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ARTICLE
Interview: Stacy Keibler - Samurai Girl
by Scott Juba Published: August 8, 2008
A wrestling star. A skilled ballroom dancer. A talented actress. These descriptions conjure up images of three different people, but in fact, each of these titles describes Stacy Keibler perfectly. After a successful foray into the world of wrestling, the beautiful Baltimore-native danced her way to a third place finish during season two of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. In the process, she became known as a "weapon of mass seduction," thanks to judge Bruno Tonioli’s reaction to one of her sultry dances. Since then, she’s proven to be equally as compelling as an actress, appearing in episodes of George Lopez, What About Brian and October Road.
She’ll next star in the ABC Family mini-series, Samurai Girl, airing Sept. 5-7. Keibler describes her character as someone who comes in to “stir the pot.” “I create a lot of drama and a lot of surprises,” she promises.
The role also allows Keibler to show off some action moves reminiscent of her wrestling days with World Wrestling Entertainment. “If they would have hired another actress who didn’t have that background, it would have been very difficult,” she says. “A stunt double would have been doing most of the work, because we had a limited amount of time to get together and train. This is the first time I’ve done an action project, and I want to do more, because [the action scenes] came so easily to me.”
The stunt work Keibler executed while filming Samurai Girl must have seemed like a breeze after her wrestling career in the WWE. Although the story lines she performed in the ring were scripted, the risks she took were very real. She tells me she broke her nose twice, had her ribs cracked and suffered a hip pointer. Yet, she describes these wounds as “nothing major.” “I watched people get their necks broken and their backs broken while I was there,” Keibler recalls.
Revisiting the more positive memories of her time in the ring, Keibler recently met face-to-face with many of her wrestling fans while promoting Samurai Girl at the San Diego Comic-Con. “I feel like they’re some of the most loyal fans in the entertainment business,” she declares. “I was to able to connect with them again. To hear from them about my work on Dancing with the Stars through the couple of TV shows I’ve been on [lets me know] they’re following my career. It’s a really special thing.”
Keibler’s continued success throughout the wrestling, dancing and acting phases of her career seems all the more impressive considering the different skill set each requires. “They all take a lot of hard work,” she points out. “If you want to be good at all of them, you have to give 110 percent. They’re all very different. With wrestling, you’re performing to the person in the very last seat of the arena, so everything’s very big. You’re on your feet and there’s a lot of improv that goes into that, so there’s a great dynamic with that show.” By comparison, she says that television and film require performers to be a “little bit more introverted” and describes Dancing with the Stars as being “more competitive.”
Given the ease with which she has conquered three different entertainment mediums, could Keibler possibly have any other hidden talents? “Not that I know of yet,” she says with a laugh. “I love a good challenge, and I am so lucky to have had all these different experiences. Who knows what’s next.”