Toronto-native Malin Akerman has really come into her own in Hollywood in recent years.

The young actress starred alongside Ben Stiller in The Heartbreak Kid, played a flawed superhero in Watchmen, and most recently shared the screen with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau in Couples Retreat (arriving on DVD Friday). For Akerman, the experience has been well beyond anything she ever expected.

“It’s been a pretty strange experience,” Akerman told Metro. “I’ve worked with phenomenal comedians who I’ve idolized for my entire life. To all of a sudden see my face on the same poster as Vince Vaughn was pretty surreal.”

Couples Retreat offered Akerman a rare opportunity to be involved with a movie throughout the creative process. With Vaughn and Favreau also working as screenwriters, the entire cast was encouraged to expand their roles.

“It was nice because they were in the middle of cleaning up the script and rewriting certain things when I came on board,” revealed Akerman. “So before we even started shooting, Vince and I had a good five hours when we went through all the scenes and improvised. Sometimes when you’re working with people who have written the material they can be really keen on their words, but this was a huge collaborative effort.”

Though known primarily as a comic actress, Akerman now wants to expand her career with dramatic roles.

“Often when you’re cast in a certain genre people only see you in that light, which in my case is comedy,” said Akerman.

“So, I’ve tried to veer away from that recently. This year I worked on three different independent films that are not comedies, just to show what I can do in the hopes of opening up other doors.”

In the coming months, audiences will be treated to a more serious side of the actress in the ensemble dramas HappyThankYouMorePlease and The Romantics (both of which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival) as well as the Canadian-funded apartheid feature The Bang Bang Club.

Through these projects, Akerman found that she thrived in the fast paced world of independent filmmaking.

“I loved it. The turn around is faster and you become very close to everyone you work with.

“There’s a nice feeling on the set that you’re all in it for the right reasons and really want to be there,” says the actress.

However, Akerman admits that she has no desire to ditch Hollywood entirely any time soon.

At the moment, she’s happy to try it all.

From Metro News

I have added two new photo sessions from the Sundance Film Festival of Malin and also added 37 HQ photos from the last two events that Malin attended. I will be updating the gallery again soon with more event photos – so stayed tuned for that!

Collider has posted 3 movie clips from “happythankyoumoreplease”, which you can watch below!

As if actors didn’t have enough to worry about — hitting their marks, appearing intimate with a co-star in front of a crew, getting older, dredging up memories of a dead pet to get themselves to cry — now they face the prospect of being replaced by computer programs.

That’s the talk when actors see the stratospheric box-office numbers for James Cameron’s “Avatar,” in which flesh-and-blood actors performed in motion-capture suits to add authentic movements to their computer-generated characters. (There’s even a long-shot campaign to get a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Zoe Saldana, who played Neytiri, one of the tall blue Na’vi.)

But in the offbeat and unique films of the independent world, like those playing at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, actors have found a safe haven. They tear into meaty roles, showing facets of their talents that aren’t seen — or sought after — in mainstream movies.

This year, more so than in past Sundance festivals, the acting has been top-notch — sometimes in spite of the writing and the directing. Here are a few of the performances from Sundance 2010 that raised the bar:

Malin Akerman, “happythankyoumoreplease” — While writer-director-star Josh Radnor is getting the applause for this interlocking set of romantic scenarios, it’s Akerman who steals the show. Akerman — who is usually relegated to pretty supporting roles (“Couples Retreat,” “Watchmen”) — is the movie’s heart, as the sunny best friend who has lost her hair to alopecia. She even shaved her eyebrows for the part.

From the California Chronicle

To no one’s surprise, filming Couples Retreat in Bora Bora doesn’t compare to the harsh winters of Toronto.

“It’s not really comparable, no,” admits Malin Akerman from her downtown Toronto hotel room. “Bora Bora was a lot warmer and instead of snow on the ground, we had blue water and it was paradise. It was incredible.”

But the idyllic setting of Couples Retreat wasn’t the only draw for the Torontonian actress, who jumped at the chance to work with hilarious stars like Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell. The film, which comes out on DVD Friday, follows four couples who travel to the tropics for couples counseling, only to be caught off guard by the resort’s unorthodox methods – a set up that provides plenty of opportunity for improvisation.

“You look at the cast and you go, ‘Please. I would do that anywhere in the world,’” Malin adds. “The thing that I love about that, working with people who are a few steps ahead, it just ups your game. I always love having a challenge, and you are playing with the big guys.”

And the film wasn’t without other challenges, either: the 31-year-old actress admits she lost it a little bit when she had to swim with lemon sharks.

“When we went out to do that, our hearts were beating triple time,” Akerman remembers. “But once you get in there, it’s calm and beautiful, and sharks are beautiful, beautiful animals. And they’re more scared of you than you are of them – which, of course, you only learn once you’re in the water. But beforehand, I was freaking out, for sure.”

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amNewYork caught up with Malin Akerman and Kate Mara, two of the stars of the ensemble cast of “happythankyoumoreplease.”

Is this your first time at Sundance? How does it feel?
MA: I’ve been dying to come to Sundance since I started acting in LA. I’ve heard so much about it. It feels a little more relaxed. You can’t show up to the red carpet in a nice gown. I mean, it’s snowing outside.

KM: It’s not my first trip. I was here two years ago with a film I did called “Transsiberian.” All I ever do when I’m not working is see movies. I’m the biggest movie nerd.

What else do you like to do when you’re not working?
KM: I also love to shop, and I love to watch football (Kate’s grandfather was Giants founder Timothy Mara).

MA: I don’t do sports. I’m a foodie. That’s what I do. My husband is Italian, so that’s a big hobby of mine … cooking and finding new restaurants. I used to draw a lot. I do a lot of sketches of people, which I have to get back into.

Do you watch any Food Network shows?
MA: No, I really don’t. My husband has taught me a lot. He’s a fantastic cook. He’s Italian and a drummer, so there’s also a lot of music in our life. And that’s probably a big hobby, too. We go and see a lot of independent bands in LA.

Back to the film. Malin, you play Annie, who has alopecia. What did it feel like to be shown on camera without hair?
MA: Shaving off the eyebrows and wearing a bald cap was kind of freeing. It was the first time I looked in the mirror and saw somebody else. I felt like Annie became more of an interesting person because of her alopecia. It was more about finding that character than even the lack of hair.

Kate, you blew us away with your singing voice in the movie. Are you a trained singer? KM: When I was 9, I decided I wanted to be in musicals. My mom loves old films and musicals like “Oklahoma!” and every Judy Garland film you could watch, so that’s what I grew up watching. That was my dream. And, eventually, when I started doing films, there was never really an opportunity for me to sing. So I haven’t sung in such a long time that it felt like I was 14 again. It’s such a different thing to sing in a film than it is to act. For me, I had to be much more vulnerable.

From am New York

According to Moviefone, “HappyThankYouMorePlease” has landed a distribution deal at the Sundance Film Festival! That means that we will be able to see the film – hopefully sooner rather than later!

Congratulations to everyone involved with the film!