Cover Story, Paz de le Huerta, “Catch Me If You

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by A
Scene 1
Ever the seductress, Paz
takes refuge in her
boudoir. Outside, on the
streets of Manhattan, a
mysterious stranger awaits.
Shot on the set of Sleep No More,
a theatrical production that
retells the story of Macbeth. Its star,
Nicholas Bruder, also appears on these
pages. The show, staged in Chelsea,
currently runs through November 1.
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During her nightly gig at
a tumble-down cabaret,
Paz is eyed from afar.
Marc Bouwer “Pear” sequin fringe
dress, $4,800, marcbouwer.com;
Jimmy Choo “Lance” sandals, $675,
jimmychoo.com. Previous page:
Edition Georges Chakra sequin
mermaid gown, $6,000, estisonly.com;
Cynthia Rowley velvet booties, $395,
cynthiarowley.com.
A
Actress Paz de la Huerta is leaning forward
in a leather chair, running her impossibly
pointy red fingernails up and down the
cobra tattoo that covers the bottom half of
her right leg.
Her nails, which appear to be more
like feline claws, are the result of a recent
photo shoot for her next movie, the Basic
Instinct–esque Nurse 3-D, out in 2012. In
the film, Paz plays a libidinous nurse who
tends to sick patients by day and seduces
and murders philandering men by night.
The movie’s controversial poster features
a naked Paz, covered in blood, her talons
rivaling Freddie Krueger’s. “I went to a
manicurist and said, ‘Give me nails like
a cat,’ ” she seems to meow. “They were
like, ‘People don’t usually like them that
pointy, but all right.’ ” Now this lioness
could slay a man with one fingernail alone.
In person, Paz, 27, is considerably less
harsh than her image in the poster. Her
strong, lithe body, clad in a light gray
Alexander Wang slip dress and plastic
Melissa sandals, evokes more classy Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy than fiery femme
fatale. Her nose boasts a light dusting of
freckles, and her smile is almost bashful—
especially as she explains why she got such
a massive tattoo on her leg.
“Cobras are magical,” she says, inhaling
deeply as she circles the serpent’s head.
“They can stand up on just energy alone. It
has a little smirk right now. But sometimes
it’s angry. It protects me. This snake has
many personalities.”
The same can be said of Paz, who will
soon be seen as former Ziegfeld Follies
girl Lucy Danziger in the second season of
HBO’s Prohibition-era Boardwalk Empire,
which premieres September 25.
Since the series’ debut in 2010, Paz has
pretty much been an uncaged beast—both
onscreen and off. First there was the pilot
episode of Empire featuring a wild sex
scene between a fully naked Paz and actor
Steve Buscemi. Then a video of her stumbling out of L.A.’s Chateau Marmont following the Golden Globes—complete with
an exposed breast and a ripped dress—
surfaced and went viral. In March, her badgirl image was cemented when she was
slapped with an assault charge, accused of
punching MTV’s The City star Samantha
Swetra at the Standard Hotel. (“I’m a real
actress. She’s a publicity seeker,” Paz said,
STYLIST AT BA REPS, ASSISTED BY EMILY JENKINS. HAIR BY KOZMO FOR PHYTO HAIR CARE AT BRYAN BANTRY AGENCY; GROOMING BY KUMI CRAIG FOR SISLEŸUM FOR MEN; MAKEUP BY JAKE BAILEY AT STARWORKS ARTISTS
Scene 2
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Scene 3
Sensing a male presence,
Paz ducks into a photo
booth to give him the slip.
But the stranger is on to her.
On Paz: Paul Smith silk shirt, price available
upon request, Paul Smith, 142 Greene St.
Marlies Dekkers “Purple Beetle” bra, $179,
marliesdekkers.com. AllSaints “Orna” skirt,
$295, us.allsaints.com. Louis Vuitton belt, price
available upon request, louisvuitton.com.
Stuart Weitzman “Naughty” heels, $298, 625
Madison Ave. On Nicholas: John Varvatos
“Notch Lapel” wool suit, $1,795, and silk tie,
$125, johnvarvatos.com. Tommy Hilfiger wool
vest, $90, and cotton shirt, $65, Macy’s,
800-289-6229. Stetson “Temple” hat, $150,
Bencraft Hats, 888-236-2723. Ermenegildo
Zegna dress shoes, $600, zegna.com.
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Scene 4
Finally
apprehended, a
flirtatious Paz
urges The
Sleuth to go
easy on her.
Christian Cota “Tulip”
wrap dress, $1,400,
Bloomingdale’s, 1000
Third Ave. Marlies
Dekkers stockings,
marliesdekkers.com.
Michael Kors Collection
“Mirror” heels, $995,
790 Madison Ave.
according to police documents.) And yet
Paz can’t resist being the center of attention herself—no matter what it costs her:
Upon arriving at Manhattan Criminal
Court in July, where she pleaded guilty to
harassment and was sentenced to a day of
community service and 10 weeks of alcohol
counseling, she paused in front of a group
of bystanders to hike up her short dress
and slather her luxurious legs with lotion.
But these days, Paz is in full-on imageresuscitation mode, relying on a formidable new publicist to make sure she
doesn’t go rogue. She seems thankful to
have a supportive team guiding her into
this next phase of her career. Perhaps she’s
tuned in to the golden rule of Hollywood,
the one that train wreck Lindsay Lohan
has eschewed but that reformed wild child
Angelina Jolie has adopted so well: To be
taken seriously in the industry, put the focus on your work rather than your antics.
If only she could be celebrated for both,
since every bit of her—from the real-life
“oops” moments to the shocking onscreen characters she portrays—is highly
entertaining.
“If you’re the least bit eccentric,” she
says, “people think God knows what.
When your life is in the public, put out on
display…We’re all human. We make mistakes. I’ve learned from every experience.”
Regarding the Standard Hotel incident,
she chooses her words carefully. “Well,
I’m not allowed to talk about it. But I will
say that I’ve talked to some celebrities
about their first year in the public eye. And
I understand why celebrities have security
guards when they go to public places, because people will pick fights with you to
get their name in the paper. I’ve learned
to stay away from publicity addicts, people
who want to be famous for no reason.” She
lets out a breath, as if she’s glad she’s gotten that bit over with. But then, because
she’s Paz and she probably can’t ever truly
be tamed, she keeps talking, her emotions
still raw.
“I’ve learned to stay far, far away. I
wouldn’t say I’m a hostile person. But I’ve
also learned…Well, I can’t talk about it.
When I can talk about it, I will talk about
it…but I did not initiate that [fight].” She
stops herself. “I can’t talk about it. OK.”
And then she starts again: “I mean, I don’t
know any young person in their twenties
who hasn’t gotten drunk before. I mean,
give me a f--king break. But I just…I’m not
an alcoholic. I’m actually quite a nerd. I go
to bed at, like, 9 o’clock. I grew up in New
York. I got the partying out of my system
quite young. What turns me on is making
my films, working with great directors.”
While Paz does not make for a believable nerd and the “I never drink. I’m in
bed by 9 p.m.” comment has got to be
a rehearsed sound bite provided by her
watchful handlers, she’s definitely an
enigma. Stretching her toned arms up over
her head, she once again mimics a cunning
cat, which she eagerly channeled during
her Page Six Magazine photo shoot on the
seductive set of off-Broadway sensation
Sleep No More. (“Shoot me like a cat,” she
purred to the photographer, directing his
lens toward her squinted, almond-shaped
eyes.) Today she offers up other ways to
describe herself: “I would say I’m very
compassionate. A survivor. I’ve been
through a lot. I’m very vulnerable, strong
and creative. I’m an extremist. I’ve probably lived many lives.” (Nine, perhaps?)
A few more facts about Paz: She doesn’t
own a computer or a television. She speaks
Spanish and French. She hopes to work
with Quentin Tarantino. She loves music
and has an iPod (which she endearingly
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Scene 5
Not one to be caged,
the vixen breaks free
and exits stage left.
Elie Tahari “Edita” silk blouse, $328,
“Marie” skirt, runway exclusive,
and “Mika” necklace, $348,
elietahari.com. Brian Atwood “Lee”
shoes, $1,285, Neiman Marcus,
neimanmarcus.com.
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calls an “ee-Pod”) filled with flamenco
music. She rides the subway so she can
study people. The best bit of professional
advice she ever got was from her onetime
paramour Jack Nicholson, who told her,
“The present is the only thing that is real.”
Born in New York City in 1984, María
de la Paz Elizabeth Sofía Adriana de la
Huerta has been eccentric since day one.
Her mother, Judith Bruce, is a healthcare advocate for women in developing
countries. Her father, Iñigo, is a rancher
and a Spanish duke. Paz and her older
sister grew up in Soho and went to Grace
Church School in Manhattan and then to
Saint Ann’s in Brooklyn. It was at Grace
Church that she was first asked to model,
by none other than fashion scion Katie
Ford. “I was 10,” she says. “A nymphette.”
After small roles in 1998’s The Object of
My Affection and 1999’s The Cider House
Rules, Paz spent the next several years
making indie films—The Tripper, Choke
and Enter the Void—gaining credibility as
an actress as ballsy as she was beautiful.
“Paz is one of the most courageous
actresses I have ever worked with,” says
Terence Winter, creator and executive
producer of Boardwalk Empire. “She is
willing to dig deep into her emotions and
share them onscreen. Anyone who thinks
that’s easy doesn’t know what acting is.
In addition to being worldly beyond her
years, Paz truly looks like she stepped out
of another era. She is as unpredictable in
life as she is in her choices as an actress.”
Raised “very” Catholic, where the difference between black and white and good
and evil were preached incessantly, Paz
has opted to go the other way in her work
and personal life: She keeps most things—
including her love life—gray. In the past,
she’s been romantically linked to Scott
Weiland and Orlando Bloom.
Asked if there’s a current beau, she
scrunches her face and bites her bottom lip, as if she wants to dish but just
shouldn’t. But after photos surfaced of
her smooching punk-rock skateboarder
Steve Olson in the West Village in July,
her rep confirmed that the two are, in
fact, an item.
Meanwhile, the girl who wore only silk
underwear as a kid (true story!) admits
that she still appreciates nice lingerie.
She name checks Versace as a favorite
designer “because Donatella really knows
how to make a woman look sexy.” As for
her frequent nudity onscreen, she sits up
stoically and says, “I don’t do sex scenes.
Interpret that however you want to interpret it.” (Our guess: She’d rather call them
love scenes.)
Beaming for the first time since she sat
OLSON AND PAZ: WYLDE/SPLASH NEWS; PAZ: ABBOT GENSER/HBO
Paz, who claims to be from
“another time” like her 1920s
character Lucy Danziger on
Boardwalk Empire (above), is
now dating pro skateboarder
Steve Olson (left).
The two canoodled on the
streets of the
West Village
in July. Inset:
Paz’s prized
cobra tattoo.
down, she says she’d like to have a big family one day. “I definitely want a daughter,”
she says, nodding her head. “I would be
the most protective [mother], but in a
good way.”
When she describes what will happen
to her Boardwalk Empire character this
season, it’s hard not to wonder if she’s
also describing herself: “A much more
vulnerable side of Lucy is shown—a side
that people haven’t seen,” she says. “In
season 1, she was in love with Nucky, yet
intimidated by all the grandeur. She’s attracted to money and things like that. But
maybe she didn’t know that he would’ve
loved her for who she was and not just her
sexuality. So in season 2 the viewer will
see more of the real her.”
Paz is currently finishing a trilogy of
short films and an as-yet-untitled feature,
which she directs and stars in: “I wanted
to make a statement about Americans
being so obsessed with celebrity culture.
Celebrity used to be about celebrating
someone. In order to be an actress, you
make yourself vulnerable. You put yourself out there for the world to judge you,
and then people pick you apart. But they
should really focus on themselves.”
Big talk, sure. But Paz has been walking
the walk, thanks in part to her devotion
to Kundalini yoga, which she practices
often at Golden Bridge studio in Soho.
According to yogic philosophy, kundalini
is considered untapped energy located at
the base of the spine and is symbolized by
a coiled serpent.
“The cobra represents the kundalini
energy,” she says dreamily, a pointy red
talon tracing her tattoo once again. “This
was my call to a better life—to opening my
heart, healing and being a better person.”
She stands up, ready to face the
paparazzi outside who have followed
her here, her cobra tattoo poised to
protect her. “Yesterday I was walking
and 10 paparazzi popped out,” she says.
“A skateboarder rode right into them
and they all fell down like dominos. It
was kind of amazing. I asked them if they
were all right.”
But because she’s Paz, a beautiful,
walking contradiction, she then told the
photographers: “Take nice pictures of me,
and don’t say any mean things because I’m
a nice girl.”
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