Henry: How did you spend your Christmas?
Melissa: I was in the Grand Canyon,
and it was beautiful. We were in Vegas as well, with my family and
my husband.
Henry: I should apologise in advance
with these questions, I haven’t put them in any particular
order, and there may be repeats but we’ll deal with them when
we get to them.
Melissa: Oh, sure, that’s fine.
And I hope the eyebrow issue has been cleared up? [laughs]. But
seriously though, adding to that, when my family were here, and
my little sister – she has very blonde hair and dark brows
– and my mother was saying, ‘You know, you two girls
used to get comments on that when you were children, because nobody
could believe that your hair would be that colour compared to your
brows’. I was like ‘You see! I’m going to have
to tell Henry that one!’ [laughs]
Henry: The first batch of questions
are from Antje [aka MercyIsMe] – If you were not acting, what
job would you have?
Melissa: If I wasn’t acting,
I think I would like to do… interior design. Yeah, because
you know, with the Balinese background, and being there and buying
furniture, stuff like that. I love to do-up our home, so I would
be an interior decorator, for sure.
Henry: So is your house well decorated
then?
Melissa: Oh yeah, it’s well decorated!
If only we’d had a web-cam I could take you on a tour of the
house!
Henry: Are you one of those people
that redecorates every year?
Melissa: Yeah, I’m the sort of
person that would sell and then buy a new place every year, just
a completely new place.
Henry: How many houses have you lived
in, since you moved away from home?
Melissa: [counts them up] I’ve
had… 6. Six different houses, and then of course the ones
in Bali and the ones in Chile, so we often just sell and then rebuy.
For instance, now we’ve been in this house for a year, and
we’re thinking of selling in the next six months, and getting
a new location, a different atmosphere and then decorate that.
Henry: So would you move out of LA?
Melissa: Oh no, we’d stay in
LA for sure, we’re definitely going to be based in this area.
Henry: Which actor / actress would
you most like to work with in the future?
Melissa: I think I’d like to
work with Jessica Lange. And then possibly, Pacino or De Niro or
somebody, that would be great.
Henry: Okay, so to play devil’s
advocate here, if you got sent a script for a movie that would have
Al Pacino in, but you read it and it stunk, would you still go for
it, just to work with him?
Melissa: Uh…yeah! I would just…
just to get on the set with him would be good enough for me! [laughs]
Even if I just said nothing, I’d still go on.
Henry: What do you think is the biggest
misconception people have of you?
Melissa: I don’t think there
are… I don’t know, I think people who meet me just get
pretty much what I am. That’s a good question, I’d have
to really think about it. Maybe, because of who you are –
you’re an actress and you’re on TV – they probably
think you’re full of yourself, because a lot of actresses
tend to be like that, but I guess that’s probably the biggest
misconception because I try to be very down-to-earth about it. Just
a normal girl. Hmm, that’s a terrible answer! I mean, people
who come up to me on the streets are very frightened, and hesitant,
but that’s probably the opposite of what I am – I’m
not very scary at all.
Henry: So when people come up to you
in the street, do you take time to stop and chat, maybe sign an
autograph?
Melissa: Oh I do, for sure. And I have
a habit of blushing, and my mother, when she was here – ‘cause
I kept getting spotter everywhere – she goes ‘Darling,
you’re going to have to stop that. You’re going to have
to stop going red, you should be used to it by now’ and I’m
like ‘I know, it’s terrible’. Like, I was at an
In-and-Out burger, which is like a very popular chain of burger
places here, and I was standing buying my meal, and there was the
drive-through window next to me, and a car pulled up and was looking
into the restaurant – they could see me standing there, and
they were going crazy. And of course I went bright red, and my mother
just said ‘That’s not a good look. You should be very
comfortable with who you are, and what you’re becoming.’
Henry: Do you get people in the US
who recognise you for things like Home & Away still, or is it
just from Friends and Alias and Thieves etc?
Melissa: Yeah, Friends, Thieves and
all that was pretty much when it started, because Home & Away
isn’t aired over here, which is a good thing, because I got
to start from scratch, so I could kind’ve reinvent myself
and become somebody new.
Henry: What do you do when you get
angry, what makes you angry, and do you have a pet peeve?
Melissa: My pet peeve is probably laziness,
or people that don’t call you back when they say they will,
[laughs] things like that. And how do I deal with it? I do what
my father calls “A George” on them, which is just quietly
and pleasantly letting them know how I feel, but not getting too
angry, but there’s a hint of sarcasm in there.
Henry: So if somebody annoys you, you
tell them?
Melissa: Oh yeah, I would. I was at
this charity event, and I was making these flower pens with kids
that were very sick and they couldn’t use their hands. So
I was at this table doing craft with them, and I was doing extra,
and the woman who invited me to be there, with the kids there, started
yelling at me because I was making too many. Little did she realise
I was making them because there were kids who couldn’t use
their arms, in fact some of them didn’t even have arms, so
I was over-compensating for the fact – if they couldn’t
make one for themselves, I would give them an extra one –
that’s how I was thinking. And she started going mad at me,
and the two girls that were next to me, who were also on a show,
were upset and I just said to her, quietly and nicely ‘You
shouldn’t yell at us, because we’re here to help, and
little do you realise we’re actually making them because they
can’t use their arms’. So I let her know in a strong
way that she shouldn’t speak to somebody like that.
Henry: How bizarre, to tell you off
for that ?!?
Melissa: It’s very bizarre. But
I tend to speak up straight away, I’m not someone that let’s
people get away with that kind of thing.
Henry: What was her reason for getting
annoyed about that??
Melissa: She must’ve had, I don’t
know, a bad day. It wasn’t like there were no pens and flowers
or tapes left, and I said ‘there’s about 2 million next
to me, and I’m just making five more – don’t go
mad at me, please!’. So that was one incident where I spoke
up, and the other two girls I was with said ‘Wow, I couldn’t
have done that, I wouldn’t have said anything’. It was
just really strange – it was at a benefit for the Make a Wish
fund, and I’m like ‘Why are you yelling at me??’
[laughs]
Henry: Maybe she fancied Vaughn, and
was jealous?!
Melissa: I think so, I think that’s
what it boiled down to [laughs]
Henry: If you could wake up tomorrow
having gained one ability or quality, what would it be?
Melissa: Speaking fluent Spanish. My
husband’s Chilean and he speaks Spanish, and when I’m
in Chile I can speak it okay, but I have this thing where I get
scared and I don’t want to say it. So I wish I could just
wake up and be fluent in Spanish. And you know, that would be one
less worry.
Henry: Which of your characteristics
or traits do you hope your children inherit, and which that they
don’t?
Melissa: The thing I’d hope they
inherit would be my creative ability, which came in handy with dancing,
and school and skating, and then becoming an actress – I hope
they inherit that, and probably my strength. And the rest, I hope
they inherit from my husband! [laughs] As for what they don’t
inherit…
Henry… and don’t say your
eyebrows!
Melissa: Oh, I hope they *do* inherit
my eyebrows, and I hope they hold their head up strong, and show
them to the world!
Henry: …I’ve been very
self-conscious of my ‘brows since I asked you that question,
and whenever I see them I feel bad and think ‘I shouldn’t
have asked her that question, that was rude’
Melissa: No, no no! It’s good
– I don’t care! Um, what they don’t inherit, would
be, my ability to get too emotional. I say that, but I think most
women would have that anyway. Probably the ability not to get upset
at small things.
Henry: Regarding your future, have
you decided how many children you want, and have you given them
names?
Melissa: I have decided, and I have
given them names. Yeah, I’ve named them all. But my husband
said ‘Let’s start with one and then you can see how
much you like [motherhood], and then go from there’
Henry: So have you given them Spanish-type
names, or English/American names?
Melissa: Well that’s the thing
– my mother and father were saying, in their broad Australian
accents, ‘Whatever name you give them in Spanish is going
to sound so beautiful, and then they’re going to come to Australia
and it’s going to sound terrible!’. Like if my husband
says [in Spanish accent] ‘I want to name the child Bruno,
or Dino’ – the way he says it is so romantic –
and then at Christmas, in Australia my parents are going to be saying
[in Australian accent] ‘Bruno!’ or ‘Dino!’
and it’s not going to sound so beautiful anymore! [laughs].
I think we’re just going to have to worry about that later
– first I have to *have* a baby, and then we worry about it!
Henry: If you were to take part in
‘Survivor’, what luxury item would you take
Melissa: My tweezers [laughs].
Henry: … I’d take a boat!
Melissa: Yeah, my 100 foot Yacht!
Henry: You have a yacht??
Melissa: No! No no! I mean, I could
have one – but I wouldn’t have *anything* else!
Henry: What’s your favourite
place in the world?
Melissa: Bali. Yeah, Seminyak…
and I also like Ubud.
Henry: What’s your favourite
joke?
Melissa: This blonde goes into the
library, and she says ‘Hi, can I have two vodka and tonics,
and a diet coke?’, and the Librarian says ‘I’m
sorry, but this is a library!’. So she goes ‘Oh, sorry.
[whispers] can I have two vodka and tonics and a diet coke…’
[laughs]
Henry: You can’t fail with a
blonde joke, can you!
Melissa: Yeah, I’m a blonde,
I can say what I want! [laughs]
Henry: …my current favourite
– A man walks into a pub, and there’s a chap sat there
with a massive long pole next to him…
Melissa: [laughs] this is funny already…
Henry: … so the man goes up to
him, and he says ‘Excuse me, are you a pole vaulter?’
and the man says ‘No, I am a German, but how did you know
my name was Volter??’
Melissa: [laughs] That’s funny!
Henry: I probably shouldn’t have
told that in the interview though… Do you have any scars,
and if so, how did you get them?
Melissa: Yeah, I have one on my back,
just where they cut out a freckle/mole thing, but I think that’s
the only scar I have.
Henry: …No skating injuries then?
Melissa: No injuries, no I can’t
believe it but I got nothing. Oh, actually, you know, I have a long
scar on my left shoulder, where I was walking through a doorway,
on Thieves – we were doing a fight scene – and there
was a nail sticking out of the doorway… so I’ve just
got a very skinny line from that.
Henry: Here’s a good one –
Do you remember what you dreamed about last night?
Melissa: No, I had no dreams last night
because the coyotes woke me up at 4am. We have coyotes on the mountain
here, and they were all in a pack on the side of the mountain, and
I looked out of the window and I shined a light on them. They were
all singing like they were in this huge orchestra/choir, and they
woke me up at 4am. And then that triggered all the dogs in the neighbourhood,
so the dogs were going off and the coyotes were singing.
Henry: …An interesting way to
be woken up in the morning I suppose!
Melissa: I know. And it’s never
happened, but they were extra loud last night – must have
been a full moon.
Henry: …Isn’t that kind’ve
scary, having coyotes around your house??
Melissa: No, not really – I mean,
if there’s one walking along alone, you don’t go up
to it because that means they’re wild and they’re not
in a pack, but if they’re in a pack it’s not so dangerous.
We have bobcats too, and some deer, and a beautiful owl, and then
the coyotes are on the mountain behind us.
Henry: What was the main reason for
introducing your character to Alias, and has this been achieved?
Melissa: Yes, it has been achieved.
The main reason was probably to lighten up Jennifer Garner’s
workload a little bit, and also they needed another woman in there
because there was no other females in there anymore, except the
occasional guest-star. And also to create an extra dynamic to the
show, and that was this whole Vaughn / Sydney / Lauren triangle,
which has definitely been achieved, because we’ve sent fans
spinning, and they don’t know quite what to make of J.J.’s
new storyline. That’s pretty much it really, and they’ve
definitely achieved it.
Henry: Was Lauren, in your opinion,
devised partly to compensate for the lack of Lena Olin on the show?
Melissa: Possibly, yeah. But then,
Lauren and Irina are very different women – I was not replacing
her in any sense. They just needed another woman that was more on
Sydney’s level, in age.
Henry: This one’s from an anonymous
fan - Knowing that you’re a champion roller-skater, would
you be willing to skate for us on Alias? After all, Jennifer has
her ballet moves; Michael, his hockey; and most recently, Kevin
played the drums. Melissa, please tell J.J. that the fans want to
see Lauren skate! (we also want to see Victor Garber sing!)
Melissa: As soon as J.J. met me, and
he heard about me having been a roller-skater, he was like ‘Okay,
we are going to write that in to a mission!’ so I’m
just waiting for it! And Victor sings all day, even though it’s
not on camera.
Henry … they’d have to
do an all-musical episode, like Buffy did!
Melissa: Hmm, yeah… but Alias
is so mysterious and convoluted; I don’t think a musical episode
would fit in somehow.
Henry: … it might detract from
the flow of the plot I guess.
Melissa: Yeah, people would be like
‘What??’
Henry: This question is from “bristow123”
– Do you get any say, or "own" your character more
in the second half of the season? You know, like Ron Rifkin or Jen
Garner try to suggest how their character would or wouldn't act.
If this is the case, where would your like to see Lauren Reed go?
Super kick butt spy girl? Good? Bad? Shady?
Melissa: I personally don’t get
involved in the storylines, because I could not come up with anything
as great as they do. And as far as how I would like to see her character
go, I think it would be… I think now that’s she’s
been revealed as being the sniper, and working for another entity,
just continue in that path I guess. I’d be happy with that
– that’s actually where I would want her to go. It’s
much more fun playing a character like that than just the vulnerable
woman in a bad situation.
Henry: Some people are criticizing
her change in character as being a cop-out to get her out of the
bad situation that they got stuck in?
Melissa: Oh no, they’ve known
all along who she was, they were just cleverly plotting her for
people accept her as the wife, and then they… It was not a
last-minute thing, definitely. They had that and they were working
backwards from it.
Henry: In the latest Alias magazine,
you mentioned a story about the big board they have in the writer’s
room – did you look at it?
Melissa: No – were were just
in the Craft service, getting a cup of tea, and she just said ‘Oh,
and if you want to know your storylines, it’s all in that
room next door!’ and we were just having fun about it. And
we were laughing saying ‘Oh yeah, the new girl’s really
going to go in there and look at all the storylines!’ But
I never lifted up the curtains, and even if you did do that by the
way, it can change so dramatically.
Henry: What is your reaction when you
see articles like the recent Woman's Day one, which claimed you
were the "Most Hated woman on American Television"? Aside
from the fact that they're obviously idiots...?
Melissa: Well, Marion Collins, who
wrote that article, is probably a very unhappy woman, and if she
was unhappy to begin with she’s going to be even more, because
she wrote such lies and distasteful quotes, and basically what I’m
upset about with that interview is that the Editor of Woman’s
Day, who always writes beautiful things and such beautiful articles,
allowed this woman to put that in. So they will never get another
interview from me, and they know it. And if they do, they’d
have to do a public apology, because, ‘Everyone hate’s
Melissa’ – it should be ‘Everyone hate’s
Lauren’, because it’s just a character. But to me, I
didn’t get that upset because I know it’s not true.
Henry: …Not only does it make
her look stupid, because her sources for an article are five un-named
people on a message board, but her ‘research’ is old
stuff – the episode they referred to aired back in October!
Melissa: It’s so old, and you
know – when people get upset with Lauren – good! That’s
the point – that’s why we’re taking her on this
journey, and why her being the sniper is great. But basically it’s
a stupid article…
Henry: … and worse still, it
makes Alias fans look silly, when they’re clearly not.
Melissa: The fans are the most important,
and she shouldn’t have quoted anything. That Marion Collins,
who knows what she is or how she lives but… And you know,
that article was on the second to last page of the magazine, it’s
so not important.
Henry: … it’s a space filler
basically.
Melissa: Yeah. It was so funny, that
J.J. was like ‘it’s so interesting that people can think
that’s you’re the character’. I mean, I just did
an Action Figure body scan, which means, you know, I’m part
of the cast.
Henry: They’re doing action figures?
Cool, I’ll have to get one!
Melissa: You can get the first one
off the press! [laughs] It’s sort of preliminary stuff, but
it’s really great. It makes me happy that there’s so
much interest, especially by Marion Collins, who… don’t
get me started! It’s actually quite flattering that they needed
a space filler, and she chose me.
Henry:… That’s a healthy
way to look at it!
Melissa: Well it’s true. Anyway,
the more time we spend talking about the bad things, the less time
we have to spend doing the good things.
Henry: What type of music are you into.
For instance, what were the last few CDs you listened to / or bought?
Melissa: Well I actually got a great
compilation from a guy called Henry Elliss… [laughs].
Henry: Really? He sounds nice [laughs]
Melissa: Yeah, well I got these two
compilation CD’s – they’re so good by the way,
I wanted to tell you that I love them – all different artists,
and British bands and things like that. That’s actually really
fun, and there’s some songs on there that you want to hear
on the radio over here, but you don’t, either because they’re
British or they’re European bands, and that kind of thing,
so to have so many on the CD is great. Apart from that…. At
the moment, I’m listening to – I just bought the box-set
of Miles Davis, and I’ve just been listening to that all day
pretty much.
Henry: So are you a jazz person, or
classical, or pop, or…?
Melissa: I like everything –
all of them I love equally.
Henry: How much do you use the internet?
Are there any websites that you regularly visit?
Melissa: eBay. I’m a huge eBay
fan. BlueFly.com
Henry: So do you buy furniture on eBay?
Melissa: No, just small one-off things,
like Manalos, or Jimmy Choo stuff. My father bought a digital camera
while he was here, and he got that on eBay. He loved it. I usually
buy from Power-sellers, so you know what you’re getting.
Henry: Will Lauren be “the passenger”
referred to in Episode 11, carrying the spawn of Rambaldi…?
Melissa: [answer removed for safety’s
sake]
Henry: Milo sounds quite nice in Spanish
– maybe you should consider that! [laughs]
Melissa: I actually have a friend who
wants to name her baby Vaughn. It’s actually great first name.
Henry: Brilliant – an Alias baby!
Melissa: Yeah, she might. And one of
the crew members who had a baby named her Sydney!
Henry: I hear Jennifer took the cast
to Disneyland recently? Was that fun?
Melissa: Ohmigod, it was the best night.
We were there the other night, and there was 900 people that turned
up, they closed down part of Disneyland and California Adventure
and we had the whole rollercoaster to ourselves, and we just went
time-after-time-after-time – it was the best night, it was
really really great.
Henry: Nobody threw-up or anything
then? [laughs]
Melissa: No they didn’t, but
I was only there four days before that with my family, and they
had to close down the roller-coaster for one ride while they cleaned
it! It was just disgusting [laughs]
Henry: Do you have any idea when Alias
Season 3 might be airing in Australia? Channel 7 keep changing it.
Melissa: They have possibly pushed
it earlier, so I think it might be February…?
Henry: These next four are from Terie
– When the season is over will Melissa be doing any movies
during the Summer and are there any plans in the works for her to
work with David Lynch again soon?
Melissa: There could be plans in the
pipeline to work with David Lynch, I’d really want to do another
film with him, maybe in a bigger role. And in terms of films –
if there’s something great, I will do it. At the moment I’m
just reading things, but nothing has appealed to me, and I really
want to pick my next movie carefully. But, we’ll see. If there’s
nothing great, I might just travel, and go to Chile and Europe and
Bali and Australia.
Henry: Do you like sports, and if so,
what kind?
Melissa: Well, I was a big skater and
I loved that. I love to do Yoga, and I love doing the Martial Arts
on the show, I’m really enjoying that, but I’m not a
huge “sports” fan, I’m more of a mellow…
I like swimming in the ocean, but I don’t really have a scheduled
sort of sport
Henry: So do you support any sports
teams?
Melissa: Nothing, no. Isn’t that
terrible?
Henry: Well, you’ll never get
heartbroken when your team lose! Do you still have a home in Bali,
and if so are you concerned about being there singe the bombings
that took place last year?
Melissa: We had two places there, and
we sold them – we have not been back since the bombings, as
we were there a few day’s before. We’ve given Bali a
break for the next few months. We haven’t been there in a
year actually, and also our lives have changed too – my husband’s
now directing, and I’m on Alias too. But we will go back,
our friends have houses there, it’s just we’ve no longer
got a place there.
Henry: So apart from the various places
you’ve already lived, where else would you like to live?
Melissa: Tokyo. If I had a ticket to
Tokyo tomorrow, I would go there immediately. I love it there.
Henry: What actors do you find attractive
(she adds ‘Yeah, she’s married – but she’s
not dead!) [laughs]
Melissa: She’s married but she’s
not dead – I love that, that’s so funny! Well, you tell
Terie she’s right, I’m not dead, but I still find my
husband the most attractive man in the world!
Henry: Last time we spoke, I forgot
to ask – did you see Love Actually?
Melissa: Oh, I love that movie!
Henry: Your friend was in it too wasn’t
she?
Melissa: Ivana was in it, yeah! I was
screaming in the cinema when I saw it and then called her and said
‘You’re in Love Actually!’ and she goes ‘I
know!’. She wrote the part herself, the whole table scene.
Henry: That story was my favourite.
I think I preferred the film to Notting Hill and Four Weddings too.
Melissa: Oh, it out-did all of them,
and Liam Neeson was amazing, and Emma Thompson’s performance
was out of this world. It broke my heart. And you know who I thought
was phenomenal? Martine, who played Hugh Grant’s love interest.
I used to hang out with her in London, when Home and Away was so
big, and we used to do all these appearances together, it was so
wonderful to see her in that movie and see her in this performance
that just blew me away. It was beautiful, like when I saw her I
thought ‘You’ve done it – you’re now in
your element’, you know?
Henry: Another favourite of mine were
the porn stand-ins.
Melissa: Oh, how amazing was that.
I was talking about that at work the other day with someone, and
we were laughing at how brilliant the dialogue was, and how they
just didn’t care. They didn’t care what they were doing,
they had their own little love thing going on. Just talking about
the traffic and stuff. You know what, as actors, I totally sympathize
– you just shut off. You know that you’re standing there
naked, and you just shut off – you’re like ‘whatever’.
And the less you play into being embarrassed or whatever, the less
the crew care.
Henry: Speaking of love-scenes, what
with the rumoured hook-up between Sark and Lauren – obviously
I wouldn’t ask you to confirm that either way – but
if they said to you they wanted you to do a “love scene”,
would you be willing – as they say, “for your art”?
Melissa: Yes I would, because at the
end of the day you’re performing – it’s not you.
If it’s important for the storyline I probably would do it,
and you know what, you don’t feel anything – it’s
not like you’re really doing it, it’s completely superficial.
So yeah, I would do it and it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.
Henry: Is David Anders fun to work
with?
Melissa: He’s sooo much fun,
so funny. He’s loved by all the cast and crew.
Henry: And obviously he’s not
English like his character too
Melissa: No, he’s American. The
poor guy goes in to meetings and they all think he’s British
and he’s like ‘No! I’m American!’ and they
say ‘No you’re not, you’re just putting on an
American accent…’
Henry: Speaking of David Anders, the
Alias cartoon he has on his site – where does that come from?
Melissa: Yeah, the script supervisor’s
friend made it for all the crew and cast, and we all got copies.
Henry: This question is from Mel –
Do you feel more comfortable in the role now than you did when you
first started, and if so, what helped with that?
Melissa: I think the change in Lauren’s
character has helped, I just love playing this kind of role –
the new Lauren. But I felt comfortable from the beginning, so nothing’s
really changed, I just love who she’s become a lot more.
Henry: Question from Jacquie –
Do you miss working in Australia?
Melissa: I…. don’t. I think
because I’m so fulfilled here in the States. But whenever
there’s an opportunity to go back home, I’m the first
one to say, ‘pick me’ because there’s just something
comfortable about working in Australia, but I don’t ‘miss’
it as such, because I’m loving working here so much.
Henry: How do working in Australia
and the US differ?
Melissa: Well, acting is always internal
anyway, so no matter where you are in the world, it’s got
to come from the heart, but I guess the production values are much
bigger in the States, but that’s just because they have the
money and the population, it’s nothing to do with Australia
as such. In terms of the difference between Soaps and prime-time,
it’s totally different – we’re shooting on film
for one, whereas Home & Away was video. You just feel like you’re
making a movie here, not so much the whole meat factory of ‘let’s
get the shot done’. But I haven’t worked on a soap in
the states, so I can’t really compare.
Henry: Another question I forgot to
ask last time – are you a Harry Potter fan at all?
Melissa: No, I’ve not read them.
I think I missed the boat on them…
Henry: It’s never too late for
Harry Potter – I only got interested in them a couple of years
ago…. I think you could be persuaded [laughs]
Melissa: Are they really good?
Henry: I think so – some of the
best books I’ve read.
Melissa: Well, you know, I bought the
box set, and now I should read it – you’ve got me on
to it. Okay, I’m going to read it.
Henry: You’d better – I’m
going to make that my mission! [laughs] Next question – How
has your life, professionally and personally, changed since you
got the part on Alias.
Melissa: I’m so much on Cloud
9 really, everything’s changed for the better. I’m just
happy to be working on such a great show, my personal life is fantastic,
my husband is so proud of what I’m doing. It’s made
everything much better I think.
Henry: Do watch any other TV shows?
Melissa: No, I’m not really a
TV person. I watch a lot of movies though. I just watched a new
film – a British film actually – called Morlang. It’s
an independent movie that was sent to my house – I’m
a member of FilmMovement.com which is this amazing company where
they go round the world and pick independent films and they send
you a DVD of the best movies around the world at the time.
Henry: What other films have you seen
recently that you liked?
Melissa: There was a movie called Ginger
and Cinnamon, a Spanish film. Light of my Eyes, which was an Italian
film that I just saw.
Henry: So when you go to premieres
and things, are they the type of movies you would choose to see,
or are you generally into the more Independent stuff?
Melissa: No, I’m there usually
to support an actor that’s in it, or a friend, or I just go
to promote Alias a little bit. I do love to watch big spectacular
films, but I’m not like a huge fan or anything. But I would
do one though [laughs]
Henry: This question is from Bri –
have you seen any recent Home & Away episodes…?
Melissa: No, I haven’t seen or
heard about that show for years.
Henry: What have been the best and
worst films you’ve acted in?
Melissa: The best would be Muholland
Drive and The Limey, they’re on a par. The worst would be
Fable.
Henry: I watched that, and couldn’t
make hear nor tail of it to be honest.
Melissa: It has no storyline, no meaning,
and me in the worst wig I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
Henry: Which of Australia’s leading
actors would you like to work with?
Melissa: Cate Blanchett.
Henry: I always imagine all the Australians
in Hollywood forming some sort of club.
Melissa: Yeah, an Aussie club. We’d
eat Vegemite until we were sick, and paint each other with vegemite,
and drink copious amounts of Tea – Vegemite and Tea parties!
Henry: That’s put a very bizarre
image in my head!
Melissa: I know – giving Mel
Gibson a Vegemite mask!
END
