Selma Blair: she got hear start playing a piece of furniture onstage; that was the last time anyone described hear as wooden

Interview, Nov, 2002 by Jake Gyllenhall

From her tamer turns in Down to You (2000) and Legally Blonde (2001) to the risque Cruel Intentions (1999) and the risk-taking Storytelling. Selma Blair has caught moviegoers attentions by pushing the envelope and defying expectations. She recently chatted with fellow actor and buddy Jake Gyllenhaal about life in the L.A. fast lane.

JAKE GYLLENHALL: Hi, Selma. How are you?

SELMA BLAIR: I'm good, thanks. I'm lying on the ground, talking to you with my dog licking my ear. My windows are open, it's sunny and I'm happy. I just wish I saw you more.

JG: All right. So, I have six words for you: Little Theatre of the Green Goose.

SB: [gasps] How did you find out about that?

JG: Research. I spent last night in the library, looking up Selma Blair.

SB: [laughs] Damn! All you had to do was call mel I would've told you all about the Little Theatre of the Green Goose, at Kalamazoo College. I played a monkey and a baby.

JG: A monkey and a baby? Please divulge.

SB: That was the shining moment that made me think, Hmm. I got skill! [laughs] I played a baby that was thirsty in the desert. It was a plum role. It was kind of absurdist theater. I also played a credenza. And if I can play a credenza, well, just wait and see what else I can do.

JG: I can't wait to see your movie Dallas and Rusty Edue next year). I'm very excited. And A Guy Thing Edue out in early 2003].

SB: Wow. You're really pulling out all the stops.

JG: I am. Tell me about Dallas and Rusty.

SB: That was just a bit part which was a favor I was happy to do for my buddy Scott Caan. It was a good script that he wrote. And what have you got coming up next?

JG: I'm going to go make a movie called The Day After Tomorrow with Roland Emmerich in Montreal.

SB: Oh! I'm going to be in Toronto-I'm doing a movie up there with Judy Davis and Richard Dreyfuss. I'm very excited. You know, I think I look a little bit like Judy Davis. Well, Judy Davis when she was playing Judy Garland [in the ABC miniseries Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows]. It's funny, because I had just looked in the mirror and thought, Wow! I look like Judy Davis, when next thing I know, I get a call saying, "Do you want to do this movie with Judy Davis?" So now I look in the mirror and say, "Damn! I look like Nicole Kidman!" hoping the phone will ring again. [both laugh]

JG: Seeing as you re in Los Angeles, did you check out your boyfriend Jason's [Schwartzman] band, Phantom Planet, at the Troubadour when they played?

SB: Yeah. They've gotten so good. Actually, you have to see the band that opened up for them. They're called the Like--

JG: --I know! The Like is fabulous.

SB: You know them? Wow! I was trying to get into the Troubadour last night to see them again but I couldn't.

JG: I was there last night. It was sold out.

SB: We were having a tough time so I went to dinner with my friends.

JG: Here's a good story for you: Yesterday I was doing a press junket, and at the beginning of the day I told the publicist who was guiding me around, "I'm going to get two words into my interviews by the end of the day--angora and mauve." Sure enough, by the end of the day, angora and mauve had been used in at least two interviews.

SB: How did angora come up?

JG: They asked me what the movie I was plugging felt like, and I said, "Angora." Speaking of which, what places do you like to shop in L.A.? Are you a big shopper?

SB: I'm going to sound like a drip, but I really do like to shop. I shop it up. Believe it or not, Karl Lagerfeld took the photos for this piece. He came to my house to shoot me, and my mother couldn't believe it. I told her yesterday that he had come a couple of weeks ago and she said, "You're telling me this now?" He was so dignified. And elegant. I just want him to like me.

JG: [laughs] I'm sure he does. You know, the nice thing about you is you aim to please--which is why I'm so endeared by you.

SB: Aww.

JG: And because you tell me you want to have sex with me all the time. [both laugh]

JG: Not like that. No, no. You say it in a much more loving way.

SB: I don't really say it like that!

SB: I'm glad we just settled that in print. Wait-I've got to go. The mold guy's here. I was watching TV the other night and Erin Brockovich was on and she had black mold in her house, and it can kill you. I've seen some black mold in my garage, so I'm having it checked. I've got to go. [both laugh] Give me a call.

JG: I'll talk to you soon. Bye.

Actor Jake Gyllenhaal was most recently seen in Moonlight Mile.

Hotshot actor Jake Gyllenhaal may have a lot on his plate at the moment, but he always makes time for pals like Selma Blair. "She's this beautiful, random, crazy vioman. We met making a movie together [2001's Highway] and we spent most of our time fake humping each other. From there, our friendship formed." Gyllenhaal is currently filming The Day After Tomorrow with Dennis Quaid.