Big Spoon EXCLUSIVE: Belinda Gavin talks ‘American Gladiators,’ adult films and life
Belinda Gavin certainly garnered some attention when she competed on the January 14 episode of “American Gladiators.” But even with this recent appearance, little was known about the saucy Aussie. I gave Belinda a call last week and talked about, well, everything: Growing up in Australia, her no-fear approach to getting naked on film, her love life and, of course, her experience on “American Gladiators.”
Curious to see what she had to say? Here’s a one-minute clip of the interview. (Bear with the iffy audio. Big Spoon technology isn’t what it should be).
Click on the link below to read a full transcript of the interview. And Belinda has promised to respond to any of your questions, so don’t be shy! If you have something to say to Belinda, feel free to leave a comment!
Big Spoon: I read you’re originally from Australia…
Belinda Gavin: Yeah, I was born in Sydney and I was raised on the Gulf Coast. I didn’t actually live on ranches, but I grew up riding equestrian. And the people I rode with probably wouldn’t want to be called “ranchers,” but that’s just how it translates in American. So yeah, I’ve been riding horses since I was five.
Spoon: And when did you end up coming to the states?
Belinda: I came to Los Angeles in ‘92 to study acting with Lee Strasberg. I attended Lee Strasberg for about six months full-time and then another year and a half doing some of their programs. Once I was done studying, I realized I didn’t want to go back to Australia. And I actually didn’t have a visa for a while, but I was bartending and doing little movies on the side. I was definitely enjoying the nightlife of Los Angeles.
Spoon: Did you originally plan on making adult films or did that just sort of come along?
Belinda: I’m from Australia, so when I was in a movie that required me to be naked, I was like ‘whatever, I don’t care.’ It’s all fake and there’s no penetration. It’s all acting! So for me it was f*cking great. I was like ‘I get to be the lead in a movie and all I have to do is take my clothes off for one or two scenes? Fine! Where do I sign up?’ I was living the dream.
Spoon: One of your finest works has go to be “Bikini Roundup.” One of my roommates taped it last semester and it sort of became a tradition to watch it, like, daily.
Belinda: Oh my God, that’s hilarious! That actually got started when we were shooting “Bikini Airways,” which I did with my best friend Amy. When we were shooting it, I said to [writer/director] Fred Olen Ray ‘Dude, you should do a bikini western!’ and about a year later he called me up. I was kind of particular with the movies that I did — I wasn’t, you know, shooting a new erotica every week or something — but he called me up and he said ‘Hey I wrote that bikini western. Do you want to be in it?’ And I was like ‘Hell yeah!’ And my friends’ horses are actually the ones we used in the movie. And my rodeo horses.
I love Fred Olen Ray. I had no idea what he was going to do with the movie, and he ended up selling it to HBO. I was excited cause, you know, we shot it in four days — it was very off the cuff. It was super low-budget, and we were having a bunch of fun. But then it sort of blew up into this crazy phenomenon.
Spoon: Are you planning on doing more movies like this in the future?
Belinda: I actually just shot a movie before I did “Gladiators” called “Stalkers.” I had just come back from Australia and it was kind of handed to me. And it was weird because I had the co-star role, and then the day we were supposed to start shooting something happened to the lead actress, Kaylani Lei. She was in a car accident, so I had to do the lead. It’s my dream and my passion to act. To be able to go on a set and have to suddenly change roles like that and be able to pull it off is great work for me.
Spoon: It seems like everything you do is well-received.
Belinda: Well, it’s well-received by the people who like it. And of course there are always going to be haters out there. Being called a “porn star” is kind of like ‘Whoa, how do I handle this?’ But the people who are judgmental really don’t know what they’re talking about. Even a friend of mine is like, ‘Dude, I know one of your movies is for real. He’s really putting it in.’ And I’m like ‘It’s not! It’s absolutely fake!’ … I’ve always liked the people I’ve worked with, but I’ve never been like ‘Ooh, this guy’s beautiful! I’m really into him!’ — except for Nick Manning. We worked together once, and he’s a total goofball.
Spoon: What made you want to audition for “American Gladiators?”
Belinda: A lot was going on at the time: I had just gotten back in town from Australia and I was going through a pretty devastating divorce and I had just gotten my green card. My best friend was like “You should audition for ‘Gladiators!’” And I did. I wanted to be Gladiator! But when I saw the Gladiators, I was like “f*ck.” … They kept telling me I was too small and then I realized why. It’s brutal work, what they have to do for the whole season. I’m an actress and I’m glad I didn’t become a Gladiator ’cause I would have got beat up.
Spoon: Did you do any special work out to get ready for the show?
Belinda: I did. I really wanted it and I worked my ass off for it. Looking back — obviously I didn’t win — but I had a really great shot at winning and I was a very strong competitor. I did a lot of positive affirmation and positive thinking. I tried not to get too disappointed. I mean I never ever thought I’d be on primetime NBC with a PG rating! [Laughs].
Spoon: What was the audition process like?
Belinda: We had to go through a whole bunch of boot camps, and they kept whittling down the number of people. They’d get rid of people, then bring people back. It was intense.
Spoon: Was it just as intense in-person as it looks on TV?
Belinda: It was pretty intense for us, the competitors, because we hadn’t tried any of these things half the time. We hadn’t tried anything really. We were the guinea pigs. … It was brutal. Those Gladiators weren’t kidding around. You saw there were broken bones and stuff. … It was for real. They had to tell the Gladiators to chill out a little bit.
Spoon: What was it like to meet Hulk Hogan?
Belinda: Hulk’s great! Him and Leila Ali are both great. I have the same agent as Hulk, so I was probably closer to him than anyone else. But he was going through a really rough time, and he was still working as hard if not harder than everybody else. And Leila is just beautiful — and really funny! We had to try to keep it light all the time — I mean we were up there competing for our lives basically, and then they’d say “Cut! Let’s do it again.”
Spoon: Who was the most intimidating Gladiator?
Belinda: I’d say Crush. I think she’s definitely the performer of the bunch. She’s not intimidating to talk to, but she definitely has the experience to fight.
Spoon: What were the Gladiators like off the set?
Belinda: They really are normal people and they’re pretty down-to-earth. But physically, you know, they’re just so much bigger than most people. I’m a personal trainer so I’m used to being around people with big bodies, but even still … Like Titan is basically a big Ken doll. And as beautiful as that is, it’s also kind of weird. We were Davids and they’re Goliaths, and that’s why they were chosen.
Spoon: Will you be auditioning for season two?
Belinda: I won’t be, no. But what I’d really like to do is get a chance to show all the backstage stuff they didn’t show on TV. So I’m going to talk to the people when I go to the wrap party in a couple of weeks about maybe doing that. … Like a special that they can put on their Web site or whatever.
Spoon: What do you like to do for fun?
Belinda: Hiking, surfing, bull riding, wakeboarding, snowboarding. … I’m going to Vegas this weekend. I have an Australian boy coming up here and he’s never been, so we’re going there. And probably Mexico in the next couple of weeks. I love traveling and seeing new places.
I’m actually working on a show with a friend of mine [Molly Green] called “Naked Planet.” Hopefully that’ll take us all over the world, discovering parts that people perhaps didn’t know about. And, hey, sometimes we’ll be naked [Laughs]. I want to explore the Earth in a positive way, maybe look at some of the damage we’ve been doing. We can find ways to heal the Earth so we can stay here a little bit longer.
Spoon: So are you big on environmentalism?
Belinda: I really wish I was a better environmentalist. I want to be able to show people what happening. We’re starting to see the signs of what we’re doing, and it’s too late. If we go out there and get a little more evidence, maybe people will start to understand that we’re destroying the planet.
Spoon: Have you started dating since the divorce, or are you holding off?
Belinda: Uh… hell yeah! Actually, there’s that guy coming up from Australia to see me. So yeah, I’ve moved on. … He’s a friend with a looooooot of benefits [Laughs].
Spoon: Do you ever want to have children?
Belinda: Absolutely! I was ready to have children when I got married. You know, the answer wasn’t always “absolutely.” I think it needs to happen soon or it might not happen. I’m still trying to work on being good with relationships. I tried it, and it just didn’t work. I realize I’m not good at everything, so I’m just trying to learn and take the next step and not be negative. I gotta get back on that horse again!
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Haha!!! I thought that was her on Gladiators!
They should do a reunion show .Are they?
omg my boyfriend loves Bikini Airways. He even got me to watch once - hope more are coming!
Andy Swift, you are my hero for getting this interview. And Belinda seems pretty cool.
She talks about redoing scenes - was that just the interview parts or did they redo the competitive events?
i love how you remixed the interview into a cool dance song
She was in “Bikini Roundup”???
Yeah! She was the main character — Calamity Kate!
She had our favorite lines:
“Ladies! Ladies! LADIES!” and “Thanks for the hot, steamy sex … it was to die for!”
Thank you SO MUCH for getting this interview. I loved every word. Belinda is a star!