You probably recognize Vanessa Branch from those Orbit gum commercials. Your girlfriend may recognize her from her stint as an angel on the soap Port Charles. It was Branch’s bit part in Pirates of the Caribbean, however, that’s got the blonde bombshell ready to take over the big screen. Recently Branch sat down with us at Soak to discuss what it’s like working with Johnny Depp, where she likes to dance in her underwear, and her strange obsession with pork products.
SOAK: You’ve been filming both Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. How does one handle filming two sequels at once?
Vanessa Branch: I’m done filming now, my parts are finished, so this July, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 comes out and the summer after that, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 comes out. Working with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, you certainly can’t complain.
SOAK: How do they make your character, Giselle, bigger?
Vanessa: Giselle has a partner, Scarlett, we became best friends while shooting this, and we became the slapper girls. They showed that clip at the Oscars so they brought us back. Now we’re both going after Johnny Depp.
SOAK: So you’re a slapper in the film. Slapped anyone in real life?
Vanessa: I wish I had, it would be a great story.
SOAK: Tell me a little bit about your character, Giselle.
Vanessa: Giselle is a lady of the night, shall we say, but even though she’s a lady of the night, she has some feelings for Johnny Depp’s character. She’s kinda rough and tumble, a little worse for the wear, been around the block a few times.
SOAK: Is there any part of Giselle’s personality would you like to take on in your own life?
Vanessa: Hanging out with Johnny Depp.
SOAK: OK, you’ve mentioned his name four times in five minutes, so I’m guessing you might want to talk about Johnny Depp. What’s it like working with such a dynamic individual?
Vanessa: Fantastic, Honestly, I’ve worked with quite a few big name guy actors, and he’s by far the nicest, most lovely man. He’s really just a genuinely lovely human being; he’s bright, talented, gorgeous. He’s a family guy.
SOAK: Depp’s always ranked fairly high on those sexiest men alive lists. Now that you’ve been around him for a while, how high would you rank him, and is he your type?
Vanessa: He’s definitely my type and he’d be right at the top of the list. My sister had a crush on him while growing up and I’ve always thought he was a good actor, but when we worked together for the first time...when you’re a woman, the first time you meet him, you just stand there with your mouth open and drool. I think it’s that really amazing combination of brilliance and confidence and kindness.
SOAK: Brilliance, confidence and kindness, what else do you look for in a man?
Vanessa: I’m really drawn to extreme intelligence, even guys who seem to be somewhat nerdy. And goofiness, I love people who are fun and can make fun of themselves.
SOAK: Are you single?
Vanessa: Actually I am not single, I’m with a lovely guy right now. It hasn’t been all that long, nine months. You know what’s hard to find out here, you can find brilliance and plenty of confidence, but kindness, honesty and loyalty, that’s really hard. People think that because they’re suddenly actors, they can let all that go out the window, and I think that’s why when a lot of people get success, they give up those values. People who will give up everything for success forget that.
SOAK: Where do you get hit on most often?
Vanessa: I’ve got to be honest, guys don’t approach me much. I’ve been single most of my life and guys end up talking to me, but they don’t hit on me. When it’s just me being out with friends at a club or the supermarket, guys don’t hit on me much. Maybe because it’s my socks don’t match? Actually that’s the only time guys approach me.
SOAK: Socks not matching is a sure conversation starter. Being originally from London and now living in LA, do you see any big differences in terms of dating and relationships between the two cities?
Vanessa: I haven’t lived really as a full on grown up in Europe. We moved around a whole lot growing up. In general the difference between European and American men, I do notice a difference in the way they look at you. I think women are looked at as works of art (by European men) rather than a piece of meat in some respect. There’s jerks every-where and there are nice guys everywhere, but I, in general, feel an appreciation from European guys a little more.
SOAK: Back on the subject of work, to go with the Pirates films, you’ve also got another movie coming out soon, ‘Asylum.’ Tell me about your role in that.
Vanessa: I play a psychiatrist and I work in an insane asylum. It’s a story about vampires. We’re all attacked by vampires and we have to go about killing them.
SOAK: I’m a sucker for a good vampire flick.
Vanessa: I would love to play a vampire, that would be awesome!
SOAK: You’ve been on a TV soap opera, you’ve been on the big screen, but right now a lot of people probably recognize you most from the Orbit gum commercials. When you decided to do the ads, did you think you’d become the face of a product the way you have?
Vanessa: I had no idea when it first started. When it first started, there were initially three commercials. They were so fun and so creative to work on. I had no idea they would be as popular as they’ve been. I love it, it’s such a fun character to play.
SOAK: Was it irony, or completely intentional, that after you gained fame for those commercials, you guested on Entourage as an interpreter for a man trying to get Vince to do an ad?
Vanessa: It was total coincidence. They were actually looking to hire a Chinese man for that part. I speak Chinese and we called a bunch of times to get me in. They finally said a blonde speaking Chinese would be pretty cool.
SOAK: What would you say your strangest quirk is?
Vanessa: I have about ten million. My favorite food group is pork and I eat bacon twice a day and I love pork rinds. I can’t have a cat or a dog, so I have two pet guinea pigs, Max and Sam, both are girls with boys names. I still sleep with my blanket, Bucky.
SOAK: Lucky blanket. Anything else people should know about you that you wouldn’t mind revealing?
Vanessa: I want them to know that I’m a good person, I have my priorities straight and I’m as goofy as they come. I do lots of dancing in around in my bedroom in my underwear. I think in general, I’m never afraid to make a fool of myself. I have this dance and a voice, the bunny wabbit, all my friends call me ‘wabbit.’ It’s just kind of a general enjoying of life, getting the most out of it you can.
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