The Verge: Lucy Punch

I've heard, as far as making things up on set, that Jay Roach was the same way for Dinner For Schmucks.

Yes! Oh, definitely. With Jay there was a huge amount of improv. And, sadly, of course, hardly any of that ends up in the movie. That movie was epic. I'd say half of my stuff is funny lines or jokes that we just came up with. With Jay, yes, he is a great director but he's almost the opposite of Woody in that he's very chatty and he lets you know when he likes something. Steve Carell is the most spectacular ad-lib improviser ever. And just doing a scene with him, it's just one incredible topping himself on every take.

He's extremely well trained in improv.

He is! But to watch it is amazing. You just want to go, "What is going on inside your head?"

It's easy to say this now, but I don't feel Nicole Kidman would have worked quite as well in this role. It was better not thinking to myself, "Ah, there's Nicole Kidman playing a prostitute."

Well, listen, Nicole Kidman is an Oscar-winning, fabulous, spectacular actress.

Just my humble opinion.

That's very much appreciated. But, yes, I think she would have done it very differently. And I think it probably would have been better.

No...

[Laughs] She's Nicole Kidman! She definitely would have been taller.

I've heard you say that before, so I was expecting you not to be very tall. I'm six foot and you're almost my height. So how exactly tall is Nicole Kidman?

[Shows me her heels] She's very tall! And I did it in this very London accent, and I don't know if she would have done that.

Of your numerous upcoming projects, which one are you most excited about?

I'm really, really excited about Bad Teacher, especially because it's quite a big part. It's with Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, and I'm the good teacher. And I was really pleased because that's a totally different character in terms of how I look. It's a broad comedy in a way, still, but I'm this very sweet Midwestern school teacher with very frumpy clothes and a big red wig.

Do you live in London or L.A.?

L.A.

When did you decide, as an actress, that you had to move?

About four years ago. When I moved there I got a part in a TV show...

The Class.

The Cl-ahs. _The Cl-ass. [Mimes my Midwestern accent]

Sorry, I'm from the Midwest, originally. I speak funny.

I love the Midwest accent. I just did a movie in, where was it, Philadelphia?

I'm not sure that's really the Midwest.

It wasn't in Philadelphia. Where was it?

Chicago?

Maybe it was Chicago. So anyway, I was doing a Midwestern [accent], or at least trying to do one. What were we talking about? Oh, The Cl-ass. So I moved to L.A. to do The Class. The Cl-ass.

That is a solid Midwestern accent -- I approve. Why did you leave The Class early?

I left a few episodes early because I think they were constantly changing the contract. I could have stayed, but I wanted to try something different. It was so exciting, I was so excited when I got the role; I was so excited about the opportunity. To be honest, and I may regret saying this, the idea of playing the same character for a very long time is very daunting to me. Certainly the financial security is very, very appealing. I had gotten to a stage where I was pretty broke and this show came along and I was like, "Ah!" And, of course, there were wonderful writers and wonderful actors in it. But the show wasn't doing that well and there was an opportunity, against the advice of my agent at the time.

That's a risky move.

It could have gone both ways. I'll be honest, if that show [had been a hit], I'd have gone, "Oh, why did I do that?"

Right, every website would still run a The Class recap and the cast would still have their picture on every bus in town. You'd be like David Caruso leaving NYPD Blue.

I don't even know who you're talking about. But something like that, yeah. [Laughs]

[Top photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

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