The devastatingly gorgeous Laura Jacobs made quite an impression the very first time we laid eyes on her, playing the tragically doomed Laura Lee in 2010's Daydream Nation. Having done a ton of modeling prior to her film debut, she was perfectly poised on screen and her smoky eyes seemed to burn you right through the screen. The Canadian beauty followed up that film with one-off roles on such TV shows as Almost Humanand Funny or Die Presents, but her star really rose when she appeared as Desiree in the horror film Muck, a role she will soon reprise in the prequel. Acting, however, isn't Laura's only passion, as she has managed to parlay her training as an opera singer into a country music career, samples of which you can hear at her website. I recently chatted with Laura about her singing and acting careers, as well as her thoughts on making her nude debut in Muck. What I discovered was a down to earth girl who manages to take a lot of pride in everything she does, and whose amazing good lookscoupled with her affability and sense of humormake her the total package!
Skin Central: What attracted you to Muck? Was it the script, the concept, the director, or some combination of those elements?
Laura Jacobs: It was a combination. I would say that it was my character that attracted me to it, because in a lot of horror film scripts that you read, the blonde girl is really stupid, hooking up with guys, dies in a really dumb way, and this wasn’t like that. When I was reading it, and to be honest I didn’t even want to read it at first, but when I read it I said, “She’s cool, I could totally do this, she’s a badass, breaking down doors, swearing at people, this is fun” (both laugh).
SC: And you are going to be in the sequel, or the follow-up, which I guess is actually a prequel, is that correct?
LJ: It’s a prequel, yeah.
SC: Okay, and you’ll be playing the same character again, I’m assuming?
LJ: Yes, I’ll be playing the same character, and I’ll live this time, which is nice (both laugh).
SC: So how is it for you, preparing to go back and play the same character again, knowing the world of the film and where everything is heading, how do you approach that as an actor?
LJ: Well, I haven’t gotten the script yet, but we’re all anxiously awaiting the prequel script, but I think it’ll be great. I loved playing her, she’s kind of just an exaggerated version of myself, like if I could be myself but without a censor, so I’m excited to go back and do it. There’s a lot more characters this time, from what I’ve seen, and I think it’ll be really fun.
SC: Did your background in modeling help prepare you for your nude scenes in Muck, or was it a completely different animal being nude on film?
LJ: I would say it’s very different. My experience with modeling, I did work in Europe and what-not, it’s all very stylized. I didn’t do a lot of nude modeling before, I just did implied nudity, so with this, for Muck, I was fine with it. I really believe that acting and filmmaking is having a personal experience and letting people see that. So I’m like, alright, if I was gonna take a shower, I would take a shower, so I just sort of approached it in that way, letting people see a personal experience. I’m covered in mud and now I’m getting it off of me which is totally normal and fine. And I was fine with it, you know, I’m a pretty open person, it was alright with me. It’s acting, it’s part of the process.
SC: That’s a very practical way of looking at it, and I think that tends to be the attitude, maybe not of everyone, but I do hear it more and more from people that it’s more realistic to say, “yes, I would be nude in this situation, it’s not just me being nude running around the house for no good reason.”
LJ: Yeah, I mean, I don’t like it if it’s some unnecessary, throw your boobs out there thing (both laugh), but it really did make sense to me and I guess I have a more European attitude toward it. I think it was fine, it was very tastefully done, and I thought, okay I can live with this (both laugh).
SC: That’s great So what are your thoughts on being immortalized here on Mr. Skin for your nude scenes in the film?
LJ: I know, I saw that, I googled it last night because I knew I was going to talk to you and I was just like, “Wow, they have so many clips here!” (Laughing) I don’t know, it’s fine, you’ve got a good business running there, I was fine with it. So I looked and there was a nice cover shot, and I’m like, “alright,” and I looked and all of my co-stars were there too, and I’m like, “okay, I’m not alone, fine,” (both laugh).
SC: Sure, well I guess it’s got to feel better to not be singled out, I suppose.
LJ: Yeah, yeah, I was thankful for the other people (both laugh).
SC: Looking back through the history of film, do you have a favorite nude scene from a film or one that stands out to you as being extremely memorable?
LJ: Halle Berry when she put that book down was amazing. That was crazy. I remember watching that as a young girl and just being like, “Whoa!” (Both laugh).
SC: In addition to your work as a model and actress, you’ve also got a burgeoning country music career. Out of those things that you’ve done, do you have one that you would say is your true passion, or one that you favor over the others?
LJ: I would say acting and music are very close. I’ve been acting since I was very young, I played violin for ten years, I grew up singing opera actually, and it took me a while to figure out what kind of music I would like to do mainstream because I’m sort of a classical opera snob. So I wanted to make sure that when I sing that there’s a real quality and a real tone and pop music never struck me like that. So I started looking at country and I was just like, “Yeah, I’m gonna do this,” and I really love the country elements. I love songwriting, and I continue to look for the opportunities to present themselves so I can keep doing it. The great thing about music is that I can do it myself, I don’t need any permission to write a song or record a demo, but with acting you’re always just sort of waiting for that person to say, “yes, you’ve booked it, now you can go on set and do your craft,” but I do love them both.
SC: So what’s next for you? Where can we expect to see you again?
LJ: I’m still auditioning and hopefully some projects come through, but I’m focusing a lot on the music. I really want to release in Canada, and then hopefully in the US.
For more info on Laura, be sure to visit her personal website LauraJacobs.me
