Gabrielle Anwar fi rst tangoed into the spotlight in 1992’s “Scent of a Woman”; her sensual dance scene with Al Pacino raised eyebrows (and temperatures) around the world. Today, she’s still moving to her own self-styled beat with the hit series “Burn Notice”—writer Wendy Wilkinson caught up with her on the show’s sultry South Florida set.
What’s it like filming in South Florida?
I am incredibly happy to be shooting in South Florida. My brother lives here, and he came over to watch me shoot a couple of scenes. I recently discovered Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys.
Little Palm is a bit of a hush-hush destination, so I’m slightly reticent to describe it in great detail. It’s a small, wildly romantic island with about 20 little bungalows. There’s a single boat dock where I did my morning yoga. I took a lover with me and we feasted on some of the most delicious cuisine. The island is so beautiful—I’m really looking forward to going back there.
Do you have any favorite family vacation spots?
My three children are adventurers at heart, and we really love the excitement of traveling places that we haven’t been before. We recently spent a snowed-in weekend in Big Bear, a lovely little town nestled in California’s San Bernardino Mountains. My kids were all on snowboards and I felt like an old-timer—I was one of the few people using skis!
The Equator has also been a big draw for me. When I worked on a film in the Turks and Caicos Islands, I managed to wrangle my father (who is also an actor) on board for some great extended-family time. Whenever I wasn’t in front of the camera, we would take off our shoes and dig our toes into the beautiful white sand. My kids were content with a shell or two and a spot on the sand for the entire day.
You’ve traveled extensively for work. What was your most memorable destination?
I was cast at the last moment in “The Librarian 2: King Solomon’s Mines”, which was to be shot in Africa. We fl ew into Cape Town, then connected to Kenya—where we had trouble landing because the strip was covered with elephants! The location was in the heart of the most beautiful game preserve, surrounded by wild beasts that I’d only seen behind zoo bars. It was like someone had sprung this remarkable surprise on me; I started weeping with unexpected joy.
