Rebecca Romijn talks body painting competition 'Skin Wars'

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Rebecca Romijn is arguably the best possible host for Skin Wars.

The 41-year-old actress discussed her new hosting gig with Access Hollywood ahead of the show's premiere on Wednesday. Romijn was coated in blue from head to toe for her role as Mystique in X-Men, and the Game Show Network series is a body painting reality competition.

"I have a lot of experience in the subject," she joked in the interview. "[X-Men] was a 9-hour makeup job, two hours to take it off, and I believe that part of the reason I was initially cast as Mystique is because I was the first model ever painted for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue."

"I really felt like I had a lot to offer on the subject," she continued. "And the amazing thing about being painted is that once you're completely painted you don't feel nude ... and you'll see it in the body language."

Ten body painters compete in various body art challenges on the series. RuPaul, Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina serve as judges, and one contestant is eliminated per episode. Body painting is a lengthy and intricate process, and Romijn said it is important to keep the models nourished during the transformation.

"Because the painting takes so long, [the painters] can't do it over again the next day, so it was one long, long, long day and you'd see the models up there on the stage starting to wobble and you're like, 'Oh my God! Get that girl some juice!'" she related. "I was constantly checking in with them."

Skin Wars airs Wednesdays on GSN. Romijn will next appear in Phantom Halo later this year.