Although her skyscraper legs were already well known to wrestling fans, the rest of the world got to know 5-11 Stacy Keibler when she racked up the 10s on Dancing with the Stars. These days, her acting career is hitting nothing but net: She is appearing on the ABC series George Lopez and What About Brian, and in the football parody movie The Comebacks, which hits theaters in August.

We know you were a cheerleader in high school. Did that help with the crazy, dangerous maneuvers on Dancing with the Stars?
I was on more of the dance side of the team, so I wasn’t doing stunts.

As a tall girl, was there any pressure to play basketball?
It’s so funny that people come up to me all the time and ask if I played volleyball or basketball, but I never did. I don’t know why I never got into it.

Is a Lakers game a good date night for you?
It’s definitely a great date night. My boyfriend (Geoff Stults, ABC’s October Road) is really into sports. He’s played his whole life—everything. Still plays sports. For us to go to a Lakers game, it’s always really fun. He plays in the NBA Entertainment League, so he’s still playing basketball. He’s very active. This league is NBA sponsored. They have uniforms and NBA referees.

So he gets to put on an NBA uniform and live out his high school fantasies?
Playing with celebrities and producers.

Do you cheer him on when he plays?
Every single game.

If they asked you to play, would you?
No. I wouldn’t know what I’m doing. I’d have to have some lessons.

When you watch an NBA game, do you enjoy the cheerleaders or do you feel an urge to critique them?
I watch them just like everybody else does. Some are better than others. I do think it’s important to have some really talented dancers. I think everybody enjoys seeing that rather than a pretty girl just shaking her pom-poms out there. Men can appreciate that a little bit more.

Does having a camera shoved in your face constantly make you want to take up boxing?
I feel in ways it’s part of the business, you kind of have to deal with it. The paparazzi have gone to a different level I feel in the last year with all the tabloid shows and the magazines and everything. But I feel if you’re going to be in this business, you have to be pretty tough and you have to deal with it.

From the July/Aug 2007 issue