Bonnie Somerville Dishes on Playing CM Punk’s Girlfriend on ‘Heels’

Heels will premiere on Starz next month, and Bonnie Somerville is sharing details on the new pro wrestling series. The 47-year-old actress recently appeared on the Welcome to the OC, Bitches! podcast and talked about her character on the show, Vicky Rabies. She is the girlfriend of Ricky Rabies, played by CM Punk. Somerville admitted she didn’t know much about Punk and how big of a star he was in WWE.

“It is bat-s— crazy,” Somerville said when talking about the show. “They have real ex-wrestlers on it. The guy who plays my boyfriend Ricky Rabies is CM Punk. I didn’t know him because I really didn’t care about wrestling. I knew Hulk Hogan when I was a kid. [CM Punk] was huge. He’s got millions and millions of followers.”

Somerville continued: “The stunts are outrageous. It’s the first show I’ve ever seen where the men are in tights, and the women are not, which is awesome. They’re just oiled up and fighting all the time.” Somerville went on to describe Vicky, who is “pure southern, White trash and I never get to play those roles, so I was like I want to be her forever.”

Punk was one of the top stars in WWE, as Somerville alluded to in the interview. He left WWE in 2014 and hasn’t competed in the ring since, which is one of the reasons fans are ready to see him in Heels. This year, Punk (real name Phil Brooks) talked to Digital Spy about his Heels character.

“I play a character that is, technically it’s me in another life,” he said. “A very popular independent wrestler who, if you want people to show up to your show, you book him on this show. He’s kind of been everywhere, done everything, he’s a little bit older now and he’s a character that everybody likes. I almost want people to see it without me explaining really anything else. “It’s pretty out there, at least when you think in terms of Phil Brooks or CM Punk, this is not who you think of.”

Along with Somerville and Punk, Heels also stars Stephen Amell, Alexander Ludwig, Mary McCormack, Chris Bauer, Allen Maldonado, and former NFL star James Harrison. The series will begin airing on Starz Sunday, Aug. 15.