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It takes a lot of work to be a world renowned ballet choreographer. It also takes a lot of work to be in movies and go to red carpet events with your pregnant, Oscar nominated bride-to-be. So maybe that’s why it took several phone calls and text messages and emails and lots of rescheduling for The New York Times to track down Benjamin Millepied and ask him about what his life is like now that he’s a boldface name in Hollywood.
But if you get the sense that Millepied wants to shirk his celebrity, due largely to his choreography for and role in Black Swan alongside Natalie Portman, by the end of the article Millepied confirms it.
He is an artist, he maintained, not a celebrity. “I don’t Google myself so honestly why would I care?” he said. “What I want to do is my work. The rest is completely irrelevant.”
Oh, how he must wish that were true. The article makes the case that while Millepied is undeniably talented, much of his success in choreography — and now in film — is predicated upon his good looks and his charisma. While those are blessings no matter who you are or what you do for a living, they’re particularly important in ballet, where flirting rich people into making donations to your art is as integral a part of the job as good rhythm. He’s been able to schmooze his way into choreography gigs with ballets around the country and across the world, and he’s talked people out of millions of dollars to support his efforts.
And now with a burgeoning film career (and an A-list fiancee), Millepied is a bona fide public figure — and while he might say he doesn’t want the fame or the attention, he’s definitely not doing anything to make it go away. In addition to the now famous “I wouldn’t sleep with that girl” scene in Black Swan, he’s in a short film called Time Doesn’t Stand Still. Its director Asa Mader said the film is “a steppingstone for a feature.”
Not a celebrity? Oh, please.
Benjamin Millepied Leaps Into the Spotlight [The New York Times]
