Women on the Verge: Ivana Milicevic

Who is she?

Head Over Heels to the wife of a Russian mobster in the gritty Running Scared, and even a Bond girl. Lately, she's breaking away from roles that play off her Eastern European heritage. Born in Sarajevo and raised outside Detroit, she now calls Los Angeles home.

What has she done?

After starting as a model in her teens, the magnificent Milicevic had a brief stint as a stand-up comedienne before inaugurating her movie career as one of Jerry Maguire's ex-girlfriends. Since then she has built up an extensive résumé in television (Seinfeld, The Mind of The Married Man, Friends) and film (Paycheck, Just Like Heaven, Casino Royale). She currently co-stars in Witless Protection as a corporate whistle blower running from corrupt FBI agents while under the dubious protection of Larry the Cable Guy.

Why do we care?

Milicevic is smart, insightful, speaks Serbo-Croatian and showcases her funny side in Witless Protection, where she applied her Bond girl chops (literally) to a punch-filled funeral parlor gag. She can kick our ass anytime.

Playboy: What's the funniest story you have from your modeling days?

Ivana Milicevic: Whenever you're out somewhere with a table full of models, if a camera comes out and the girls aren't ready, they're like, "Oh my God, what? I don't see the camera." And with the snap of a finger everybody puts on a model face. We call it "throwing it" for pictures.

Playboy: Like Zoolander with his look, Blue Steel.

Milicevic: Exactly. I was told another story by another model doing some nudes. The hairdresser came in to "fix her hair" and what really happens is she styles your pubes.

Playboy: Because of your exotic name and looks, have you been typecast as the hot babe?

Milicevic: I do get typecast, but I think everybody gets typecast. I look more like a spy, I suppose, than your girl next door. But I think as I get older and mature as a person and as an actor, I will get more shots because I do have a comedy background and a love for it. People always say they want attractive girls doing comedy, but there doesn't seem to be that much out there where they're not being the straight guy. That's why I got lucky [with Witless].

Playboy: How does Witless Protection showcase a different side of your acting?

Milicevic: I don't get a chance to be funny as much as I want to. For the first half, I'm more of a straight guy for Larry, and in the second half it becomes more of a buddy picture. There's a part where we can't stand each other -- he thinks I'm too hoity-toity, and I think he's just disgusting -- but when we start to soften up toward each other, it becomes kind of sweet and beautiful. That's what I hope people get out of it.

A girl and a guy -- especially a guy that looks like Larry and a girl that looks like me -- don't often get to do a buddy picture.

Playboy: Did you have fun making Casino Royale?

Milicevic: I did and I didn't. It took me six months just to complete that movie, and you can see how much I ended up in it. I'll be honest, it's not like I dreamed about being a Bond girl, but this movie shot in Prague, the Bahamas, London and a little bit in Italy. There was no way I was not going to do it.

Playboy: We always thought Mind of the Married Man was one of the sexiest shows on television. You were the office temptress. Then there also was Tell Me You Love Me's Sonya Walger and Grey's Anatomy's Kate Walsh. Tell us one truth you've learned about the mind of the married man.

Milicevic: I learned that even though we try to impose some sort of political correctness on men, they're still men and are still triggered by man stuff. Mind of the Married Man came around during a time when there was a lot of political correctness on TV. Sometimes men like to look at boobs. Even though I don't always want to hear that you like to look at other girls' boobs, that is you, and there should be a time and place, and a place in television, where it's okay for men to do that.

Playboy: Who do you find yourself dating?

Milicevic: My last boyfriend was a mathematician and a yoga instructor. The boyfriend before that was a promoter, like an impresario. The boyfriend before that was a writer-director. I like them very, very smart, almost nerdy. I'm a little afraid if they're too artistic because I'm scared that they'll be more emotional than me; or more feminine, perhaps. But I need them to be artistic.

Playboy: Your younger brother Tomo plays guitar for 30 Seconds To Mars with Jared Leto, and you're an actress. Who's sexier, a rock star or an actor, and who's better dating material?

Milicevic: Rock stars are pretty sexy when they're up on stage. To have that many people in the palm of your hand and enjoying your job is pretty awesome. But life on the road? All that candy being thrown at you all the time? I'm too possessive for that. At least actors are put in one place for a long time. But even then, I don't know if I want my man to go off and do a movie with Angelina Jolie. I mean, I'm just saying it's hard.

Playboy: What do you think your fans would be surprised to learn about you?

Milicevic: I usually play women who eat other women's husbands for breakfast, and I'm nothing like that.

Photos by Sam Urdank/Lions Gate Entertainment