Ashley Greene (Twilight: New Moon) interview

Ashley Greene plays Alice Cullen in Twilight: New Moon.

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Bella Swan is devastated by the abrupt departure of her vampire love, Edward Cullen, but her spirit is rekindled by her growing friendship with Jacob Black. Suddenly she finds herself drawn into the world of the werewolves, ancestral enemies of the vampires, and finds her loyalties tested.

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How have you found all the attention that these films bring?

It is not too crazy for me. There is an aura about the films, though, definitely and I think you have to have to think about where you go and what you do, because people are sitting outside your house and you have them all following you everywhere.

Paparazzi or fans ?

Paparazzi. If the fans were sitting outside my house it would feel a little creepy! A lot of the problem comes for my mom back home in Florida; she says that people come to our house because you can find everything on the internet. My address is listed under my business management!

What’s the craziest thing you’ve read about yourself in the tabloids?

I read crazy stuff all the time. The things are so random. There is no truth in it. Where do they get the stories? I got linked to a guy named Adrian, which was completely not true. They were like, ‘They went on a date and going on vacation next month.’ I remember I was sitting by friend and she said, ‘When did you go on vacation? I am pretty sure that you are here now with me!’ I also heard a story about a driver’s license and kicking up trouble because I wanted make-up for my picture. I didn’t even have a licence at the time!

After growing up in Florida, were you at all apprehensive about moving to LA and starting out?

I wasn’t. I didn’t really think about it. Maybe I was a bit naïve and I just didn’t even think it was all that crazy. I just thought, ‘I want to be an actress and I have to go to L.A.’ Anyway, my mom came with me. She flew out with me and was with me for about the first week and a half, about ten days, and she helped me to get an apartment and get water and power and all this stuff I knew nothing about. It was the most bizarre thing. I didn’t have any pens. There is so much stuff that you never think about because you have the luxury of having your parents doing it for you, like paper towels, I had never even considered them before. But mum set me up and I found a job and went for it.

From the cast, who is the funniest on set?

On Twilight, probably Edi and on New Moon, Michael Sheen is really funny. The most serious is probably Kristen. She is really good. The sexiest? Jasper.

Did shooting the second film feel very different from shooting the first?

On the first one is was a bit more difficult, because we were still developing our characters. We got together and spoke more about that than on the second one. The second one we had already had a handle on these characters and we were evolving them. I think most of the cast is not big on rehearsals and going over it again and again. It takes the natural aspect out of it whenever you rehearse something over and over again so we didn’t really do too much of that.

Your character is [author] Stephenie Meyer’s favourite. Did you talk to her about the character?

Yes. In fact, again, on the first one, we all sat down and picked her brain but the funny thing is that you can literally find everything about this world from the fans and the internet. I was with my friend yesterday and I was like, ‘If you had those contests about who knows the most about Twilight I would lose to a fan, I am pretty sure!’

What are you looking forward to most in the third film, Eclipse?

I think it is going to be fun. I am excited about it. The first one I was so nervous and then the second one we were all so comfortable and settled. It was much more fun and I think the third will be the same. We all keep just getting better and more at home with who we’re playing. And we like each other. I am also excited about the fact that there’s a big fight scene and we are doing wire training. We have a really good stunt crew so it should be fun.

Your character has a bigger role in New Moon. Did that require you to look further into the character or did you already have enough of a handle on her?

I am pretty sure I got to know her inside and out forward and back during the first film. I was like 100 per cent trying to make sure I had every aspect of her down, because I was as scared as hell that the fans would hate me. I was desperate to do her justice. This is was so much easier, and the character, obviously we had already created her.

In New Moon she has more of a narrative arc…

Yes. And I am really, really excited that happened in the second and not the first because I felt I was much more equipped to handle it in the second one. In the first I definitely worked on the character but I was a bit like, ‘What is going on?’ with it being my biggest ever film and the craziness of the fans, so I was a bit nervous.

So in the first film you made sure that the fans liked you?

Yes and they did. They responded so well. In general, I am just more comfortable in my skin; I did three films in between Twilight and New Moon. So I had a lot more under my belt. I enjoyed it.

Do you have any thoughts on why vampires are now so in vogue?

I think you see it over and over again in Hollywood: whenever something catches on, they tend to jump on a trend and just really over-expose it. I think that is what has happened with the vampire thing. I think at least with vampires, for myself, it is because they are usually very, very sexy, and unobtainable, and dangerous and that’s all very attractive to me!

The core audience is teenage girls. Do you feel very different from the teenager you were, now that you are in your 20s?

I am such a different person than I was when I was a kid. I think from 17 to 22 I have grown a lot. One of the problems when I first started acting was being emotionally available and vulnerable. I had a very good childhood growing up and I didn’t deal with divorce or anything like that. My parents were very loving, and they gave me a really good family home, so it was actually kind of not the greatest thing when I moved out to LA and started acting, because how are you supposed to portray heartbreak when you have never had your heart broken? I had even had the same boyfriend for three years. We broke up when I moved to LA!

Do you have a movie crush?

It was Paul Walker, although I have moved from that crush. I have new ones all the time.

Do you do much stuff on Facebook or Twitter?

No. I was talking to a friend about it and she said that it is a really great way to communicate with your fans, which is true. But also I think it is too public, with pictures and stuff like that, of my personal life. I know that you control what pictures you put up and stuff, but I feel bad for my best friends; people come up to them and say that they are my best friend and it is really weird and awkward that they know that. Anyway, my name is taken on those sites, in every way, shape and form. My nickname is taken even!

What is your best and worst quality?

My best quality is probably that I am very compassionate and I have a half-decent sense of humour. The worst probably is that I get tired of things very easily, which is kind of bad, especially if you are in a relationship!

What drives you crazy?

Possibly aggressiveness. That drives me crazy.

What have you spent your money on since you signed the contract?

My car. It is an Audi coupe. I was dating someone who had an Audi and he let me drive his car all the time, so then I got myself one!


Twilight: New Moon is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 22nd March 2010.