Appearing in Easy Virtue this weekend, Jessica Biel talks about going nude and her celebrity boyfriend Justin Timberlake
Jessica Biel keeps the more intimate parts of her relationship with Justin Timberlake much like her super sexy body – strictly under wraps. But that’s all about to change.
But if the idea was for Justin to keep the world’s sexiest woman all to himself, he – like the rest of us – is in for a shock.
The next few months will not only see Jessica rip her no-nudity policy to shreds with a stripper role but also see her throw all caution aside with a love scene that even Justin will not have seen before.
In Nailed, Jessica plays an unfortunate young waitress who, when a nail gets accidentally lodged in her head, turns into a nymphomaniac that no number of men can satisfy.
The lamppost scene may well go down in Hollywood history as one of the craziest moments of on-screen passion ever but for Jessica it’s not all about being shocking.
At 26 Jessica is eager to make a reputation for herself over and above that she has earned as Justin’s girl and the owner of Hollywood‘s hottest body.
She is hoping her upcoming roles, starting with the quaint romantic comedy Easy Virtue, will establish her place as one of Tinseltown’s brightest young stars.
Whether it will be enough to overcome her profile as the girl who succeeded Cameron Diaz as the Justin’s girl remains to be seen but with Diaz and Justin’s other famous ex Britney Spears, she’s in good company.
Here Jessica talks about showing more of herself in every sense but how there’s still some things she’s keeping for Justin and the shower!
Q: Would you say your role in Easy Virtue is your best yet?
JB: “I don’t know, I’ve never thought about that. It might be. I’ve always sort of thought that The Illusionist as my favourite ever performance, even though it’s really hard to look at your own work like that. But I love this character. I want to be her in real life. I’m a little bit passive unfortunately sometimes, I’m just kinda nice, and it’s boring!”
Q: So you wish you could be her in any way?
JB: “Oh absolutely. She’s the woman that I’ve always dreamed of being. She has that ballsy quality about her. She’s not going to take any s**t from anybody. And she will beat you at your own game in a more clever, more funny ways.”
Q: What do you think about all the horse-riding and fox hunting and tea drinking – is that your cup of tea normally?
JB: “It’s all very new for me. The tea and the crumpets thing…. The crumpets are good, I kinda get that. I liked the horse riding, but no interest in the fox hunting. But the horse riding was fun.”
Q: Did Justin visit you on set and does he ever get jealous about your movie partners?
JB: “He did visit, yes, when he can. He has a crazy schedule. He doesn’t get jealous, no.”
Q: Apparently Kristen Scott Thomas she was a little upset that she had to wear her ugly grey wig and you were looking so glamorous in your clothes.
JB: “Well it was a little unfair, I did have the best wardrobe and the most fun hairdo even though it was a lot of upkeep. It’s such a glamorous time, I had a great opportunity to play just the most elegant glamourpuss. It was really fun, I had a really good time playing it.
Q: You have a real mix of films on your CV, from serious to genre films to escapist. Is there a Jessica Biel master plan?
JB: “No, I think the master plan is to keep doing interesting things. It’s not so much about how people see my career or how I want the world to react to me. It’s really just to keep interested and challenged by things. I’m just trying everything and exploring different parts of myself. I think that’s really what it’s about. There’s not much more rhyme or reason to it than that.”
Q: Is it hard to battle against Hollywood’s desire to put you in traditional skimpy costumes and sexy girl roles?
JB: “I think every woman has to battle that. It’s just always has been that way and every woman who’s in this business has to work against that. I think it’s just part of being a woman.”
Q: So do you get any sort of thrill from appearing on those sexiest 100 lists? Is that not important to you?
JB: “I don’t really care at all about those lists. I don’t even pay
attention to them. I guess maybe a producer or studio that you want to work for, sees you in one of those lists then maybe you’ll get an audition because people are interested in you. Maybe that part of it could be a positive. Other than that it’s just, ‘Oh cool, whatever – thanks a lot!’ Moving on…”
Q: When you were first starting out you were often mixed up with the other Jessica’s, like Alba and Simpson. Do you feel like that’s over now?
JB: “It’s so Hollywood to just be like, ‘Oh, you have the same name?’ People throw you all together, and let’s make some kitschy thing about it. I feel like everyone’s pretty much over that and creatively we’re all doing very different things and in very different parts of our lives. So yeah it was kinda funny but now I think it’s pretty much over.”
Q: Are there really good roles for young actresses out there or is it more about package and image?
JB: “There are really good roles, there are very few of them though, and there’s such a large group of very talented women. It’s very difficult I think to obtain one of those really great roles, it is a lot about image and how you’re perceived. That is a big part of it. The roles are there, they’re just highly, highly coveted.”
Q: Do you look at other actresses you admire?
JB: “Definitely. Cate Blanchett or Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore – women that have no boundaries, no borders. They can do anything, They can be any character and you accept it and go with it as a viewer, and as an audience member. That’s the kind of career that I’m looking for.”
Q: Is it true you missed out to Mena Suvari for American Beauty when you were younger?
JB: “It’s too funny (laughs). That is a total rumour – completely fake. I’ve heard that a handful of times, and it’s just funny to me that people still believe it. I never even auditioned for that movie.”
Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to get a role? I heard you dressed up in period costume to go to the Illusionist audition.
JB: “Yeah that was a little bit hardcore. I think I was just sick and tired of hearing ‘You just don’t look period’. I kept thinking, ‘Isn’t that what hair and makeup is about? Isn’t that what a wig and a dress is about?’ I just got to the point where I was not going to lose that role because I didn’t look right. I’d prefer to lose it because I wasn’t good enough or I wasn’t the right person for the role. So I think was definitely the most outrageous thing I’ve done for a part.”
Q: Is it true that your next role is playing a woman who goes sex mad because she has a nail in her head?
JB: “Yeah due to the nail being in her head she experiences rage, she experiences extreme passionate motivation, wanting to get this goal, and then getting really motivated about it. She goes through very crazy, aggressive sexual behaviour.”
Q: So you play a bit of a nymphomaniac?
JB: “Not quite, but I guess it’s along those lines. She just starts to get really uncontrollably excited about like a lamppost (laughs). It could be any inanimate object but for some reason that is turning her on at that moment and then she races you know, and it kind of goes back and forth.”
Q: I assume you’re still sticking to your policy of no nudity in the film? I heard you picked out your own body double for Nailed.
JB: “Yeah I did pick out my own body double. That was bizarre, that was very bizarre. It’s very hard to be a woman and sort of be looking at women kind of like they’re just objects. I was like, ‘I’m kind of having a male experience right now.’ It was weird. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever done. Anyway, I actually didn’t stick to that policy in this other film I did called Powder Blue.
Q: Where you played a stripper?
JB: “Yeah, I mean you change and you grow up and one moment it’s right and another moment it’s not right. I just take it project by project. It’s all about what makes sense for the character and what makes sense for me.”
Q: You went to university for 18 months and then left as you worried that Hollywood might leave you behind, do you think that was the right decision?
JB: “You know I go back and forth about that all the time. It probably was the right decision professionally speaking, but personally speaking I wish I had just finished it. Four years really in the grand scheme of things is not a long time. I have no idea where I’d be now so it’s of hard to say that I regret it because I feel very proud of where I am and my career. I’m having a really great time getting some really interesting opportunities but I think I probably should have just stuck it out and finished it.”
Q: Do you have any interest in singing, because you started in musical theatre didn’t you?
JB: “I did start in musical theatre. I love singing but I’m more of a closet case – singing in the shower type person. I did actually get to sing on one track of the Easy Virtue soundtrack. That was fun. I like doing stuff like that if I can somehow incorporate it into my film work. I don’t really think I’ll be putting out an album anytime soon though.”
Easy Virtue is out on DVD in Ireland now