Ever
since breaking out as the sharp teen sleuth on Veronica Mars, Kristen Bell has cultivated
a cult following with films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the upcoming Fanboys that have played off her
considerable geek appeal. But soon enough, Bell's name will become common in
less esoteric households: She's prepping for a slew of movies that should
thrust her into the mainstream. She has a supporting role opposite Meg Ryan in
Cheryl Hines' directorial debut Serious Moonlight (based on the final script
from the late Adrienne Shelly), and she's starring in Disney's romantic comedy When
In Rome. In
the meantime, she also keeps up a hectic work schedule by splitting time between
two of TV's most talked-about shows (Heroes and Gossip Girl) and doing voiceover work for
the forthcoming animated films Sheepish and Astro Boy. Bell recently spoke with The
A.V. Club
about dealing with her many ongoing and upcoming projects, her thoughts on
being at the center of "geek culture," why everyone should cut Heroes some slack, and what she
thinks a Veronica Mars movie might look like.
The
A.V. Club: Considering all the projects you have going on right now, it seems
like you're trying to figure out what kind of parts you want to play. Have you
learned to say no to things yet?
Kristen
Bell: Yeah,
definitely, though I think I'll always be figuring out what parts I want to play,
because I want to play all parts. I'm a very hungry actress. Someone once told
me it's more important what you turn down than what you take, and I think that
rings true, especially when you're trying to make decisions about how you want
to be viewed. It's hard, because I also want to have fun, and if there's a
project that's super-small or low-budget or silly but it happens to have
friends involved, I'll always take it, because my number-one priority is that I
want to have fun with my career.
AVC:
Are there any kind of roles you consciously avoid?
KB: The only thing I consciously
avoid is playing the victim. I think women are portrayed as the victim in so
many things, and I really like women with strength—although I feel now I
may have gone overboard by playing so many strong, sassy women. [Laughs.] I
don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I just don't ever want to play the
girlfriend. You know, the supporting character in the background who just sort
of comes in and goes, "Oh, shucks." It's just a boring character. I find that more
recently in the last five or six years, writers are starting to lean on women,
with the help of things like Buffy [The Vampire Slayer] and Alias, and the inception from TV
and into film where there's a little more depth than just a girl who's looking
for love in a romantic comedy.
AVC:
You just played a young woman looking for love in a romantic comedy—for
Disney, no less. Was that an awkward adjustment?
KB: No, because I liked the role
a lot, and it had a lot more depth. I mean clearly, it's a romantic comedy, so
yeah, she's looking for love, but I felt it was real. I felt like that girl was
very similar to my own personality. You have to show a woman that's real. You
can't keep showing a woman who just keeps playing the victim or who's way too
hard. I mean, Heroes is a little different, because there they're fighting for the sake
of the world, so they can be as mean as they want. But there has to be this
balance of reality for a woman. I don't want to play women who just serve a
purpose for the script.
AVC:
You've described yourself as a cynic in the past. How would you sell When In
Rome
to a cynic like yourself?
KB: [Laughs.] Well, first I'd
probably say, "Don't see it if you don't want to, because I don't really care."
But I would say that it made me laugh being on set every day. There are a ton of
great comedians in it. Part of the reason I took it is because there's such a
stigma about romantic comedies—and it's there because it's true, usually.
I was talking to someone about this just last night: Why are there no movies
that both guys and girls enjoy going to see? You're either going to see Bride
Wars or
you're going to see Righteous Kill. There's no in-between anymore. Why can't it be
marketed to both people? Human beings are in this movie, they're of both male
and female gender, and they're funny. This movie has a whole bunch of funny
male comedians, and that balances out the fact that it's a romantic comedy and
makes it more just a comedy.