Liv Tyler: Living It Up!

Q: Have you become obsessed with design and decor?

A: I don't know if I'd call it obsessed, but it has been a huge part of my life. Now we have to decorate. Roy is good at making a room feel like home, just by putting down a carpet or moving a chair. I got good at knowing what I wanted with design and architecture. My mother just told me that when I made my first chunk of money from acting, the first thing I did was to go to ABC Carpet and Home on Broadway to buy a lamp and a couch. I was 16, and instead of clothes, I wanted furniture. I guess I have a nesting instinct.

Q: What's more fun: going on the road for rock 'n' roll or going on a film location?

A: The music world is way more fun. There's just not as much responsibility. Though Peter is a huge Beatles fan, and he compared our recent two-week world promotional tour to the Beatles'. Every time we landed in an airport, there were thousands of girls screaming for Orlando. It's probably the closest thing to knowing how my dad feels.

Q: Was Roy intimidated, having to impress one of the world's biggest rock stars?

A: Roy hadn't been a huge Aerosmith fan. I started playing the music for him because I find it so inspiring, especially the older stuff. But my dad is not at all intimidating or standoffish. He's warm and friendly and comes right over and hugs and kisses you. He's just like a big kid.

Q: Everyone knows that your mom didn't tell you he was your father for the first decade of your life. Did it take you a long time to feel comfortable with him?

A: I grew up my whole life thinking Todd was my father, and I still have a huge loving bond with him and his family. I have that with Steven, but it's different because I didn't spend my whole life with him. I did feel a connection, though, the second I met him. You hear stories of people meeting, feeling a mutual attraction and finding out they're siblings. There's truth to that. I had no idea who he was when I was introduced to him one night after one of Todd's shows in Boston. I was completely mesmerized by him, as he was by me. I was totally moved by him even though I didn't know he was my father. I was only eight years old. Just imagine having such strong feelings at that age, to be so taken with someone.

Q: It's obvious you got the generous lips. Did you inherit Steven Tyler's pipes?

A: Well, I love to sing. I love musicals. When I saw Chicago, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, as if I'd never seen a movie before in my entire life. I've seen it 5,000 times. I remember being a kid and seeing Sweet Charity and Cabaret and being floored. I'm a huge Bob Fosse fan. My dream is to be in a musical. My mother used to tell me all the time as a child that I was such a drama queen that I had to be an actor, but I didn't want to be an actor before all this happened; I wanted to be a singer.

Q: You just spent a year in gorgeous New Zealand, but it was for work. What's your favorite place to travel for pleasure?

A: I like to vacation someplace hot like the Caribbean. I grew up in New York and Maine, so being on the beach is very exotic. I've sot a major traveling bug right now. Since we got married and bought this house, settled and made this commitment, all I want to do is travel.

Q: You've said in the past that people come at you wanting you to be rail-thin. Is it that big a problem?

A: There is pressure for actresses to be perfect. You get criticized for being too big or too skinny. It is quite unhealthy, and I try not to focus on it. My whole life I've been an 8 or a 10, and that's not a big size at all. I'm 5' 10". Most people I know who are that tall are 12 or 14. I only ever go up about five pounds or so, but people write about it like it's something. The one thing everyone asked me about at the Return of the King junket was some report that I'd gained 28 pounds after wrapping the movie. That is so much! I'm exactly the same size as I was when I finished the movie. I exercise, eat really well. I've been really health-conscious my whole life. But I won't do anything unhealthy or have an eating disorder. I'm an actor, not a supermodel.

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