Jessica Biel

Jessica Biel

By Daniel Robert Epstein
Dec 8, 2004

Jessica Biel actually flashed a little bit of stomach because she was showing off her vampire hunter belt. I thought it was so cool that innocent little Mary Camden was showing skin to a roomful of comic book fans there to interview her for Trinity.

In the third Blade film she plays Abigail Whistler, the illegitimate daughter of Kris Kristofferson’s character Abraham Whistler. She is a vampire hunter that works with a team called the Nightstalkers that includes Hannibal King [Ryan Reynolds] and SuicideGirls favorite Patton Oswalt.

Check out the official website for Blade Trinity

Daniel Robert Epstein: I remember you saying a few years ago in Gear magazine that you would love to kick your 7th Heaven character’s ass and now you have the skills to do so.
Jessica Biel: Yeah!
DRE:
So I guess she wouldn’t have a chance against your character in Blade.
JB:
No she wouldn’t last very long. I have all these new skills so I could whoop on her.
DRE:
How has that training changed your life?
JB:
It’s changed my workout routine, the way I eat and the way I live my life. I really thought I was a healthy eater before the move. But working with someone who knows what they are doing completely changed that perspective. I learned about nutrition. It motivated to get into the gym and exercise more than I ever did before. I really liked the way my body looked when we shot this but it’s obviously not that way anymore.
DRE:
Are you hoping this extends into another franchise?
JB:
I think that’s the idea. If the fans are excited about these two new characters then it might happen.
DRE:
Who would they fight?
JB:
I don’t know. There is a scene in Blade Trinity where we fight a new monster. If we do a spin-off I don’t know if we will fight them. I’m half and half about that monster.
DRE:
There was an issue of Tomb of Dracula in the movie. Did you read any of the comics before doing the movie?
JB:
I didn’t. I never have been a comic book fan. My character is brand new so I didn’t have to understand the character from a comic then bring her to life.
DRE:
Was it tough to keep a straight face with Ryan Reynolds improvising all the time?
JB:
Yeah it was. I’m boring compared to him. It was always a challenge to keep a straight face. He would always come up with new ways to call Parker [Posey] something negative. He would get grosser and more disgusting so it was a lot of fun.
DRE:
Did you try to emulate Kris Kristofferson at all because your character is his daughter?
JB:
Not really. With the wardrobe we wanted to emulate him a bit to give her an old western feel. I still have the belt.

[stands up and shows her belt and a bit of tummy]

This belt is a cool western style which Laura Jean Shannon, our costume designer, and I thought would look good. I also have a seven shooter pistol which shoots seven bullets instead of six.
DRE:
You’re just screwed if there is an eighth vampire.
JB:
[laughs] Yeah but then I would just pull out my bow.
DRE:
So you’re not going for a singing career like Kris.
JB:
No.
DRE:
You’ve done two horror type films in a row, what other genres do you want to do?
JB:
I would love to do a movie musical or a comedy but I want to do everything I haven’t done. I don’t know what’s next because every time I try to figure out what to do next I do the complete opposite. I want to do something totally different from an action adventure/horror movie. I just did Stealth which is another futuristic action movie. I play a fighter pilot and I also did the Cameron Crowe movie Elizabethtown. Now I’m getting away from genre films but I’d like to come back.
DRE:
What’s Stealth about?
JB:
It’s like Top Gun. An unpiloted drone plane goes AWOL and they have to get it down. I think there is a plane like that being built now.
DRE:
When you pulled up your belt I saw that you have a bird tattoo.
JB:
It’s a dove.
DRE:
When did you get that and do you have any others?
JB:
I don’t but I got this when I was at college at Tufts. I just had this vision of the dove. Maybe it’s because I’m from Boulder [Colorado] and we’re hippies. I just wanted to get a tattoo when I turned 18 and I was just like “Screw it.” I really like it but it doesn’t have any more meaning than that I like doves and like I said I’m from a hippie area.
DRE:
It’s very funny when they show it in Blade in contrast to your character.
JB:
That’s why David wanted to show it next to my gun.
DRE:
The website I write for would be upset if I didn’t ask about The Rules of Attraction. Do you meet a lot of fans of that movie?
JB:
It was kind of disappointing because the movie didn’t get out to many people. I do meet people that are like “Oh my god that movie is so great.” I run into a hardcore fan very rarely. It just didn’t get publicized enough and I don’t know why. It’s a fun and interesting movie. I run into a lot of people who say “I don’t get it” and I don’t want to explain it.
DRE:
Do you understand it?
JB:
No! [laughs] it’s a difficult movie to explain.
DRE:
Do you feel like you’ve sufficiently moved away from the way people perceived you on 7th Heaven so would you come back to TV?
JB:
I’m really enjoying doing movies. I like being someone else for just three months. That’s what I wanted to do for so long. The other thing about television is that people can’t imagine you as another character. I love TV and I had a great experience but I don’t know if I would come back right now because I like traveling around doing movies.

When people see you every week in their homes they think they know you and producers don’t think you can do anything else. I wanted to show that I can be more. I can be a vampire slayer and I can be a damsel in distress.
DRE:
Is there a sequel in mind for Texas Chainsaw Massacre?
JB:
Not a sequel but a prequel without my character.
DRE:
Good because I wouldn’t want to see those kids driving for two hours.
JB:
I thought they might do Leatherface as a little boy which would be bizarre.
DRE:
Your character in Blade goes into battle with her iPod playing techno music. What would you listen to?
JB:
In the movie I wasn’t listening to anything but I’m not a trance/house music fan like my character was. In the gym I listen to 50 Cent, Christina Aguilera and a lot of classic rock.
DRE:
Were people always bothering you when you attended Tufts?
JB:
People at Tufts were really cool. Before I arrived there was a rumor that I was coming so I got some stares and people pointing. But I think that I was intimidated because I come from working with adults and now there were all these people my age. I wasn’t being bothered but actually left alone. Then I met some people and I got a group of friends. Guys didn’t really talk to me because I don’t think they knew how to approach me.
DRE:
Have you thought about going back since you left before you graduated?
JB:
Yeah I left before picking a major so I was taking classes that were just interesting to me. I would love to go back. It’s important for me to finish because if I don’t do it then I will regret it. My younger brother is in college and he will graduate before me which pisses me off.
DRE:
Were you intimidated by Wesley because he stays in the Blade character all the time?
JB:
Yeah, it was weird. He’s very intimidating anyway because he doesn’t talk to you. When someone doesn’t talk it can get very awkward but I got used to it. I don’t know if I said more than ten words to the guy.
DRE:
How were your scenes with Orlando Bloom in Elizabethtown?
JB:
They were so much fun. Orlando is great. He seems like a little kid to me because he’s got this wonder and innocence about him. It’s really [writer/director] Cameron [Crowe] that made the whole experience so wonderful. He really works you to the bone but you feel so excited and energized when you’re doing it.
DRE:
How is it working with first time directors like David Goyer as opposed to someone like Cameron Crowe?
JB:
I was pretty intimidated to walk on Cameron’s set because I’m such a fan of his. I felt pressure even though I was only there for a week. Everyone has a different style but creatively I like Cameron best. But working with David Goyer was great because I totally trust him.
DRE:
What directors would you like to work with?
JB:
I don’t really know director’s names very well. I loved the movie Secretary but I don’t know who the director is.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

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