Reese Witherspoon Interview at Blockbuster.co.uk

As a towering superhero in Monsters Vs Aliens, Reese Witherspoon aims to empower us all. Blockbuster.co.uk's Marshall Julius reports.

"I've been offered a lot of animated films before," says Witherspoon, perky as ever, explaining why she's so fond of Monsters Vs Aliens. "Usually playing a girlfriend, or the girl who gets rescued by the guy, but this was the first opportunity ever presented to me where the woman gets to be at the centre of the movie. It was a unique opportunity for me to create a character who had strength, a journey and a whole storyline of her own. That's why I had to do it."

As a kid, Witherspoon's TV hero was Linda Carter's Wonder Woman. "I had the whole costume," she remembers, "and my own golden lasso. I think I wore it for seven Halloweens...

"It was awesome when I realised I'd get to create a female superhero of my own. Plus I never expected to be in a movie with so much action in it. I was surprised about that and kind of thrilled, because I couldn't imagine any other world in which that opportunity would have ever presented itself to me. Now I've finally been in a movie that my kids think is cool, especially my daughter, who has a brand new superheroic role model! That's so much better than them thinking I'm a dork.

"I also love the message of the movie, about finding yourself and your identity. I think everybody - not just girls but guys too - struggle with who they are. Are you a person who lives in the shadow of another, just so you don't have to be alone or afraid or find your own strengths? Or are you someone who is willing to take a chance on being a little scared of the unknown and maybe possibly accomplishing great things in your life?"

Standing only 5'2" tall, the diminutive Witherspoon relished the prospect to play a character who towers over not only everybody, but also over most buildings. "It was an interesting sort of challenge because my character goes from being a regular-sized girl to this giant superhero kind of girl. At the end of the movie they wanted me to talk with an action star voice, but that's not a voice I know or have in my repertoire. They kept trying to coach me to be more like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, and that was the hardest thing for me to do. It took a long time to get it right."

On a professional level, Witherspoon says she relished the opportunity to work with such a large number of funny, talented people, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett and Rainn Wilson among them. "We're all so busy doing other kinds of movies that it's only ever possible to work with this many amazing, hilarious people when you're making a cartoon," she explains, "because it doesn't take up a huge amount of our time. Yet of all the movies I've ever done, this is the one that's travelled the best. The one that transcends language, and speaks to people all over the world. I'm very proud of it."

On a more personal level, wraps up Witherspoon, "I loved not having to diet or work out for Monsters Vs Aliens," available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Blockbuster.co.uk. "Ginormica just looks hot, all the time. It's awesome. I could totally get used to this!"

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