The well-lit cigarette flicks up into the air from between the drinks on the bar counter in a perfect little arc. It appears to have a mind of its own, not to mention a predetermined flight plan. I catch the glowing streak sort of out of the corner of my eye, as I'm busy alternating my attempts to both professionaly maintain non-learing eye contact with my interview subject and disinterestedly stare away from her into some vague anti-flesh space near the ceiling. The cigarette is gone in a virtual orange flash. The ravishing Kari Wuhrer shrieks and leaps up from the barstool. "Oh my God !!" she screams, grappling with the very low slung neck of her tight red dress, streching it amply out away from her chest. "My cigarette!" With the precision accuracy of some sort of ballistic missile, the sly Camel had made his move right down the generous escape hatch between Kari's breasts. She desperately attempts to fish it out. Uh you need any help? I valiantly offer; shifting around uncomfortably on my seat and leering down into the crisis area as doctor-like as possible. I imagine the smirk on that disgusting cartoon Camel guy's face as the actress manages to remove the cigarette from its snuggling place before it causes any serious damage. She breathes a sigh of refief and starts to giggle. It's time for another drink. Such an accident would be rather unpleasant for just about any of us, but for someone who considers her body to be their greatest asset in life, the burning of the boobs would be downright disastrous. And yes, Kari Wuhrer will casually inform you in conversation that she thinks her body is her greatest asset. If you'll take a moment or two to view the images on these pages, you'll probably tend to agree that she's got an ace or two up her sleeve in that department. (If indeed she had any sleeves.) But there has to be something more to Kari than the bod she's always begged to bear. "I've just always had this thing ever since I was a little girl where I didn't want to wear clothes" she confesses; when questioned about her penchant for shedding her duds in photos and films. "My mom would have to chase after me down the street when I was six years old...like...Hey! Put this shirt on! I'd be like...No! Scotty doesn't have his shirt on." And what might be the psychological motivation behind this? "It's rather a freeing experience for me or it's some kind of insecurity thing where I really love my body and I do honestly think it's my biggest asset. Maybe a little of both. Sometimes I don't know. Sometimes I think just because it's there...maybe I should use it. I don't know." Having spent a couple of quality hours lounging around and intimately conversing with the vivacious Kari in this West Hollywood bar, I feel like I can honestly ask this next question with a straight face and without sounding like an idiot. "So what about your personality, Kari? Seems to me like that's as much of an asset as your body. "That's great" she says with a big killer smile. "You see it one way and I see it the other way and that's great." Not that I think your body is...uh..bad or anything I stammer. "But personality is just so different. When you're acting in a character...you know..I feel like I'm less than what I am normally in real life. I have to learn how to balance my personality into my readings and learn how to show my personality through my characters. When you're VJing on MTV or whatever, you can be a personality and that's cool. It's easy. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Okay I'm just checking to see if you're still paying attention to the text. Having just reviewed the photos that will accompany this article, I feel as if I'm wasting my time writing all this. Anyways.... Kari first bore her smile to the nation in the late 80's through her stint as the resident cute chick on MTV's Remote Control game show. The native of Brookfield Connecticut had previously moved to New York at age 13, quickly immersing herself in the world of modeling and commercials. The MTV gig led to a role in Ford Fairlane with Andrew Dice Clay; as well as a lead in the classic Beastmaster 2. Having tasted reasonable success, Kari soon wound up moving to Los Angeles in an attempt to pursue a career not as an actress but as a singer. "I first moved out here because I had a deal with Def American" she explains. "Rick Rubin was such a dominating force in my life. I sought him out. He was my idol. I did Ford Fairlane so I could meet him because I knew that Dice was on his label. I went to work every day with my demo tape which was like ...."   She makes a high pitched screaming noise. She laughs. I was like Pat Benatar crossed with Axl Rose. I looked like such an out of place Jersey girl. I was so into that 80's heavy metal thing. It was so embarrassing. I was like the Sunset Strip whore. But so was Rick Rubin. He listened to my tape and was like...the music sucks but you were really hot on Remote Control...so sign here. I was like...All right!" The rest of Kari's experience with the legendary producer wasn't quite so simplistic. "He started giving me these drum samples and wanted me to write lyrics and melodies to them. But I was all into the more rock and roll thing. I couldn't do it and I eventually left. He was really mad at me for that. We had a really odd relationship. I was in awe of him. I was afraid to write for him because I was afraid of him judging me. I was so insecure. I probably could have fallen in love with him or something. And I didn't want to have anything to do with that. I don't really see him anymore. He's so great though." Kari still writes songs; even though her acting has taken the front seat (or in the case of her 90210 guest appearance) the back seat in her life once again. The stuff that I write is sort of like... I listen to a lot of girls like Mazzy Star and the Sundays and Lush. And all my life I've been so into Cat Stevens. I've been working with this guy Pete Wood; the guitar player for Dramarama." Do you work with your boyfriend at all (I ask)? He is a musican right. (Note: That's right Mr. Drooler Guy. Boyfriend! By the time you read this Kari will probably be married. Sorry man I feel your pain.) "We don't work well together at all. We fight when we work. He's heavy into the alternative thing and I'm into the more folksy thing. I play guitar and I play the flute and I use bongos and a shaker and a tambourine all reverbed out. It's cool. You play don't you? You have to come over and fool around with my equipment." I suddenly feel like I'm on Beavis and Butthead (heh, heh She said you could...uh...come over and fool with her equipment. Heh..heh..heh...) "I've been doing so many movies and stuff that I can't really dedicate myself the way I should to music. I have too much respect for music. I've always said that I'm doing movies just for the money but I'm really getting good at expressing myself. Over the past year, Kari has dedicated herself to a number of major films and television projects. Her key coup being a starring role opposite Jack Nicholson in Sean Penn's upcoming The Crossing Guard. Her tale of how she met Nicholson is a good example of the way her personality operates. "Sean called me up at midnight and was like... I'm at the Monkey Bar with Jack. Come down. I'm in bed with my guy who was like arrr...you're going to see Jack Nicholson and Sean Penn? I'm like....yeah will you drive me? But you can 't come in. I go there and I'm between Sean and Jack and I'm wearing this little beret. I just got out of bed. I order a cup of coffee and they're all drinking whiskey. I felt like an idiot and I have on these high heels. You know I'm trying to be all sexy and demure. I didn't know what to do so I started flipping out." "I suddenly leaned over and just bit Jack on the nipple. He looked at me and was like...you bit me on the nipple. Then he started telling me this story about how his daughter called him up wanting money for her sick dog and he didn''t want to pay her the money. He asked me what I thought and I said I think you're a cheap bastard. Give her the money! He sort of just looked at me. I thought for a second I blew it. Then he lifted up his whiskey and smiled and was sort of like...yeah you're my frined. I was like. All right! Before she knew it, she was showing Jack her asset. "I played a stripper in the movie. My first day on the set I was naked with Jack Nicholson. Fully nude in this room. Anybody in the world would be freaked out..but I was like...yeah I belong here. It was so surreal. Nicholson was really nurturing and sexy and insane. He's so great. He's so fearless and such a risk taker. I was like...here I am. I'm in your hands. Do what you want with me." With The Crossing Guard under her belt, a role in the recent HBO film Sensation ("It's very erotic and I'm naked") plus several other movies projects in the can, it seems that Kari might be well on the way to overcoming the insecurites she professes to hide with her flesh. "My fantasy is to allow people in the world to see me as I truly believe I see myself. I wanna create a character that's really memorable like when Julia Roberts did with Pretty Women. I haven't hit it yet. I haven't gotten to the essence of me. I have to be able to give up those insecurites I have and not look at myself as I'm doing it. Kari suddenly catches my eye. "You're so handsome. Do people tell you that all the time?" Um.. "You're so cute. You have the most beautiful mouth and eyes. You're very interesting. Do you have a lover." Well uh... "Or several?" The tape recorder cuts off abruptly here, as I proceed to tell Kari my entire life story, I'll bet ole Jack opened up to her like this too. Kari has an ultra alluring way of drawing things out of you. I couldn't shut up. But my story is for another time. Perhaps for next month, when I myself hope to shed my inhibitions and appear nude within these pages. But until then, happy gawking. Back To Articles & Interviews Index