Alicia Silverstone: Arousing Alicia

Q: Where does this self-possession come from?

A: I think intuitively, when I was younger, love was the most important thing. I really, really craved deep love with people, and I never thought that I was going to get that from my work. When I was younger, I think I pushed away success. It was scary. I was a little girl.

Q: Like, "Sure, I've won a zillion MTV Awards, but what does it all mean?"

A: [Laughs] Yeah, and it was all happening so fast. I was appreciative but I never was impressed by it. Now, I'm more impressed. Now, I can be like, "I got nominated for a Golden Globe!" Whereas before I'd be like, [scoffing] "Golden Globes...it's not real." I was very serious back then, but it wasn't arrogance. I was just trying to figure out what was important.

Q: When you first started, you did a lot of movies right in a row, then you seemed to disappear for a while. Was that a conscious decision?

A: When I was little, it was like, "I'm going to take every single job I get. I have no business not to." But Clueless was so successful that I had to be selective about what I picked next. And at that point I was taking things extremely seriously. I felt like, "I'm not just going to repeat the same thing. I'm an artist!" Right away, I got offered an amazing opportunity to produce Excess Baggage. I cared so much and wanted the movie to be so good, and I was really proud of the compromises and the end result. I worked on that for two years, like sweat and blood, and that's where I really learned some key things about filmmaking and about myself.

Q: You cast Benicio Del Toro as your love interest before many people knew who he was.

A: He had to be the guy. But we had to convince people to hire him. I went in and did the best acting job of my life convincing the studio that he looked just like Brad Pitt, that he was brilliant and that there was no other choice.

Q: Before Miss Match, did you ever feel a sense of panic, like you've been gone a long time and need to bounce back big?

A: As an actor you always have those feelings. You have to have a balance. I'd worked so much at such a young age that I missed out on things. When all my girlfriends were in school, I was working every day and we had nothing in common. So it was really important for me to experience life. I spent time growing veggies, hanging out with my dogs, reading, doing yoga, being naked on the beach in Hawaii and just having fun. It's very easy for me to pick roles now because if it's not really stimulating, I'm so happy doing other things.

Q: Now you're back on the big screen, playing a TV reporter in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Did you base your character on all the nutty interviewers you've had over the years?

A: I didn't use them at all, but she is psychotic [Laughs]. It's a cameo part, but it was a dream job: go to Vancouver, work maybe 48 hours and have all this great downtime. I'd go out on romantic dates by myself.

Q: Did you pull out the chair for yourself and pick up the check?

A: Yes, I did.

Q: Did you put out for yourself at the end of the date?

A: I did. No, wait. I don't know if I did [laughs] But I would sit there with my little journal, order a glass of wine and work on my script. I felt very, very artsy.

Q: When in the course of making a movie do you know if it's gonna turn out good or not?

A: I never know. And I never really used to care. I was always so excited about the process that to me, the end result was just like, "Well, it's not my problem." But now I feel more invested. I want my movies to do really well, and I want to do everything I can to help promote them because I want to support people that are supporting me.

Q: What's your favorite part of your job?

A: The most fun part is being locked in a room for hours, working on my script. I get so stimulated and really turned on.

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