Malin Akerman Recalls Betty White’s Unorthodox Way of Putting Her at Ease on Set of “The Proposal ”
- - Malin Akerman Recalls Betty White’s Unorthodox Way of Putting Her at Ease on Set of “The Proposal ”
Victoria EdelOctober 28, 2025 at 4:24 AM
0
RGR Collection / Alamy;Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock
Malin Akerman in 'The Proposal' (left); Betty White in 'The Proposal' (right) -
Malin Akerman opened up about working with Betty White on The Proposal
Akerman said that behind the scenes, White freely used ‘foul’ language to set her costar at ease
White died in 2021, just days before her 100th birthday
Malin Akerman has found memories of working on The Proposal — including getting to see the less-public side of Betty White!
Akerman opened up about working on the 2009 romantic comedy in a video interview with TheSkimm. In the movie, which starred Sandra Bullock as high-powered editor Margaret Tate and Ryan Reynolds as her assistant Andrew Paxton, White played Andrew’s grandmother while Akerman played his ex-girlfriend.
“The Proposal was wonderful,” Akerman, 47, said. “Betty White was a legend. She still is a legend.”
RGR Collection / Alamy
From left: Malin Akerman, Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Bullock, Director Anne Fletcher, Mary Steenburgen and Betty White on the set of 'The Proposal'
And while Akerman was worried about working with The Golden Girls star, it was White, who died in 2021 just days before her 100th birthday, who put her at ease.
“Walking into the hair and makeup trailer that first day, I was trying to be on my best behavior,” The Comeback star remembered. “And within like five minutes, the amount of foul words coming out of that woman’s mouth just put everyone at ease.”
Akerman said of White, She was one of the loveliest humans ever. And funny as f---, as she would have said herself.”
Akerman wasn’t the only person who loved White’s R-rated antics. In Jan. 2021, The Proposal star Ryan Reynolds honored White’s 99th birthday with a foul-mouthed video they made behind-the-scenes of the film. In the clip, White jokes about hating Reynolds. When he ignores her request to get a cup of coffee, she tells him, "When Betty White says she wants a cup of coffee, you f---ing get her a cup of coffee. You ab-crunching jackass."
Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock
The cast of 'The Proposal' on set
"We made this 12 years ago," Reynolds wrote on his Instagram Story at the time. "Betty turns 99 today. But she is 100 [percent] the funniest person on the planet."
Bones star David Boreanaz also remembered White’s more adult words back in August during the Bones: 20th Anniversary Retrospective panel at the inaugural Televerse Festival. White appeared on the series twice, in 2015 and 2017, as Dr. Beth Mayer.
"She says hello to everybody. And Emily [Deschanel] and I are waiting for her. And she's like, ‘Good to see you. Oh, good to see you. You’re so nice. You’re so pretty.’ She goes up to Emily — ‘Oh, you’re so pretty,’ " he remembered.
"She looks at me, she goes, ‘Holy s---, I want to f--- you. I want to f--- you!’ I just started laughing," he remembered.
Deschanel said she didn’t remember hearing that, but added that White had a "legendary potty mouth."
Though White loved appearing in The Proposal, the TV veteran told PEOPLE in 2010 that she much preferred the small screen. "I love television because you do it, go home and move on. With films, you go over it so many times, you beat the whole joke to death,” she explained.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
