Isla Fisher is just about to become Hollywood’s biggest new comedian. Her Confessions of a Shopaholic director, PJ Hogan, has already proclaimed her “the new Lucille Ball” and having a very famous spouse, Sacha Baron Cohen, (with him she has a daughter, Olive), her road to celebrity is all but paved…
Isla, 33, was born in Oman, where her dad worked as a banker for the United Nations. Her name derives from the name of the Scottish island, Islay, which is pronounced: eye-la. When she was nine months old, the family moved to Australia where she grew up. At the age of nine she started appearing in commercials, at 18 she starred as Shannon Reed in the Australian soap opera Home and Away. She later decided to leave Australia to pursue a career in acting in Europe, first studying to be a clown in Paris and then a serious actress in London.
Hollywood first took notice of Isla when she was cast in the comedy Wedding Crashers, starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. In 2007 she starred in the forgettable comedy, Hot Rod and that same year in Definitely, Maybe.
In the last few years she was mostly known as Sacha Baron Cohen’s spouse, especially as she converted to Judaism to be with him, and then as the mother of his daughter. She became a celebrity and a paparazzi darling even before she really became a star but all this is going to change now after Confessions of a Shopaholic.
The film is based on the hugely successful books by Sophie Kinsella about Rebecca Bloomwood, a New York girl who has to find a creative solution to her shopaholic addiction when she uses the credit limit on all her credit cards. She gets herself a job as an advice columnist in a financial newspaper and on the way almost nabs a millionaire boyfriend… will her secret be safe for long?
I met Isla at the Four Season Hotel in Beverly Hills, perky as always, holding a cup of tea in her hand. She feels very down to earth and approachable, therefore I wanted to go directly to the hard hitting questions…
How is motherhood treating you?
It is amazing, I love every minute of it.
Did it end up being like that life-changing experience you had hoped?
You know motherhood is like my favourite topic these days, but I try not to talk about it publicly because I don’t want my daughter to receive more attention from the media than she already has.
Is it hard to raise a “Hollywood baby”?
It’s just so difficult because as a parent you want to shelter her from all the photographers and paparazzi. You know she didn’t choose to be born into celebrity-crazed Hollywood, so you feel you have to over-protect her.
How much are you aware that this movie is going to be probably the biggest boost to your career?
I try not to think about that too much. Right now all I care about is that people go watch the movie and like it. I feel that the movie comes out in a different climate than when we shot it, I mean the economic climate.
This is the first time we see your name as the main star of movie… all of a sudden you are in the same league as Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts…
I must admit, it does sound very funny. I feel like I should hide or something. Although I will admit I was pretty siked when I first saw the poster. I feel that as a lead in a movie you carry a much bigger responsibility. You kind of have to set the tone of the movie. I remember when I got the job I couldn’t believe it and I was shouting out: What! Why would anyone give me my own movie?
So are you getting advice at home from a certain someone who undoubtedly is one of the funniest men alive?
I still remember when he got all this fame when Borat came out. I don’t think anyone can prepare you for anything in life especially a big break in your career. I have no doubt that Sacha is really one of the funniest people I have ever met in my life and he is always a big inspiration to me.
Could you relate to Rebecca in the movie? Are you a big spender when it comes to fashion?
I shop very rarely and very poorly. The only thing that I keep buying, losing and then finding again is… hair bands. I always think that I need hair bands and I have hundreds of them and then I find them in the most random places.
Do you have fashion designers that you admire?
When you work in the movie industry and go to events and premieres you always get assigned all those stylists who bring you racks full of designer clothes they want you to wear, and you do try them all on but I do tend to gravitate to the simplicity of Calvin Klein, Monique Lillia for her feminine curvy frocks and Stella McCartney as she makes women look sexy and still modest.
So do you find yourself more comfortable at a store like GAP or a cheap clothing department store rather than in high fashion?
The one rule I really do not cross is that I do not shop at places that employ little children in sweat shops. I am very conscious about it.
You keep saying how you want to contribute to make this a better world. What do you do to contribute?
I drive a Hybrid car (a Lexus Hybrid), I only eat organic food and try to be just the best I can be.
Was working with Pat Fields, the legendary dresser from Sex and the City, an eye-opening experience for you?
Working with Pat was an incredible experience. It really is a skill to styling someone well. She is someone who likes to take risks, she’ll like say put the yellow shoe with the green hat and I was thinking “Oh my God, no way…” and she puts it on you and you realise her vision was so amazing. And I really believe that after the movie wrapped I was a much braver person when it came to fashion but that lasted for about two weeks and then I went back to being me…
Did you allow yourself to improvise a lot during the shot of the movie or was it all strictly to the script?
There was a lot of improvising going on, although the director wanted to do it all according to the script. I would always ask him to do one last take my way and surprisingly enough most of those takes made it into the movie.
Are you already signed for the sequels to the movie?
I really hate talking about it because I don’t want to jinx it, but yes I am signed on if there will be potential sequels.
How did you get the role in the movie?
I was a big fan of the books and when I heard that they were doing a movie version of them I really wanted to do it. I prayed a lot. And one day my agent called me and said that the director, PJ Hogan, and the producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, wanted to meet with me. I thought this was a lost cause because I looked nothing like Becky being eight and a half months pregnant but I said “What the heck, let’s give it a try”.
Do you feel that to work in the entertainment industry these days you have to be a kind of a Renaissance Man who not only acts but does other things too?
Definitely. I wholeheartedly believe in writing your own material and not because there is a lack of material but rather because when you write something for yourself it is most likely going to be a perfect fit for you.
So how did you get ready for the movie, it being just after childbirth?
Jerry Bruckheimer hired a personal trainer that would come to my house twice a week and train me to lose the 35kg I gained in the pregnancy. Honestly, I think I was really blessed because I didn’t work so hard at losing it, it just went away by itself, which I know made a lot of my friends really mad at me. I think it also has to do with the fact that my metabolism is really fast because I am always active doing something.
Why did you start your career at such a young age?
Mostly to get away from my brothers and I really hope that they read this too… they were very naughty to me growing up, they used to give me such a hard time. They used to tease me all the time. People magazine does this list of The Most Beautiful People and I got into the list and I sent them both a stack of the magazine with a note saying: “I guess my ears are not that ugly that I couldn’t be considered beautiful”.
Do you think that being funny as a woman is different than as a man?
Absolutely not, to me funny is funny and the gender is irrelevant.
Source: Weekender, March 21, 2009