After Ray and now this, is there a singer bursting to get out?

No, I'm just an actress who is willing to do whatever she has to do to make it good. It was fun being Tina Turner, the whole movie was fun. We had a blast.

Doing Tina singing Proud Mary must get into your bones?

It does. I've got it on my i-Pod. But it is that serious with these female impersonators. Every black female impersonator has a Tina in their repertoire of characters. I thought it was brilliant when all these different Tina's ran on stage. Tina's of the world unite! There was even a white Tina Turner.

Did you study videos of Tina to get her style?

Sandy brought in a choreographer for the Tina routine. She gave us some of the staples that Tina does. But all of us know Tina's moves. If you didn't know before when you saw Angela Bassett in What's Love Got To Do With it you knew then.

What was tougher, becoming Tina Turner or doing the underwater sequence?

Doing the underwater stuff. It was an 18 hour day. When I left for work the sun was up and when we finished the sun was up. Sandra Bullock is superwoman. She was a producer too on this movie and she was doing so much and then she had a head cold that just hit her. So she was plugged up with this cold and we were under the water for up to 50 seconds at a time, holding our breath. For the three months on this movie we were like partners. So I was worried about my friend and she was not feeling too good. But we did the scene. For both of us that was probably the biggest challenge. We both wanted to do our stunts, we'd go to stunt rehearsals and I was just amazed that she found the time to do all she did. I asked if she ever slept. We were really kicking ass throughout the movie and that 18 hour day was the last day of work!

Do you work out?

I work out regularly. I have always been athletic. I ran track, played volleyball and racquet ball. So this was a welcome opportunity for me to show people that I can really handle myself. And Sandy is the same way and at the same time she is a cheerleader. Her attitude is that it's not just about her but if the entire movie is good then it's good for her. And a lot of actors don't look at it that way. But Sandy roots for the underdog. If it was the Dodgers against the Yankees and even though you know that the Dodgers aren't going to win, Sandy would root for the Dodgers. That's her. So it is really good to be day to day with someone who supports you like that.

What did you think when you saw her in the old age make-up?

I knew the voice because she had done that when we did the read through. When I got to the set she was already there and saw this cute little old lady. Then she started talking about I said...'Get out of here!' I asked to see her teeth and touch her skin. She had age spots. It was good. I didn't recognise her till she started talking.

You've done a lot as a supporting actress, do you enjoy playing all those different characters?

I do. I've had acclaim because people say I'm always so different and they never know what I'm going to do next. I want to be different. It would be boring for people to want me to always do the same thing. It allows me to be the actress I dreamed of when I was a little girl impersonating people. I have been blessed with doing a lot of different people and it's been fun. But having said that, soon you might see me on a TV show and that's because I just want to stay home. I don't want to travel unless it is for vacation.

So are you looking more for stability than a star vehicle?

The vain part of me wants both. I would like a star vehicle, a TV show and then do a movie in the summer. That would be a perfect world. Having a child is a lot of work. I'm still a mom who cooks and drops my son off at school every day. I don't have a nanny. It would be a little bit easier if I had a 9 to 5 and a TV sit-com is a 9 to 5.

During awards season what was the most thrilling gift you received?

I know this sounds so corny but the most exciting thing for me was when I got a life time membership to NetFlicks. I got chills when they told me. A life time membership! I don't ever have to pay for a movie again.

Have the gifts got out of hand?

No the reality is that celebrities motivate so much of what people do or think....the latest diet, the latest pair of shoes or whatever. Companies have realised they could spend thousands of dollars in a magazine advert or use that money to give 30 celebrities gifts and probably get more coverage.

In the movie you look like you really could slug a guy. Have you ever done that?

Yeah I have. My husband said that that wasn't acting in the movie. (laughs) I've never slugged him. But when I was at school - where my mother taught - this guy was doing something mean. So I told him to stop and pushed him into all these people who fell into their lockers and into my French teacher. She told my mommy. I told my mom that I never hit him that hard, he must have slipped. Every time I saw that teacher she'd ask if I was still pushing guys around. When she sees this movie she'll probably think I still am doing that.

What about hitting Regis Philbin?

I didn't really hit him. We did two takes. One where we went through the motions. Then the other when he went Oh! Oh!. I said that people were going to think I really did hit Regis. But it is the funniest thing in the trailer. Me hitting Regis in the groin is cool comedy...but not for the guys, they go...oooh! Since I work out three times a week I was ready for the action in the movie. All I had to do was learn how to stretch a whole lot more. Now I have realised the importance of stretching.

Did you take classes to handle a gun?

No my husband knows about guns. He hates it when they are wrongly held in movies. Since he started pointing it out I can tell people in movies who don't know how to handle guns. So I did practicing how to hold it at home.

In Vegas did you go to the tables?

I don't gamble. I don't get the concept of losing money.

They wanted you to audition for the part of Ray Charles' wife but you wanted to play the mistress?

It was not because I had played the part of the wife a lot. To me of all the female characters in the movie she was the one with the most layers. She was the most complex. I have been attracted to strong characters but she was submissive at the same time. To me it felt like it would be a great challenge to make her likeable because she's cheating with a married man. How could I make people not be mad at her for doing what she's doing? That attracted me even more because I had places to go with her. I thought if I didn't take the challenge I would be punking out as an actress.

What draws you to a role?

I respond to the material. But I do take into account that my son will see it. There are not as many roles for women as there should be. Women are so much more interesting in real life than how they are portrayed on screen. A movie like this is about two interesting chicks who are not typical women. I think that's why Sandy took Miss Congeniality in the first place. How often do we get into the life of a female FBI agent? It's always a man. Hopefully this movie will make a lot of money and opens doors for the next actress.

(C) 2005 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.



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