+ Interviews +

... Brittany Daniel 

STEPPIN' OUT
April 18, 2001 

How much importance are you putting on this film as far as 
your career goes? 
I'm pretty level-headed about it. I hope the film does well for
everybody in the movie. But I'm not putting all my hopes and
dreams into this movie. Because you never know what's going
to happen. You just don't know if people are going to show up 
and see the film or not. 

You've gotten very good at playing the sexy vixen. What's 
the secret to being so damn good at it? 
(Laughs) I don't know! I think you can pull off playing sexy if 
you feel comfortable with who you are. I've talked to my friends
about this, you see people out there who are beautiful and you
just look at them and say, "WOW!" They're so pretty, but at the
same time they aren't sexy. There's just something missing
from them. The prettiest girl isn't always the sexiest. You have
to be comfortable in your own skin. I think that's sexy. 

Confidence?
Yeah! I think confidence is such a huge thing. Maybe I'm just 
able to fake confidence very well! 

In Joe Dirt, do you play the sexy vixen?
We were going to do my character as the sexy vixen type at 
first. But then we decided to do the opposite and make her 
more sweet and innocent. That's why I'm really happy that 
this character isn't a vixen. So yeah, from here on out I would
like to play characters who are more real. Even though I will 
tell you that the vixen characters are so fun to play. They're 
so colorful when they're written well. But from this point on, I 
would like to play characters who are more real. 

When you have blonde hair, are very pretty, and have a great 
body, aren't you fighting an uphill battle to get to play characters
that, as you put it, are more "real"? 
For sure! Obviously, I've carved a little niche for myself, and it's 
good to work with that, but at the same time I don't want to 
exploit myself. 

Kid Rock also stars in Joe Dirt. What was he like to work with, 
and are you a fan of his music? 
I'm a huge fan of his music! 

Did that make it hard for you to work with him? 
It's a little surreal at first. I was actually listening to his music 
while I was heading to the table reading session. When I got to 
the building, he was standing outside and he introduced himself.
I was so surreal because I didn't know he was going to be in the
movie. 

How did he do? 
He was so comfortable. I wasn't nervous to work with him, but 
you never know. This was his first acting gig, so I was curious 
to see how well he would do. But he was really good! 

Can anybody act? 
Seventy-five percent of acting is confidence. And he's definitely
got that Plus he's got really good comedic timing, so it worked 
out well. 

By the way, some fashion critics are predicting that David 
Spade's haircut in the film will start a new fashion trend. As 
frightening as that thought is, do you think there's a chance
of that happening? 
(Laughs) That's hilarious! I love that! Trends come and go, but
personally, I'm not into mullet haircuts at all! 

Howard Stern was talking about you the other day. He said he 
wanted to check you out. Since he's single now, would you ever 
consider going on a date with him? 
No, I don't think I would date Howard Stern. Even though I'm 
into tall, quirky guys, I wouldn't date him. 

Why not?
I know his whole thing on the air is just an act, but I think it 
would really bother me. I could act like I was strong and 
independent and not care that he completely sexually harasses
women every day, but eventually it would get to me. He exploits
women and that's okay, because that's his little funny thing. But
personally, I wouldn't want to date him, and physically I don't 
think he's my type either. 

Why do I get the feeling that it would get ugly in the studio if
you were to do his show? 
I would have a blast with him! I have a really good sense of 
humor, so I could laugh at everything he said. 

But? 
I know it's an act. I know that's how it is on those kind of 
shows. I could handle guys like him. The trick is not to argue 
with him. Because you're not going to be able to get any kind 
of rational comment out of him. You just have to have fun. 

Is there any question that you wish someone would ask but 
nobody has?
Um ... not really. 

By the way, do you know there are hundreds of Web sites on
the Internet dedicated to you? How does that make you feel? 
I don't know what to think of that. I completely separate myself
from that, so it feels like another person. Even when I did Stuff 
magazine, I thought, that's not me! I think my career side of 
me is completely different from who I really am. Nobody really 
knows who I am. I want people to know a little about who I am, 
but only special people get to know the real me.  

If you won the Academy Award for Best Actress, who would be
the first person you thanked? 
My mom. Even though I love both my parents, she has just been
so involved with my career since I was 11 years old. She's so
supportive. 

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