Now You See Me star Isla Fisher on being trapped underwater while handcuffed and why the casting couch doesn't work

Now You See Me star Isla Fisher on being trapped underwater while handcuffed and why the casting couch doesn't work

Petite redhead Isla Fisher broke into Hollywood as Vince Vaughn’s off-kilter love interest in the blockbuster comedy Wedding Crashers.

And she is nothing if not versatile, having recently starred in The Great Gatsby, while her latest film is Now You See Me.

In the crime caper, Isla, 37, plays Henley Reeves, an escapologist and one of a team of stage magicians who rob banks during their performances.

She and her husband Sacha Baron Cohen divide their time between LA and London where they live with their children Olive, five and Elula, two.

Your latest character, Henley, is quite adventurous. Did you have fun playing her?

She’s strong, fearless and sexy, and doesn’t try to act like a man in order to fit in with the men.

She’s a dream for an actress to play.

During the movie, she has to escape from a tank filled with water while handcuffed. Was that dangerous?

Very. In fact, I nearly drowned because the chain got stuck and I was trapped underwater for three minutes.

Everyone thought I was acting fabulously, but I was actually drowning and no one realised I was struggling for my life.

I managed to escape thanks to a quick-release switch and a stuntman standing nearby who pulled me out.

You were born to Scottish parents in Oman and then raised in Australia. Now, your mother lives in Greece and your father in Germany. Where do you feel most at home?

I definitely feel I’m Australian and I have a laid back attitude to life that is very Australian. I also love a good barbie.

I think of Bondi Beach and I just have such a strong longing to be there on the sand and have the smell of suntan cream and the hamburgers.

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What was your first job?

Collecting poo from my pony and selling it by the side of the road for two dollars a bag!

So how did you get your start in showbusiness?

I started in TV commercials when I was 12, so I was sort of tutored on set.

I don’t know what inspired me to get involved in the business so young, but it was nothing to do with my parents.

When I was 18, I got a role in Home and Away.

What took you to Hollywood?

I spent six months filming Scooby-Doo in Australia and then went to Los Angeles for the film’s premiere.

Then I embarked on my American adventure.

Did you get roles straight away?

I auditioned so many times and was told I wasn’t sporty enough or I wasn’t sexy.

'Sacha was the reason I got into comedy because I was going for a lot of dramatic roles and getting frustrated when I didn’t get them'

 

Didn’t your relationship with Sacha Baron Cohen help you?

No. I really had no help.

In fact, the one time I did ask for help was after my agent in LA fired me.

So I said to Sacha, who was my boyfriend at the time, “Can you ask your agents if they’ll represent me?”

He did and his agent said, “No way”.

But it spurred me on.

How is it being wed to such a hilariously funnyman?

We both have a similar sense of humour or I wouldn’t have married him.

He was the reason I got into comedy because I was going for a lot of dramatic roles and getting frustrated when I didn’t get them.

And Sacha said, “You’re the funniest person I know. You should be doing comedy.”

Have you and Sacha ever talked about doing a movie together?

I actually did a scene or two in The Dictator but they were cut.

It just shows you that you can sleep with the main star, but the casting couch doesn’t always pay off!

Sacha cast me as a Russian prostitute, but it didn’t work for the main story.

Despite that, we had a lot of fun doing it.

You took time off while having your children, but now you seem to be back to work with a vengeance.

I’m getting there, but it’s hard.

If you want to do the family thing, you can’t have it all and nor should you want to.

Motherhood is my favourite topic, but I try not to talk about it because I want my kids to have privacy.

 

Is it difficult being a mother of two and a Hollywood star?

It’s a juggling act and I’m not particularly good at it.

The balls are in the air, but my priority is always my family.

Do you have a circle of friends who are mothers too?

Yes. A lot of my friends who don’t have access to childcare drop their kids with me. I’m often surrounded!

Any more movie roles lined up?

While the little ones are small I only want supporting roles. I just want to be there for them.

* Now You See Me is in cinemas now - cert 12A, 115 mins

To read what Daily Mirror film critic David Edwards and Sunday Mirror film critic Mark Adams think about Now You See Me, click on the links.