Katherine Heigl's Vibrating Panties: An Exclusive Interview

The summer movie season can occasionally manage to elevate a special performance in a quieter cinematic effort into the public consciousness, giving ticket-buyers something to get excited about besides giant robots, hormone-addled wizards, or hot-shot starship captains. Whether or not The Ugly Truth delivers big numbers in its debut this weekend, it will invariably launch one of its cast from obscurity into superstardom, in a performance that will be discussed for years: We speak, of course, of the mechanically enhanced underthings that deliver Katherine Heigl -- and with her, millions of delighted moviegoers -- into big-screen ecstasy. (Indeed, virtually everyone already knows the film as "The One With the Vibrating Panties.")

Movieline recently sat down for a heart-to-heart with the summer's most buzzed-about (pun most definitely intended) star. Sorry, Mike Tyson's tiger!

You're having your When Harry Met Sally Moment.

Oh, I wouldn't say that! First, I wouldn't dare compare anything I've done with a classic like that.

But that's what people are saying.

Then that's incredibly flattering. But I think that scene in When Harry Met Sally is iconic because of Meg Ryan's performance, not because of the sandwich she's eating, the one the old lady also wants to eat. I think in our film, I'm just the sandwich, you know?

You're far too modest. You weren't just "the sandwich," that's why we're here!

I have a part to play, and I played it, but the focus should really be on Katherine's simulated orgasm -- which I have to say is pretty great. She tried it a bunch of different ways, but they wound up using the first take. I think that one came out the most natural, and [director] Bobby [Luketic] felt that some of the later tries felt a little too "actory." Especially after the 40th or so take, when everyone was getting tired. Sometimes the best stuff happens right away, and you just have to go with it!

Oh, and let me give credit where its due, while I've got you here. I couldn't even have been doing this if not for the teamwork of our wonderful casting director, costume designer, and propmaster. Fred, the props guy, really had to fight for me. They could've gone with just a regular pair of panties, but Fred really dug in and insisted they be 100 percent practical. Thanks, Fred, you're the best!

Tell me about one of your other important co-stars, Noah Matthews, the boy who mistakenly gets his hands on the controller for the panties.

Oh, he's the sweetest! The best little guy, I promise you. I hope this town doesn't ruin him, he's one of the good ones. I don't think it will, he's really very grounded.

And Gerard Butler?

[The panties glance nervously at the publicist, who nods gently.] Very professional. Professional guy.

You often hear actors talk about how awkward love scenes can be. How did you handle yours?

Well, normally in those sort of situations, an actor can have the set cleared of all but the essential crew members, to, you know, make sure there aren't any pervs -- haha! -- hanging around just to get a look. But since it was a big set piece in a crowded restaurant, that really wasn't possible, so we just shot it without closing the set. It was fine. Katherine and I had great communication, she was just the best, and Bobby did everything in his power to make it as comfortable as possible. Even with the 10-year-old around! [laughs]

Walk us through the scene.

I'd rather not go through it step-by-step, is that OK? Things, like, lose a little of their magic if you pull them apart and look at all the pieces like that. But I will say it was a challenge to make sure I gave them something a little different for each level on the remote control. Warm-up, Paradise, Rapture, Ecstasy. You have to do nuance there, you can't just give them the full-on buzzing right away. <span

class="pullquote right">I found it helpful to pretend I was four totally different bees, each one a little angrier than the one before it. Just a little trick my coach taught me. Oh, now I'm totally boring you with this silly [air quotes] "craft of acting" stuff!

Not at all! It's fascinating. So, during Katherine's appearance on David Letterman's show the other night, you're all he wanted to talk about. But there seemed to be some disagreement about how to refer to you. Katherine said the publicist prefers you be called "remote-controlled underthings," while Dave insisted on "vibrating underpants." What do you prefer?

Here's the thing: I'm not going to be a diva about it. So let's not tiptoe around it. I'm a pair of vibrating panties. I embrace that.

It's always refreshing when the talent is willing to buck the flacks like that.

I'm certainly not ashamed of what I am.

So what's next for you?

Well, actually I'm not allowed to talk about it, but let me just say there's a scene in Eat, Pray, Love where Julia Roberts gets a very naughty gift before she goes out for a sumptuous meal in Tuscany. That's all I'm giving you. I've said too much! ♦