Amber Heard on The Playboy Club: "Trouble Certainly Finds Her"

Amber Heard said it plainly: "Maureen is a strong individual and I could not value a quality more in a person. Her best quality is her strength and br…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

Amber Heard stars as Maureen, the stunning and innocent new Playboy Bunny who finds herself in trouble her first night on the job, in NBC's provocative drama The Playboy Club , airing Mondays at 10 p.m. Originally from Texas, Heard is making waves with her captivating performances on the big screen. She will next be seen in The Rum Diary , starring opposite Johnny Depp and Aaron Eckhart — an adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson novel releasing October 28. Premier Guide Miami's Daedrian McNaughton spoke with Heard ahead of the premiere.

What attracted you to sign on to The Playboy Club?

Part of why I wanted to do this project was the incredibly textured and rich backdrop — the Club, the visionary, the era it took place in — all of these elements serve as a wonderful backdrop for our show. It's just such a rich stage to tell any story on.

You seem to be having a lot of fun with your character, Maureen, in The Playboy Club?

Well, the good thing about my job is that I get to have fun as both myself and the character I'm playing. And the wonderful thing about Maureen is I relate to her on a lot of different levels — importantly, we share a lot of important qualities. We're both having fun. The show is all about fun, and it is a blast to work on. We've got music, we've got dancing, we've got performances, we've got spotlights and fishnets and lipstick and jazz and martinis — what more could you want? It's a lot of fun.

What do you like the most about your character, Maureen?

The strength of Maureen. Maureen is a strong individual and I could not value a quality more in a person. So I certainly have to say that's her best quality — her strength and bravery. But with that strength comes the alienation that often accompanies strength and bravery. People with those qualities often find themselves alone in one respect or another. And I think that Maureen is slightly alienated because of that. Because of that strength and bravery she winds up in a lot of trouble — perhaps undeserved. But trouble certainly finds her.

What was the challenging part of wearing the Bunny suits?

The Bunny suit requires a whole number of things. It requires a small team to get you in and out of them. It requires a modification of how you do certain things — just simply carrying yourself. You have to relearn how to do certain things, and carrying a tray completely full of drinks is something that can be a challenge. Bunny Dips, Bunny Perch — doing a lot of things is a challenge. But it's no different from when you want to go out with your friends or go to a premiere: as a woman you have to decide at some point what line you'll draw, your comfort level to look a certain way. I think we all do that, probably.

For the dancing scenes, were you professionally trained?

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We did. We have this wonderful, very accomplished choreographer working with us — her name is Fatima Robinson. She is an unbelievable choreographer and she's taught us the specific kind of 1960s-style dancing, which is important because as Bunnies they were in many ways trendsetters. What was new and trendsetting at the time in the '60s is obviously not the same as it is today. So we have very specific dance numbers, elaborate choreographed pieces, and more '60s freestyle dancing. It keeps us busy.

You mentioned earlier that the Bunnies were trendsetters. How important were they to women's liberation at that time?

They were certainly an important part of the era. The early '60s were on the eve of women's lib and on the cusp of the sexual and social revolution that we know in retrospect. The thing I like about the Playboy Club is they hearken back to this time — this elusive, very exclusive lifestyle created almost as a fantasy getaway. It existed in a certain time and a certain place that was perfect for the social changes happening around it. Being that it took place on the cusp of all of these changes — women's lib, the Civil Rights revolution — we have an unbelievable platform on which to tell our story. I think women stepping out and deciding for themselves what they wanted, how they wanted to earn their money — that's an important part of what we know now to be women's lib. Women deciding for themselves how they wanted to conduct their lives and express their sexuality is nothing but those women's choices. And many of them went on to become CEOs and entrepreneurs.

During your research, what did you discover about the Club that you were not aware of before?

When I was doing research on this project I kept being surprised by the things I learned about the Club, the Club ethics, and also the man who started it. I kept finding myself surprised — whether it was about his workplace integration or the integrity with which he solved disputes between the Clubs and dealt with racial discrimination in the early '60s. I continue to be impressed with him as he fought numerous political measures that tried to stop him from printing what he wanted to print and saying what he wanted to say. I was impressed by the articles and the journalists he decided to work with in his early career at the magazine. I was impressed by the integrity of the journalism in the magazine and the fight he often had to protect that. I continue to be impressed by him.

Can you talk a bit about The Rum Diary?

Yes. The Rum Diary takes place in the late '50s, and this is early '60s. In that film I also have dancing and performances, which very much reminds me of this in certain ways. I'm so excited for that movie to come out — it's been a long time coming. I think it's a beautiful movie and I can't wait for everyone to see it.

Did you meet with any of the Bunnies?

We've met and talked to so many ex-Bunnies who talk so fondly about their experiences and are happy to have been a part of this process — happy to be trendsetters, happy to have pushed the envelope and done something that they felt benefited them in the long run and in the short run as well.

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Amber Heard on the playboy club — this is the kind of conversation Premier Guide Miami was built to have. Follow us for more Love Miami.