me were like, ‘I met her and she knew about politics and had read a book before,’ ” says Ratajkowski, who acknowledges that she still gets “feisty” when people are surprised by her smarts.
“It’s like: ‘ Damn, what did you expect? Why did you chalk me up to so little initially?’ ”
Abby Kohn, who wrote and directed
I Feel Pretty with Marc Silverstein, calls casting Ratajkowski as the outwardly perfect person a “no-brainer.”
“We learn in the movie that everyone, no matter how successful or what their shape, has these insecurities,” Kohn says. “It’s clear (Mallory’s) body and beauty get her a lot of stuff. But that doesn’t mean she lives a charmed life, no different than Amy’s character dealing with her self-esteem issues.”
The movie is about seeing the person behind the prejudged image, Ratajkowski says.
“Truth is, we’re all completely struggling with our self-image and worrying about what people think of us. Every day is a different day for me. Some days, it’s like I am the absolute best; I cannot believe I exist on this planet. Then other days, you really don’t want to leave the house.”
The model and actress is thriving professionally with roles in the upcoming thrillers In Darkness (out May 25) and Welcome Home (expected this year). Ratajkowski’s own home life has changed since she married producer Sebastian Bear-McClard at New York City Hall on Feb. 23. She had intended to keep the occasion private.
“It was about me and my husband enjoying celebrating our commitment to each other,” she says. “That’s as honest as I can be.”
But when journalists got wind of the nuptials, she posted Instagram images.
“How I decided to do my wedding was just for me and my husband and the world we have built with our friends. We had four magical hours before anyone found out.”