In the Mood for Love

Two minutes into the Conversation and you’re in the mood for Love – Jennifer Love Hewitt, that is.

The venue was the function room of Century Plaza right in the heart of Beverly Hills and the occasion was the press junket for the new Jackie Chan starrer, Dreamworks’ The Tuxedo (released locally by United International Pictures), in which Love (as she is fondly called by friends) she plays a CSA agent who’s a nerd and a water expert with an anger management problem – and sidekick to Jackie’s James Bond-like character with a comic touch and a sharp kick.

In person, Love is petite, very small compared to her screen image made popular in such teen flicks as the two I Know What You Did Last Summer, Heartbreakers, The Devil and Daniel Webster, the cult hit Can’t Hardly Wait, the TV series Party of Five and the telemovie The Audrey Hepburn Story.

Love set the tone of the Conversation as soon as she breezed into the function room, wearing a wide smile and ready to face half a dozen entertainment journalists. Hardly had she warmed her seat than she launched into a recollection of her childhood, the great fun she had working with Jackie and her hopes of spicing up her zero lovelife.

She’s spontaneous, giggling and laughing all the time, sometimes much too brutally frank to a fault, prompting a lady journalist to remind Love that her talkativeness has gotten her into trouble several times. "I should be careful," Love said. But in the next breath, she was her naturally exuberant self again, so we let her be.

How was it working with Jackie?

"It was amazing. I was such a fan because I grew up watching Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies. And, you know, I was just so excited to kind of get to meet him, work with him, be trained by him. It was great!"

Do you have any favorite Jackie Chan movie?

"I really like Rumble in the Bronx."

How did you train for Tuxedo?

"I worked out quite a bit before I got to Toronto where we filmed because I wanted to be stronger when I got there, so if I got hurt it would be as little as possible. And Jackie specifically trained me for everything that I did in the movie. Martial arts, action sequences, everything!"

Which scene did you find most difficult to do?

"I think just getting through my first action sequence up on the building just because I was so nervous that I wasn’t going to do a good job, and he might say, ‘Get around here. She’s fired!’ After that, I was comfortable with the action and I had a great time."

And the funniest scene?

"Every scene with Jackie was funny. We were laughing all the time. We had a great time."

How did you find the transition from "light" movies to a hard-action one like Tuxedo?

"I’ve always wanted to be in an action movie. Always! Ever since I was a child, I’ve always dreamed of being in an action movie. Just from watching action movies, I do have a definite tomboy side to my personality."

Do you give equal time to singing and to acting?

"I love them both equally and hopefully be able to give equal time and attention to both."

Your latest (fourth) solo album, Barenaked, has just been released. Could you tell us more about it?

"Barenaked is a rap-pop album on which I spent about a year working. I co-wrote the songs with the producer. It’s a fun album, nice to listen to when you’re driving or hanging out with friends."

Which do you find more satisfying, more fulfilling, as an artist. Singing or acting?

"They are both fulfilling in many different ways. Acting allows me to escape from who I am for a while and singing allows me to get in touch with my inner self."

You can also get hurt doing movies, especially one as risky as Tuxedo. Did you get hurt during the filming?

"Oh, yes, I did! I sustained tons and tons of injuries! I cracked my head open...I got chopped and broke my little finger...I broke my ankle and I was in a cast for two weeks. I hurt both my knees, both my hands, and I got hit on the face."

I’m sorry to hear that!

(Breaks into laughter) "I’m just kidding!"

By the way, how do you spend time away from the camera, away from work?

"Pretty calm and boring. My kind of life is basically always sort of working and doing things, or being in a premiere or on a movie set. There’s so much going on that when I’m free from work, I want to be in quiet surroundings, hang out with my mom and my family."

Don’t you socialize, go to parties?

"They’re not that fun. I want to dance, yes...in my house!"

What about your weaknesses? What do you splurge on?

"I like to buy clothes. I like shopping. I like buying gifts for my fans and my family."

You started in showbiz at age 11. Didn’t you feel that you might have missed part of your childhood?

"No. Because when we started acting I was kind of dreaming. You know, what I was gonna get to do one day if did get to act or sing. In school, I was more interested in putting on plays and things like that instead of hanging out with friends. I don’t think that I missed anything because I love what I’m doing. How many people in the world can say that they have realized every one of their dreams?"

You have had a smooth transition from child star to adult star, haven’t you?

"People keep asking me about this ‘transition’ thing about a year and a half ago. I didn’t know what they were talking about but they were scaring me. I told myself, ‘Oh, my God! It’s gonna be like puberty all over again!’ I’m gonna start to ‘transcend’. I guess that ‘transition’ happened overnight. I didn’t even notice it. With Tuxedo, I guess I’ve finally sort of reached more adult movie roles. I’ve made it through."

Young fans enjoyed watching I Know What You Did Last Summer. Do you enjoy watching scary movies?

"No. I hate scary movies. I screamed the loudest during the filming of I Know What You Did Last Summer."

No wonder you were called the "Scream Girl"!

"I was terrified! I was terrified doing the movie. I didn’t like it."

What about role models? Do you have any?

"My Mom is a role model for me and so is my grandma. I don’t have any other role models. My Mom is the type of woman who’s hard to find. For me, a role model is somebody you know won’t let you down. My Mom is like that to me."

Audrey Hepburn must be your favorite actress. After all, you played the title role in the telemovie about her life. How did you prepare for that role?

"I watched almost all of her movies all over again. The accent was probably the hardest part to get down."

There’s a forthcoming romantic comedy called Why Can’t I Be Audrey Hepburn? (about a girl dumped at the altar who finds love with a guy who loves Hepburn almost as much as the heroine does). Are you doing it?

"The script is going through one of its last rewrites. The project is not attached to any studio, but half of the money is in place and we’re just trying to find the rest."

Is it true that some people "warned" you to leave the legend alone?

"I’ve heard that. But this movie is just so something I have to do. After this movie, I’ll probably let the Audrey Hepburn thing go. But it keeps coming back to me and I feel it keeps coming back for a reason. The universe has told me that I’m not done with that whole thing yet."

Do you have a lovelife?

"I’d love to have a lovelife but I guess it isn’t the time. I’m sort of waiting for the great guy."

What sort of guys would you find attractive?

"Funny guys...Guys with a good smile. I don’t really have very specific...you know, I don’t have any ideal man."

When you meet a guy, what is the first thing that you notice in him?

"His smile. I try to find out if he can look me directly in the eye when he’s talking to me."

Which actors do you find sexy – aside from Jackie Chan?

"I think Sean Connery is sexy."

What is it about stardom that you’re not comfortable with?

"I guess when too much of my private life is intruded into. But I also understand that. Writers have a job to do and you look for stuff which you think your readers might be interested in. The part that bothers me is that everytime there’s an article written about you, while your family and friends and people who really know you don’t believe it, there’s always one or two persons, or even, who do."

What’s the most irritating thing written about you so far?

"That I was dating Burt Reynolds. It was strange. Why would I date Burt Reynolds when I hadn’t even meet him!?!"

Who would you rather be rumored to be dating?

"Matt Damon. Write that down. (Adding in jest) In fact, Matt and I are getting married. Write that down."

What about your family? Do they get affected by the rumors?

"No, no. They’re great. They never believe any of that stuff. And if there’s any part of them that does, they’re too respectful to even ask me if it’s true. Not that I’m saying all stories that come out are not true; it’s just that some of the stories that come out are not true."

Do you come from a religious family?

"More spiritual than religious."

Are you prayerful?

"Yes, I am."

What do you usually pray for?

"For the people I love to be watched over. And to be, you know, safe. I try not to pray for anything really too much for me. I pray not for myself but for other people."

Love is part of your name. What does love mean to you?

"Love is just a name my Mom gave me. (Seriously now) The feeling love means lots of different things. (Joking again) But, you know, as far as my name is concerned, Love is just a name my Mom gave me."

Are you an only child?

"I have one brother, 32 years old."

How was your childhood?

"It was great! My brother and I are very close; not once in our lives have we ever fought. He’s my best friend. He’s a chiropractor. I have a great childhood."

I wonder, why is your latest album called Barenaked? It’s redundant.

"It’s a play on the fact that when people feel insecure about themselves, they kind of feel bare and naked in front of other people. Makes you feel vulnerable, standing in front of people without your clothes on. I must admit that I sometimes feel insecure and vulnerable and therefore bare and naked."

What’s one song that you find very touching?

"Song To You, I think, by Donny Hathaway. I cry everytime I hear it, especially the line that says, I know your image of me is what I hope to be. It’s a beautiful love song."

What scares you the most, aside from scary movies?

"Failing terrifies me. Failing other people and failing myself, too, in anything. The times I feel like I’ve failed the most are when my friends call me and it takes two or three days for me to call them back. I get sick to my stomach. I feel like a failure when I think I’m letting my family and friends down. If I’ve gone a week without seeing my brother, I feel like I’ve failed because I haven’t stayed true to what my heart really needs."

What’s the one word that best describes Jennifer Love Hewitt?

"Thinks awhile and breaks into a wide smile). "A dork!"