Rebecca Back In Blue

In the eagerly anticipated new film, "X2: X-Men United," Rebecca Romijn-Stamos returns as the blue-skinned metamorphing Mystique.

In the sequel to "X-Men," Romijn-Stamos's Mystique is a more complex character and no longer just a fighting machine.

"My character has a little more dimension this time," says Romijn-Stamos. "[It] was nice. And it's a huge cast. Brian Singer did a great job of giving us all the action, kick-ass stuff to do. But, he also gave chunks of meaningful stuff to do."

Romijn-Stamos noted, when Mystique is asked why she chooses to keep her freakish look when she could take the appearance of anyone she wants, she tellingly replies: "Because I shouldn't have to."

Mystique will also be more sexual in the film. And she gets to display some humor.

Romijn-Stamos is still blue over her "costume" as Mystique in the "X-Men" sequel "X2," but she is happy about several improvements. The blue makeup that caused her to become ill has been made less toxic, its application time has been reduced from eight hours a day to five, and she's not required to wear special contact lenses.

"It's a glorified bikini, is what it is," she said. "But the effect is I'm naked, and I've been in denial about that from day one."

At least for 'X2,' she has company with whom to commiserate — fellow blue mutant, Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming).

"Because we're X-Men united, we're all working [together] in this one, and I had this other blue person to commiserate with," says Romijn-Stamos. "And we had our little blue support group."

The actress will next co-star with Robert de Niro and Greg Kinnear in "Godsend," which is scheduled for a fall release. It's about a couple who clones their 8-year-old dead son.

About Rebecca Romijn-Stamos

• Born in Berkeley, Calif., Nov. 6, 1972. She married actor, producer and musician John Stamos on Sept. 20, 1998. She attended University of California at Santa Cruz.
• In 1991, she began her modeling career after being recruited by a Parisian model scout. From 1992-1995, she was in Paris, modeling for such magazines as Elle, Sports Illustrated, and Marie Claire.
• In 1995, she moved to New York City and divided her time between the United States and Europe
• In 1997, she was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People"; Succeeded Daisy Fuentes as host of MTV's "House of Style" (December); was replaced in 1998 by James King; and was featured in the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition
• In 1998, made her TV acting debut on an episode of NBC's "Friends"; played a messy girlfriend of David Schwimmer's Ross. She also had a small but unforgettable part as a drunken, bearded lady in Norm MacDonald's big-screen comedy "Dirty Work"
• In 1999, was named again one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People"; Had recurring role as David Spade's model wife on the NBC comedy "Just Shoot Me"; Had a cameo in the blockbuster comedy "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me"; Played Hugh Hefner's daughter Kimberly in the TV-movie "Hefner: Unauthorized" (USA Network)
• In 2000, she appeared as the evil mutant Mystique in the big-screen version of "X-Men"
• In 2002, she was cast in the female lead of the remake of "Rollerball" and had a small role as an actress doubling for the computer-generated female lead of "Simone." She also starred as Laure Ash, a con woman trying to get straight, in Brian De Palma's erotic thriller "Femme Fatale."