Dominic Thiem seen taking his clothes off in new commercial, says his body double is a "big, big Novak Djokovic fan"
Dominic Thiem recently appeared in a commercial for UniCredit Bank Austria, for whom he serves as a brand ambassador. But unlike any other commercial Thiem has featured in, this time he appeared stark naked for much of the 34-second long video.
During his recent interaction with Tennis Channel, Dominic Thiem was asked by the panelists to elaborate on what went into filming the video. The Austrian in response gave a detailed account of the whole experience, and even revealed that the body double used for the shooting was in fact a fan of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Dominic Thiem's commercial where he appears naked can be viewed here:
The Austrian first appears sporting a jacket on top of a sleeveless vest, preparing to take a dip in a pond. He then takes off his clothes and sets them aside on a rock before leaping into the water.
Unfortunately for Dominic Thiem's character, tourists appeared on the scene as he lays on the ground soaking in the sun after his swim. So the 28-year-old tiptoes towards the rock bearing his clothes, which is when we hear a crunching sound.
That causes Thiem to stop dead in his tracks, but the camera pans across to reveal that the tourists are oblivious to him. Instead, they are clicking pictures of a mountain goat, allowing the Austrian to cover himself up without being noticed.
During his conversation with Tennis Channel, Dominic Thiem disclosed that the commercial was filmed in the National Park of Austria. He also revealed that the theme of the commercial was sustainability, which made the experience sweeter for him given that he loves nature.
"Yeah, I mean it was super nice actually because it was filmed in the National Park in Austria, where it is usually very tough to get," Dominic Thiem said. "And the whole topic is about nature and about sustainability so I enjoyed it a lot."
Dominic Thiem then went on to reveal that he was given the help of a body double during the shoot, who incidentally happened to be a big fan of Novak Djokovic. Thiem claimed that his double was the one who took the swim in the water body, as the water was freezing.
"Luckily I got a double (body double) who was actually a big, big Novak fan because he was from Serbia and he was jumping into that river which was like five or six degrees, so he helped me out a lot," Thiem said.
Dominic Thiem then recalled the commercial he did with the brand when he was just establishing himself on the tour, and claimed he has "improved" his acting since then.
"It was fun, and comparing to the first commercial that I did for them five years ago, I improved my acting as well," Thiem said. "The first commercial was actually in an indoor arena in Bratislava. It was pretty easy, and horrible acting by me."
The Austrian also revealed that this was the first instance he had worked with a body double. Thiem explained that he needed the assistance because of his aversion to cold water.
"Now, this time, for the first time I had a real double, which is a big honor," Dominic Thiem said. "But no, the real reason is that I cannot jump in the cold lake. I'm also struggling big time with ice baths. I just don't like cold water, so that's why I had a double and he did a great job."
"It's super important for me the animals, the nature, the sustainability" - Dominic Thiem
During the conversation, Dominic Thiem also pointed out that UniCredit Bank Austria had roped him in as a brand ambassador back in 2017. Thiem highlighted how the organization did thorough research on him to understand his preferences.
The Austrian revealed that topics involving animals, nature and sustainability are close to his heart, before adding that UniCredit stuck to his ethos in the advertisements.
"I started with them 2017 and we needed to get to know each other and they did a lot of research, what I like, what I don't like," Dominic Thiem said. "They got to know me a little bit, that it's super important for me the animals, the nature, the sustainability, so the last two commercials were filmed about that."