July 1997 FHM |
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In Savannah, your character, Peyton, is an archetypal rich bitch.
Do people think you're really like that and hassle you in supermarkets? Yeah, sometimes they really do. One time I was shopping straight after work, and I heard over the loudspeaker, "Peyton aisle 4." I thought everyone was going to turn around and throw fruit at me. But actually, most people really like and admire her because she's so devious - which is quite a frightening commentary on society. And are you really like Peyton? No way! I'm really just a hippy girl at heart, man - no make-up, no expensive clothes, just tie-die T-shirts and overalls. Mind you, that isn't to say that I don't like to dress up and go out to dinner looking like a million bucks - that's fun too. |
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What kind of tomboy things did you used to get up to, then? I climbed trees, I was on the soccer team. You played football? Yeah, I gave it up because, in one game I was doing really well, but then I fell and hit my head and I wanted to stop, but they wouldn't let me. Then I ended up scoring a point for the other team and everyone was getting at me, and I was like, "I can't handle this pressure!" Do you get embarassed when you're filming the sex scenes in Savannah? Very, very rarely. But I sometimes get very embarassed when I watch them afterwards! Do you have a limit on how much skin you'll show? Yeah, because it's primetime there's a rule that you can't really show anything. As for me personally, though, I'd only take my clothes off for a film if it made sense in the plot. So if you got a part in a De Niro movie and it called for you to strip off completely, would you do it? It'd have to be the right film. I'd ask why I was taking my all clothes off, and where I was taking all my clothes off. If it was just gratuitous, I wouldn't do it. But if Iwas running naked through a field of poppies because I'd, like, just freed my lover or something, I'd think, "That's beautiful!" The human body is a very beautfil thing and it should be exposed. You shouldn't be ashamed of it. Europeans are much more liberal about all that than the Americans. |
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So how do you rejuvenate, exactly? I love camping. My boyfriend and I are avid campers. We've been all over the country. I love to camp under the stars with him. It's very romantic. You get very in tune with the natural environment - you know, the birds and the bees and all that. It gets me very calm inside, because this acting business can make me crazy. I need to take some time to myself when I'm not insecure and thinking about what this or that person is thinking about me. I can't live that way all the time. How can you not get self-conscious? So going out there and being at one with nature is my way of escaping from it all. When I try to be at one with nature, I always end up getting soaking wet or having enormous insects attack me... Yeah, but I love all that! I really don't mind. And we always take bug-repellant. We've found snakes, coyotes, dear, buffalo, eagles, squirrels, chipmunks and every sort of animal. It's great. And you kill them and eat them, right? No way! I couldn't even catch a fish, let alone kill one. We take camping food with us, in cans. One day, we were thinking about going fishing, and we got a little box of crickets for bait, but I just felt sorry for them and set them all free. |
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Were you any good at school? Well, I really wasn't the best student. I excelled in drama and art, and I got along with my teachers. But my problem was that I was a bit of a social butterfly. I loved to talk a lot - although I wasn't a party girl. I preferred to hang out at home with my mom. Any different now? Yeah, now I like to party, sure. But my kind of good time is not going to a nightclub or a bar that's just a meat market. I don't go to those kinds of places. I prefer to have a big camp fire at home and have all my friends round and share a big bottle of wine. Any hidden talents we should know about? Painting. I love to paint landscapes while I'm out camping. I haven't sold any yet, but there might come a day when I'll try to. And did I mention that I'm also a pretty good cook? No. Tell me more... I went to culinary school and worked in a French restaurant. Cooking is a huge passion of mine. In the future, I'd like to own my own restaurant. So I bet you're great at cooking up a romantic dinner for two... Are you kidding? I love it. So what are the essential ingredients of a seduction meal? A nice, big bottle of wine, a filet of salmon, some soft music, plenty of candles, and... Well, you know the rest... |
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Originally published in the July 1997 FHM magazine |