Carla Bruni to make acting debut in Woody Allen film

Woody Allen has chosen his next muse: Carla Bruni, the former supermodel-turned-singer and wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Bruni told Canal Plus television today that Allen had convinced her to make her acting debut under his direction.

Bruni told Canal Plus's prime-time entertainment show that Allen had suggested she appear in his next film, which is yet to be announced. "I don't know what the role would be, but I said yes." She added: "I go into everything blindly, or I'd never do anything at all."

Bruni admitted she is not an actress but said that she could not pass up a chance to work with Allen, the prolific US film director who has worked with actresses such as Mia Farrow, Diane Keaton and Scarlett Johansson.

She told Canal Plus: "Perhaps I'll be completely hopeless but I can't miss an opportunity like this one. When I'm a grandmother I'd like to be able to say I made a film with Woody Allen."

But the news will come as a blow to Sarkozy's political allies, who have blamed his wife's high profile for the president's low approval ratings going into elections next March.

Allen met Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in June this year during a trip to promote his last film Whatever Works, although Bruni said that his request came at a later meeting.

But at the time Allen was asked who he would like to work with next and immediately said: "Without question, Carla Bruni! I'm sure she would be wonderful. She has charisma, and she performs, so she's not a stranger to an audience."

Carla Bruni has made a few brief film appearances but only as cameos. She played herself in Robert Altman's 1994 fashion satire, Pret-a-Porter, and the 1994 French film, Paparazzi. Bruni's sister Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi is an acclaimed actress and director in France.