RACHAEL HUNTLEY'S JOURNAL: JUNE 8, 2005 by Rachael Huntley • e-mail Rachael Up-and-coming actress Rachael Huntley kept a diary of her week prior to the opening of her first feature, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, for Stumped. Huntley takes you into her life as an actress, complete with the inside scoop on her publicity appearances, Mr. and Mrs. Smith premiere stories, her conversations with Billy Bob Thornton, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Dennis Hopper, her morning radio interviews, her free trip to Las Vegas and the rude journalists that she encountered. Huntley's journal is a unique new perspective on Hollywood: hers.
WEDNESDAY - Today started off with me wishing I had been better at sticking to my workout routine and eating plan. I know I have a healthy body and that I don’t need to lose any weight and all that stuff, but today’s activity would make anybody wish they had taken a little better care of themselves: I have a photo shoot scheduled. Because I have no idea how long the shoot will take, it’s pretty much the only big thing I’ve scheduled for today. It’s not for anything in particular; my publicist set it up so that we have photos other than my headshot to offer magazines and newspapers. I hate, abhor, and detest photo shoots. I feel silly posing in front of a camera and I usually look funny in the finished product. Trust me when I say that for every "good" picture of me, there are 40 that even a mother couldn’t like. Thank God for digital pictures, so at least I don’t have to be wasting rolls of film.
The shoot is scheduled to be done at my house…this way I’ll have all my clothes available for the photographer to choose from and I’ll supposedly feel more comfortable. Wrong!! Now I have to worry about how clean my house is and put my closet into some semblance of order. I’m just finishing wiping down the kitchen counters when my phone rings. It’s the hair/makeup artist, Stephen, telling me he’s going to be a bit late because he broke a tooth on some Skittles this morning and had to make a quick trip to his dentist. I tell him that we should we reschedule so he can heal, but he assures me that the numbing medicine is working just fine and that he’s good to go.
In the meantime, the photographer, Ellen, arrives and we start going through clothes and getting to know each other. She casts a dubious glance at my jeans and politely asks if I intend to wear those for the shoot. I quickly assure her that they are my "comfy jeans" and that I wasn’t planning on wearing them…she seems relieved. We quickly pick out some workout wear, a few casual outfits, and a few dressy items. Stephen arrives and starts in on my hair and makeup. He’s wonderful and flamboyant and tells fascinating stories about all the famous people he’s worked on (Tyra Banks, Ashton Kutcher, the cast of "The O.C.")…none of which I can repeat, of course.
I’m finally ready for my first series of shots. I’m in fitness wear and Ellen is going to photograph me doing yoga and other activities. These are for any fitness magazine interviews that I may do. I feel a little odd sitting in the lotus position in my front yard…and even odder when my next-door neighbor comes out to see what’s going on. Ellen moves quickly and it’s soon time to head back inside to Stephen to get ready for the next series of shots.
And so the day goes…Stephen gradually making my hair and makeup more dramatic, and Ellen gradually making my shots more dramatic. It’s like shampooing: lather, rinse, repeat; makeup, hair, clothes, shoot, repeat. Basically I made a gradual transformation from the girl-next-door doing yoga with hardly any makeup, to being wrapped in nothing but a blanket with smoky eyes and carefully tousled "bed-head". Weird. I have to say that Ellen does make me feel more comfortable than just about any photographer I’ve worked with. She’s very easygoing and in retrospect I realize she asked me a lot of questions about topics she knew would relax me (about my dog and my husband, for example). She’s assures me that I’m a natural and that we’re getting tons of great shots. When I later see the proofs, I know she was definitely exaggerating about my abilities, but we were able to get a few good photos. I’m glad when the day is over because it took about 7 hours. I hope I get better at this!
