Q: Who was your favorite character before joining the cast?

A: They’re all written so well… Peggy is an incredible character, and I remember thinking that when I first watched the show. She’s a great and rare television character. It’s been fun watching her go from Don’s secretary to coming into her own in that time period.

Q: What drew you to the part of Beth?

A: I instantly wanted to know more about her because she’s quite mysterious and she’s conflicted… I felt for her right away. She is stuck in a bad marriage that is really taking a toll on her psyche I think, so I just wanted to explore what that meant for her.

Q: This character is a bit darker than we’re used to seeing from you. Was it fun to play someone so different?

A: It was something I was excited to do, because we all have moments of intense sadness in our lives… [Beth] is not the type of person that’s afraid to explore her darker thoughts, and she actually really needs to talk about them with someone and she finds that opportunity with Pete.

Q: You look so different in period makeup. Did you recognize yourself?

A: It did feel like a transformation. It really helped to have those details like the nails. And the clothing down to the undergarments and the shoes are vintage, so it really does help you to transport you back in time.

Q: Did Janie Bryant give you any insight to her choices for Beth’s costumes?

A: She’s incredible. Beth is supposed to be still more of a fifties housewife. She still has the full skirts and…that more innocent kind of look, which contrasts with who Beth really is. And the outfit she’s wearing when Pete comes to the house with Howard, the colors are darker. She’s a little bit morose, so I think the color reflects that.

Q: Pete suggests that Beth might be hysterical, but it actually seems like she’s depressed…

A: She’s more depressed than hysterical, but I think at that time people did see them more as one and the same. Men might have assumed that it’s a bigger problem than being upset or down. If it becomes emotional for a women, maybe it’s hysteria. [Laughs]

Q: Did you get to spend time with any cast members besides Vincent Kartheiser?

A: Yeah, a little bit. They’re an incredible group… Part of what’s really fun about working on the show is the time period — not only the clothes, but the sets and everything… The spirit of the time kind of translates into how it feels on set.

Q: Were you nervous filming the scene where you and Vincent hook up?

A: I was really nervous. [Laughs] Yeah… [Vincent] noticed, and made it much better for me by just sort of making sure I felt comfortable. He kind of helped me take the edge off a little bit just by being nice.

Q: A lot of the cast members say Vincent is really different than Pete…

A: Oh yeah. He’s light and funny and has lots of energy on set. He keeps everybody energized as well. Very, very different than Pete.

Source

In the new play Regrets it’s the year 1954 and a group of men escape to a Nevada retreat where they can wallow in their marital misfortunes in peace and secure a quick divorce. In a place where “no girls allowed” is a dictum, not a mantra, Alexis Bledel’s character, Chrissie Meyers, is vivacious and sexy. A townie, Chrissie is an object of desire to a pack of lonely men, and she’ll sleep with them for money, but it doesn’t take long to realize she is also innocent despite herself—the type of girl who sweeps in on her bicycle, all smiles. She wears her reputation like she can shed it at any time.

Probably best known for her roles in the television series Gilmore Girls and the films The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, Bledel takes on her first original role for the stage in Regrets. On her day off, she spoke with Interview about working with playwright Matt Charman, playing a not-so-wholesome young woman, and how much she is loving theater.

MERYL CATES: The full cast for Regrets was announced before previews. How long have you been working with each other?

ALEXIS BLEDEL: I think its been almost about a month now. Nearly a month—I think we had three weeks of rehearsals and we started previews about a week and a half ago.

CATES: Yeah, so three weeks of rehearsals—that’s a pretty quick turn-around.

BLEDEL: It was quick but we’ve had a lot of previews, which is good. So we’ve been having rehearsals before the previews.

CATES: This was one of those plays where you’re really pulling back the layers. Here’s this retreat in Nevada where no one wants to leave. How was it working with Matt Charman? Was he very hands-on in getting his vision across?

BLEDEL: Incredible, yes. He’s been here with us most of the process. It’s just incredible, he’s such an amazing writer, and every change he makes just really seems to fit well, and he’s really open to trying different things. He’s really trusted us, as far as what our instincts are for the characters and what feels right. He and Carolyn Cantor, the director, work really well together. They’re really on the same page; they just want to make the best play they can.

CATES: Immediately, the audience is struck by the set. It really reflects those aspects of isolation, and it’s so ornate. As an actor, a great set like that must really put you in the play, right?

BLEDEL: Yes, absolutely, and it’s very detailed and realistic as well. I mean, the cabins are filled with these items that are mostly older, they’re vintage pieces of furniture and linens, and down to the tiniest details—the sinks in the bathrooms work, and you can hear that when somebody runs water. There are all these sounds, the sound of the fire crackling and the crickets, all these tiny things that you don’t even notice at first. Once we got on stage, we just couldn’t believe it! You sit in one of these cabins and you feel like you’re really there.

CATES: This is a new play, a world premiere; how did you respond to the play the first time you read it?

BLEDEL: I loved it, I thought it was so thought-provoking, and I wanted to read it again and again because there are so many layers to the story and to each character. Each character is a completely whole person with their problems and many sides to their personality. It’s so rich with details as well, like the set. You can read it again and again and find different ideas to ponder and different things strike you. I still hear it sometimes when I’m backstage waiting for my cue—there are things that tie together. At the beginning, kind of halfway through, Gerald says to Ben, “We should take a picture of ourselves to remember our time here.” And I didn’t even correlate that with the end of the play. All these little lines that could almost just be thrown away, they’re just comments from people, they all tie in somehow or they add some kind of flavor to the story that gives your mind somewhere else to wander. So it’s really cool.

CATES: In your mind, is a new play riskier to do? It hasn’t ever been put before an audience.

BLEDEL: It doesn’t feel risky at all for me, because Matt is so brilliant. I think that anything he’d put up before an audience would be great and interesting to watch. It’s just different in the sense that we’ve had rewrites as we go. But that process has been fascinating to me, just to see how each change affects the through-line of the story and how the characters have changed a little bit as we go and now they really feel like real people. We still have rehearsals this week, there’s still a little bit more to go before the opening, so it just feels exciting to be part of a new play.

CATES: Tell me about your character, Chrissie. She’s a young woman with a reputation, we’ll say. [laughs]

BLEDEL: Right. [laughs] Well, when she comes on stage she brings a breath of fresh air to the camp. She is light and funny, but she’s there to make money. [laughs] So she has a couple of different sides to her personality and she kind of uses each of them as she sees fit, that day. She kind of has this relationship with Gerald and he is sort of smitten with her, but she’s there to appeal to most of the men at the camp and she’s trying to get out of her situation, her home life. She’s a local girl, and she’s really been through a lot in her life. That’s my take on her, anyway.

CATES: And like you said, when she walks in, she is like a breath of fresh air, she’s actually so fun, even though she’s there to make money. She has a sweet quality.

BLEDEL: Yeah! It’s not really just the exchange of sex. That is there, and that is the reality of it, but I think it’s a lot more fun to go there because of all the other interactions she gets to have with them.

CATES: How did you approach this role, developmentally?

BLEDEL: I think I started with watching old movies and identifying somebody that she would fixate on, someone she thought was really fabulous, and then having that in the back of my mind. I just wanted to make sure that she also felt really earthy and a little bit crass. So those two things going on at the same time are really fun to play, because you can switch between the two and mix them sometimes. And then, I just try to play things as honestly as I can in the moment, and you get a lot of that from the other actors, and what they’re feeling each day, and the energy they bring. She’s, in a way, a reactionary character. She’s a force of nature. She comes on stage and she brings this energy with her. She’s interesting these men as an object of their desire, hopefully; [laughs] and putting that energy out there as well.

CATES: So, your look gets progressively more disheveled, sort of in tandem with what’s going on with the rest of the characters, but I love your ’50s look in the beginning. I would definitely want to wear that dress out. Have you ever wanted to sport that look around town?

BLEDEL: It is a good dress. [laughs] It feels great to wear; and they actually found a vintage dress that they wanted to use, but it was almost too beautiful. The fabric was really gorgeous, so it looked too classy for her. The costume designer found this fabric that felt more like a house dress, even though it has great colors and it’s still a really pretty print, but it could be a house dress that got handed down from one of her sisters.

CATES: And I love her hair.

BLEDEL: Yeah, and initially I was like, well I think she should be more disheveled from the beginning because she takes such a drastic turn. I was talking to Matt about it and he said it has more to do with how the men see her when she arrives. It’s almost like a mirage in the desert. And maybe if she did fashion herself after a starlet, maybe she would go through a lot of effort and really deck herself out. Then she arrives later and that’s real, what she really goes through, and you can actually see that then. I really like that idea, that’s what they see.

CATES: That’s really brilliant. I like that. So do you enjoy doing theater? I know you did community theater in Houston when you were little—so then it’s a little bit like getting back to your roots. [laughs]

BLEDEL: I do, I mean most of the theater I’ve done in the past was when I was a kid or a teenager so it feels like being a kid again. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. [laughs] You really get to go to work every day and play, and try different things. I don’t know, I’ve never felt so lucky to do this job. So I hope to do a lot more theater.

CATES: Well, you’ve done a lot of different roles, but when you’ve played a character with such a cult following like Rory Gilmore and in Sisterhood, and then you play a character [like Chrissie] that’s different, people want to say that you’re reinventing yourself. How do you handle that? Do you see it that way?

BLEDEL: Oh, I love that! I hadn’t thought of it, but I love that, because I think that’s what we’re supposed to do. As actors we try to find different sides of ourselves and I would credit Matt with being such a good writer because so much of his character is already on the page and then I just get to fill his shoes. That really makes it easy when the writing is so good.

CATES: And you live in New York City, right?

BLEDEL: I do, yes.

CATES: I imagine your hours are really rigorous right now with the show, but do you go to the theater often?

BLEDEL: I do! I try to go as much as I can.

CATES: Anything in particular that you’ve seen recently?

BLEDEL: I saw Death of a Salesman last Monday. They added a Monday show; I was so excited, because it’s hard to see theater when you’re doing theater, because everyone has Mondays off, but I got to see it and it was incredible. Andrew Garfield was incredible, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, of course, I was so excited to see him on stage. I love that play. I like a serious play. [laughs]

Source

We all know John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln. But have you also heard the tale of Mary Surratt, a boarding-house owner who was convicted of participating in the conspiracy to kill him? No? Well, don’t worry, neither did Alexis Bledel, who co-stars in “The Conspirator,” a Robert Redford-directed film based on the true-life tale of Surratt and the plot to assassinate our 16th president.

“I had no idea. I had never heard this story!” laughed Bledel during a recent interview. Luckily, she got up to speed once she stepped into some Civil War-era petticoats.

Is this your first time appearing in a period film?

It’s the first one I’ve done that is a true story, that’s historically accurate with so much attention paid to detail. It was interesting to build the character and to make sure her social habits and speech were accurate.

Your wardrobe also must have helped. Did you get stitched up in a corset?

I did! The corsets and the petticoats and the skirts are made from really thick fabric; it was pretty uncomfortable.

How was it working with Robert Redford?

He was so incredible! He’s made such beautiful films that I really admire and he has this sort of magnetic presence to him. He’s a hard worker and he just has all this knowledge to impart.

As you move into adult roles, what’s the one piece of advice you’ve gotten about how to tackle the transition?

My agent did tell me that if I wanted to be a serious artist, I had to put that out there and take myself seriously. I really responded to that advice; I think he’s right.

Gallery Links:
PIX11 Morning News
PIX11 Morning News – Behind the Scenes

Alexis Bledel, formerly known for her roles in “Gilmore Girls,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” film series and, most recently, the drama-thriller, “The Kate Logan Affair,” now lives in Brooklyn and has decided to “dip her toe” into the world of theater with a four-week role in Norah and Delia Ephron’s “Love, Loss, and What I Wore” at the Westside Theatre through Sunday, February 13. We chatted with the lovable Texas-bred starlet yesterday about her live theater debut, how to cook a better brisket and of course, New York fire safety.

Let’s talk about opening night — which is actually tonight [Thursday] — are you nervous?
Well, we had two performances yesterday that were previews but it’s been an accelerated process that we only started this week, so I guess I am nervous.

What about stage fright — sorry, are we freaking you out yet?
No! (laughs) I don’t really get stage fright because I’m just as nervous backstage as I am on-stage. I think the cure is just doing it and once it’s over, [stage fight] is cured. But the nervousness is good. It’s really just excitement, as long as you look at it in a positive way.

You’re really thrown into this show with a rotating cast every four weeks. What’s that like?
It’s a very intimate little theater and even in the backstage area, we’re all kind of in the same space getting ready so it’s the most fun in the dressing room. A lot of our own stories come out and since the nature of the show is about women sharing their experiences and what they’ve been through, I think it inspires that [same practice] within the actors. The rehearsal process is over two days, so the bonding is very immediate.

You’re living in Brooklyn now, which is cool. Do you have any neighborhood gems?
I’ve moved around a lot in Brooklyn so I’ve enjoyed a lot of neighborhoods but I’m not the kind of person to ask where to go!

You should read City’s Best.
I am definitely the kind of person that reads City’s Best, but doesn’t write it!

Whew, our jobs are safe! In other news, how are you putting up with the snow?
Pretty well, I think. I enjoy it because I didn’t grow up in this kind of climate, so it’s really fun to look outside my windows and see all the trees dusted in snow.

We also heard you like to cook. What’s the best thing you’ve made lately?
I was at home in Texas for Christmas so I’ve been trying out barbecue recipes. I made a brisket — it was good, like falling off the bone — but the real way to make it is in a smoker.

We have friends that put those things on their fire escapes. You should get one!
Really?

But we’re not so sure it’s up to fire code.
It’s probably not, I don’t think you’re supposed to put anything out there! (laughs) Fire safety first!

See the latest cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore, featuring Alexis Bledel, Nikki Blonsky, Anita Gillette, Judy Gold and Pauletta Washington. Attendees are encouraged to donate gently loved purses and accessories to Dress for Success via donation boxes located in the lobby.

Name: Alexis Bledel
Age: 29
Neighborhood: Brooklyn
Occupation: Actress. She’ll be appearing Off Broadway in Love, Loss, and What I Woreat the Westside Theatre starting today, January 12, through February 13.

Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
John Lennon. When I think about all the things that were going on in this city during the nine years he lived here, there’s an energy that stands out having to do with the message of peace he so powerfully sent out into the world.

What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York?
Brick-oven pizza. So delicious, charred crisp and light, just with garlic, ricotta cheese, and fresh basil at Lucali, or olive oil, arugula, and prosciutto at Otto. John’s of Bleecker Street … everything on the menu is good. Roberta’s is also amazing.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
I pretend to be someone else, taking part in a collaborative storytelling endeavor.

What was your first job in New York?
A shoot for Seventeen magazine, when I was 14. It was a hair-and-makeup piece, and I ended up with a rather peculiar set of stringy dreadlocks.

What’s the last thing you saw on Broadway?
Promises, Promises. I really loved it. Sadly, Kristin Chenoweth was not there for the show I caught, but her understudy, Sarah Jane Everman, was wonderful and played so well opposite Sean Hayes. He was an absolute dream in that role; his comedic timing was impeccable and seemingly effortless.

Do you give money to panhandlers?
I do sometimes. It’s hard not to when the person is handicapped in some way that looks as though they would have a very hard time finding employment, or if someone is trying to sell something that might be handy, or share their musical talent with you.

What’s your drink?
In the winter I like to just sip on one Jameson straight up.

How often do you prepare your own meals?
Almost every day. I try to eat very healthy, organic, local foods, so I do end up preparing my own meals more often than I go out. I prefer to go out for a drink because in that case you pretty much know what’s being poured into your glass, as opposed to what’s going into your food.

What’s your favorite medication?
DayQuil.

What’s hanging above your sofa?
A multicolored Moroccan rag rug.

How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
I suppose it’s all relative to what you spend on other things, but $150 seems like a lot.

When’s bedtime?
2 a.m. or so.

Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
I generally try to avoid Times Square because it is always so crowded, but I think I prefer the old version because I feel nostalgic for the first time I saw it (which was probably on that same trip into town for Seventeen). Standing there made my heart beat a little bit faster … maybe because I was looking up and felt nervous about being sideswiped by a car.

What do you think of Donald Trump?
I wonder if he has a signature dance move.

What do you hate most about living in New York?
Blizzards.

Who is your mortal enemy?
The lat machine at my gym. We hate each other.

When’s the last time you drove a car?
About eight months ago, when I was last in L.A. for meetings. I don’t love to drive, and I used to be quite dangerous on the road because I tend to be running late. Now I make it a point to take my time and end up arriving everywhere I go about half an hour early.

How has the Wall Street crash affected you?
Work slowed down for a while. It added to my general confusion about what goes on in the business world.

Times, Post, or Daily News?
Times.

Where do you go to be alone?
Swimming.

What makes someone a New Yorker?
Attitude.

EW Do you think Lorelai and Luke would have had a kid?
Alexis Bledel: I think so.
Lauren Graham Oh,really? Yes, probably.
AB: Maybe, like, two.
LG: Two? Well, oh my goodness, we just got busy really fast! We didn’t even have the wedding.
AB: Well, it’s what the audience wanted.
LG: All right, well then, hey—we probably got married in year one. We’ve been away from the show three years. We had kid one in year two, and we had kid two in year three. That’s what Alexis says, and I am very overwhelmed by my toddlers.

Gallery Links:
EW Reunion Interview Video – Screencaptures
Session 63
Entertainment Weekly Reunion Issue – Scan

Since August 2007, Main Street has followed Wall Street’s escapades with not-exactly-checked outrage. Even though most of us aren’t exactly sure what credit default swaps are, we know they’re bad, led to a financial crisis and somehow brought down the entire country of Greece. So hedge funder-turned-director Julio DePietro’s timing for his new movie, “The Good Guy,” which flits between the bedroom and a Wall Street firm’s trading floor, is particularly fortuitous. The movie comes out tomorrow and brings together Alexis Bledel (”Gilmore Girls,” “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”), Scott Porter (”Friday Night Lights”) and Bryan Greenberg (”One Tree Hill,” “How to Make It in America”). Speakeasy caught up with Bledel, Greenberg and DePietro to chat about the film.

The Wall Street Journal: In “Postgrad,” your character moves to New York for her boyfriend, and in “The Good Guy,” she ends up staying for him, potentially abandoning a great career move. Why?

Bledel: In “Postgrad,” my character Ryden can be a career woman and she can have a relationship, but she’s been inconsiderate. She realizes she loves [Zach Gilford's character] at that point in her life and needs to go explore that further. Beth, my character in “The Good Guy,” is romantic and because she has this ideal, I think that has her feeling sort of trapped. I think it depends on whether women have it all.

OK, here’s an example. Taylor Swift has been getting some backlash recently because she mostly writes about waiting for true love at 15. Whereas, Beyonce, at that age, was writing about owning her own house and being independent. Do you think the two can be reconciled?

I think everyone wants to be swept away. It kind of dampens the fun and emotion of [being in love] to think about the realistic repercussions about what their life might do to alter yours. It’s good to walk a fine line. When you’re a 15 year-old you don’t really know yet. Taylor Swift and Beyonce are two different artists with two different priorities. And it’s good for girls to have both as examples.

You are diplomatic.

I am very diplomatic.

Do you have any moratoriums on the type of guys you’ll date as a result of this movie? i.e., no finance guys?

I’m pretty open minded. To me it’s more romantic to think that it’s possible to meet people from any walk of life. You might connect with them. I don’t think that I have a type.

What’s next for you? I heard rumors of a “Gilmore Girls” movie. Can you confirm or deny?

I just finished a film called “Conspirators,” which was directed by Robert Redford. I haven’t read anything about a “Gilmore Girls” movie. I really liked the way they wrapped up our story in the finale. They brought it full circle.

Alexis is wearing a cute dress off the rack at H&M and we got her to talk about modern relationships, why women pick guys who are maybe too much in charge and how she enjoyed that fact that the film is very “real”, even including a romantic love scene break to reach for a condom!

Alexis verified there will be no more “Traveling Pants” films and we talked about her very different upcoming role as a young woman living in the 1800’s in The Conspirator.

Q: Tommy and Daniel are almost polar opposites as guy types. Why do you think Beth originally goes for Tommy?

Alexis: At the beginning she has a pretty clear idea in her head about what she’s looking for in a man. I think when she meets Tommy he’s got everything she’s looking for and she’s really happy about that and she’s falling for him. But she can’t quite see (the real) him because of this ideal that she has.

So when she meets Daniel he’s probably got none of the things that she’s looking for. At first she doesn’t know what to make of him. I don’t think she meets a lot of guys like him so I think she’s really curious and as they develop a friendship she can’t figure him out. She wants to know more and that’s kind of how they start to get close.

Q: In this film, Scott Porter’s character Tommy sure isn’t who we think he is. Do you think we should end up feeling sorry for him as your character Beth does?

Alexis: I don’t think that I’ve ever actually said to someone, ‘I feel sorry for you.’ And at that point I think she’s wanting to hurt him. I think she’s trying not to be unkind. Maybe there’s nothing left to say at that point and that’s just what comes out.

So it was really an interesting scene, I’m not one to tell people what they should feel. I think you should feel whatever you feel at that point, after watching the film.

Q: Beth was so excited to get to go to Italy and disappointed when her trip falls through. Is there any place that you, Ms. “Traveling Pants” is dying to go?

Alexis: (she laughs) I’d love to sail around the Mediterranean. That would be nice. (In the film), I think it’s also a comment on modern life, if not modern love. Everybody has these things that they would like to do but work or life or family or whatever it is gets in the way. Those things exist. Those things inspire us, just as love does but they’re just things that we want to do. Sometimes a lot of people don’t get to but I think it’s nice to mention them because that adds and informs you a little bit about who she is as a character.

Q: Do you feel that Beth is just living her life according to Tommy’s schedule? Why wasn’t he ever living on her schedule?

Alexis: I think that’s just Tommy. That’s kind of his way of doing things. He likes to keep people at arm’s length and especially people he’s dating. He likes to keep people guessing because that probably gives him the control. In Beth’s mind, maybe that’s a part of her ideal man, that he is an anchor, that he gives her life some stability.

And maybe in a different kind of relationship she might discover that she could have more in her life like travel and other things if she were with a different kind of person. She’s trapped by her relationship.

Q: But yet, when she figures him out, she drops him just like that so she’s strong.

Alexis: Yeah, and I think that’s a New York woman, too.

Q: The film is pretty “real” about modern relationships. They include the moment when Beth reaches for a condom, adding some reality.

Alexis: I liked that part of the scene because it just adds a realistic [element]. Not an embarrassment but an awkwardness that happens. I mean there were a lot of little moments in the film that felt more realistic than in your average movie, a movie with a romantic storyline. That was one of them.

Q: Would you go back to TV or do a big studio film?

Alexis: Yeah. I’m open. There are great films made through studios and independently and great characters on television. I’m not really confined to one sort of medium. I’m just looking for interesting characters and good stories to do.

Q: Your character in The Good Guy is a very modern young woman but you just finished playing a woman living in the 1800’s; Sarah Weston who is caught up in the conspiracy to kill President Abraham Lincoln. Was that role a challenge? How did you prepare for it?

Alexis: Well, I was mostly a love interest but there were a lot of questions that I had about social propriety and certain manners that I thought I should have because I play Mary Surratt’s defense lawyer’s love interest. She’s from the north and she’s educated and I wanted her to be a contrast between her and this other nurse who was being accused.

But it was a story that I had not heard and so it was fascinating for me because most people are taught that John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln and as it turns out there were a lot of conspirators involved in his murder and Mary Surratt was accused as one of them. But she ran a boarding house where they conspired and it’s about her trial and how it was completely unconstitutional.

Alexis Bledel has a lot on her plate, but ‘Gilmore Girl’ fans will be happy to hear that she won’t rule out a movie adaptation. She chatted with PopEater about that possibility, and how the show kept her out of trouble while the rest of young-and-beautiful Hollywood was out in the clubs.

She also talked about her new movie ‘The Good Guy’ (out Friday), the occasional ‘Sisterhood’ reunion and what it was like working with one of Hollywood’s most handsome men, Robert Redford.

Would you bring back Rory and do a ‘Gilmore Girls’ movie?
I don’t know. I was really happy with the way they wrapped up the series in the finale and I thought they brought the story full circle. It was very satisfying for me. I don’t know what the story would be, but I would be curious to find out what it would be.

How come I never saw any photos of you drunk in clubs? How did you avoid the pitfalls?
Fatigue. I was working so many hours on that show. We worked really long hours, and I moved to LA without knowing anyone so the people you saw on the show were the people I knew. There wasn’t much clubbing going on.


Still, after the show finished?
I do go out and blow off steam but I don’t seek attention when I’m doing it. You can’t really relax and have a good time when you’re being photographed, in my mind. That kind of kills the fun for me. I go to places where that doesn’t happen.

So ‘The Good Guy’ is about dating good guys and bad guys. Do you date good guys or bad guys?
Um, I don’t know. Mostly good guys I think.

Are you attracted to bad boys?
Not if I’m aware of it… I don’t know. It’s so funny to try to define people as good or bad. I know that’s the theme of the film but no, not really. I’ve been pretty lucky to date so many nice guys.

I mean the too nice guys. Do you ignore them?
It’s nice when someone is a nice guy but he has to have something that’s complicated, not too much (complication).

You studied at NYU. Any desire to go back and finish?
Yes, I’ve kind of taken a few classes in the past year or so. I don’t know if the goal is to finish the degree. I don’t think I would finish a film degree, but I really love taking classes just to exercise my brain a bit because you do so much of one type of work and you learn a lot about it but maybe not so much about other things, so I’m really kind of informing myself on other subjects.

When you first studied you weren’t famous and now you are. Are you treated differently?
What’s great is the students are so focused on getting their studies done and have enough going on in their lives; they’re not really concerned about me too much. So it works out alright.

So that must be a welcome change from LA?
Yeah, I feel a huge difference there. There’s so much of everything in NY. You don’t feel the fixation on the entertainment industry like you do in LA at all. Unless you seek it out, you’re not going to be bombarded with it or have it constantly brought up during the day.

You modeled while still in high school. How did you not get an eating disorder?
I had my head on pretty straight from an early age when it came to that. I noticed that that was an issue. Often they told me to lose a couple of inches around the hips and I would say no, ‘I’m a teenager, I’m not going to do that, and it’s not healthy for me.’ The thing was I was getting jobs and I was going to school and I couldn’t have done more jobs because of school so why would I lose weight for jobs that I couldn’t even do. It didn’t add up.

Ever do another TV series?
I’m not looking for it immediately, but I don’t rule it out. There are so many great shows on right now.

You just did a movie directed by Robert Redford, ‘The Conspirator.’ Were you completely intimidated or are you too young?
I think I’m too young.

Your mum must have died when you told her about it.
Yeah basically, but I was quite nervous every day on set because I wanted to do a good job. I wasn’t the most important character and I wanted to be sure I was doing everything right.

So did you offer to fetch him coffee?
(Laughs) No, he is so cool. He’s Robert Redford and everything you expect that goes along with that, but at the same time he’s really down to earth and easy to have a chat with.

You’re good friends with America Ferrera. Did you console her after ‘Ugly Betty’ was cancelled?
No, I haven’t had the chance to speak to her yet. We’ve been playing phone tag.

You’re friends with Amber Tamblyn too.
Yeah I’m friends with all three girls. We’ve all stayed in touch. We all live in New York or at least I live there some of the time.

Do the four of you ever get together?
It’s happened once or twice.

If a 12-year-old girl saw that she’d have a heart attack.
We laugh about it because we really can’t go out in public.

What would people be surprised to know about you?
Oh God, I don’t know. I feel like I’ve said so much at this point. I seem so uninteresting to myself. I’m not really clear on the way I’m perceived.