The Real Full Monty star Kris Smith: the naked truth about my lingering body issues
KRIS Smith has earned a living from having a fit and fabulous physique, but the former rugby league player and model still lost his nerve about getting naked on national TV.
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THINGS you didn’t know — but should — about Kris Smith.
“For me, I’m quite comfortable in my own house walking around naked. I do it all the time,” he tells News Corp Australia. “I apologise to my neighbours and I apologise to my girlfriend, Sarah that she has to see it all.”
“But in front of 1600 people and a TV crew? I wasn’t quite sure of that. And also the thought of wearing a G-string wasn’t very appealing either.”
To the titillation of his fans — and only for a good cause, it should be noted — Smith agreed to do both, for Seven’s new men’s health special, The Real Full Monty.
Shedding clothes and inhibitions, the former rugby league star and model joined AFL stars Campbell Brown and Brian ‘BT’ Taylor, NRL pin-up Matt Cooper, TV host and actor, Shane Jacobsen, radio personality, Brendan ‘Jonesy’ Jones, Sunrise weather man, Sam Mac and ironman, Jett Kenny in facing their fears and baring all for the sake of raising awareness about men’s health issues.
Despite turning down the request initially, Smith admits, after “double figure” phone calls between producers and his manager, he saw beyond it as a gratuitous buff parade and more, the public service benefit.
“Once we got in depth about what it was all about … men’s cancers … I started to think, ‘look, I’m 40, you know, it’s probably my time now to start thinking about these [health] checks and concentrate on my body.”
That’s not to say, learning to strip didn’t have an upside in his personal life — with Smith and his personal trainer partner, Sarah Boulazeris confirming they are expecting their first child together, just months after Full Monty preparations seemingly added some spice to their relationship.
Slipping into the police uniform the troupe would wear for their routine, Smith reveals: “I sneakily took a picture in the outfit and sent it to [Sarah] and got a reply, ‘oh my god, you bring that home,’ he laughs.
Of course, the one-time Myer ambassador is no stranger to strutting his stuff in next to nothing on the catwalk.
But surprisingly, he confesses, his lifelong body insecurities flared when asked to join the celebrity dance troupe.
“My initial reaction was fits of laughter. I’m actually from Manchester [in England] and Sheffield isn’t too far from where the original [Full Monty] movie was filmed and shot. And I loved the film. I remember thinking when I watched it, ‘that would take some balls, literally, to actually get your kit off and do that. I mean, can you imagine?’”
Many of Smith’s fans have, but won’t need to when vision of their pin-up stripping down finally goes to air.
The prerecorded performance, filmed earlier this year at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre had the feel of a hysterical hen’s night, where the male entertainers were some of TV, sport and broadcasting’s most famous faces.
While the cause may be serious, rehearsals were not.
“It was literally a case of, we’d look at each other throughout every rehearsal and still kind of go, ‘what the f*** are we doing here?’ It was nice in the respect that we leant on each other, to us that reassurance about why we were there. It made you slap yourself and go, ‘come on, just get it done.’”
The saucy routine — to Joe Cocker’s hit, You Can Leave Your Hat On — was the culmination of six weeks of training and choreography practice, led by stage star, Todd McKenney, who Smith says kept a tight leash on his rag tag band of amateurs.
Smith’s previous modelling appearances, especially in underwear or swimming trunks, had always been fuelled by a pre-show tipple, he says.
But McKenney was having none of that, apparently.
“I remember being really nervous doing swimwear on a catwalk and would have one or two vodkas before, then everything was fine. It relaxed me and eased me a little bit, but then when we found out Todd was our choreographer, he doesn’t allow anybody to drink before they perform … never has done, over all these years. And he brought that rule with him. We hated him for it,” Smith says. “But he did it. So my only ‘out’ was taken away and I had to literally bare all and just be comfortable and confident with it.”
Looking at the man voted onto BW’s Hot List last year, the nervousness may come across as false modesty to some, but Smith — who shares custody of his seven-year-old son Ethan with former partner, Dannii Minogue — has been open about the body image issues he battles.
“They’ve not gone,” he says, “they’re far from gone, they’re definitely still there.
“I have a certain level of expectation for myself and I don’t like to let myself fall too far out of that, [but] I’m also finding balance as well.
“I will go out and have a good time, eat desserts and drink beers and I’ll either pay for it in the gym, or whatever the next day.”
How he got in the shape he’s in now is probably explained by his love of exercise and working out.
“I’ll go through spells where I love the gym and I’ll be there twice a day, seven days a week. But there are also times, like recently, where I’ve just not felt it, so I’ll have a couple of weeks off. Then I get thirst for it again and back I go.”
His modelling days brought with them the “terrible times” he had to shed and shred — existing on the ubiquitous diet of chicken breast and broccoli every three hours.
But with his catwalk days behind him, and Boulazeris treating him to her passion for home cooking, Smith says he’s in a much happier, and healthier, pasture.
“Sarah is an incredible cook and cooks clean and healthy and I’m very fortunate that she always cooks more, so I’ve got meals prepped for the next couple of days.”
In the age of Instagram, where fit-spiration bloggers are in plague proportions, Smith warns men, “young guys, especially” of the dangers of measuring yourself against those images.
“It’s really hard to tell the younger generation that it’s not real life,” he says. “That’s not where you search for validation. That’s not what tells you how valuable you are as a person. Although they are fully aware of photo shop and lighting and this and that, they still believe that that’s it. And sadly, they’ll post something and if people don’t like it, they think ‘well, I’m sh** and I’m no good and I’m not worth it.’”
Those who take the next step, using surgery or injectibles to recreate that look, worry Smith even more.
“I think it’s a case of ‘it’s all you’ve got — look after it and love it,’ without going as silly as surgery or liposuction and having your stomach chopped out so you don’t eat as much,” he says.
His remedy? A whole heap of kindness.
“I think you just really need to sit down and pat yourself on the back, because so many times we will beat ourselves up about things we haven’t done right,” he explains.
“But do you know what? You’re pretty, f***ing amazing, mate. You held the door open for a lady. You let someone cross the road in front of you. You let someone in the traffic. It’s all those kind gestures, it’s all good pieces of the heart that people overlook. Just praise yourself a little bit more.”
With a debate raging about the evolution and elevation of good men, Smith argues there’s still a gap between male self-love and the medical issues that are killing them, simply through neglect.
“There’s a certain air of pride, or stubbornness, or not wanting to unnecessarily go [to the doctor],” he says.
“I mean, I can’t remember the last time I went to the doctor, so I’m no exception. I’m one of the worst for it, but it has to change. One of the reasons for doing [The Full Monty] is that it’s not just about me anymore. I’ve got Ethan now and he needs me around for as long as I possibly can. And if a simple test or check can help, then it’s worth it.”
* The Real Full Monty, 7pm, Sunday July 29 on Seven.