Breaking casting barrier big-time

Actress Jessica Biel sheds 7th Heaven minister's daughter image for Blade: Trinity

For Jessica Biel, her first acting gig was both a blessing and curse. As the troubled elder daughter on the long-running television series 7th Heaven, Biel quit early enough (after five years) to save herself from being typecast as the goodie girl.
Instead, the stunning 22-year-old actress has gone full force in spreading her wings beyond the wholesome image, starring as the hot babe in Summer Catch, and the terrified survivor in Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
With her latest film, Blade: Trinity, Biel is venturing into the more profitable genre: the action flick. Here she plays Abigail Whistler, a "night stalker" paired with Ryan Reynolds' Hannibal King, who, like her father (Kris Kristofferson), is a loyal human ally of Blade (Wesley Snipes)intent on ridding the world of vampires.
Tandem talked to Jessica Biel when she was in Toronto recently.

I see you and Ryan as the future of the franchise.
"Well that's the idea. If the fans love it, if people are excited about our characters, then that's a good possibility."

Would you like to continue it?
"I would like to continue it. I had a great time playing this character and it was fun. I would like to continue it as long as [director] David [S. Goyer] was involved, because David Goyer made this happen and made it all come together in the way that it did. And I would want to keep that family together."

But every Blade film has had a different director. What are the chances?
"Well, I guess there are good chances that they would want to do something different but, since David kind of created us, at least he would definitely be the writer. And if he wasn't I don't know if I'd want to be a part of it. I mean, he knows us, he knows these characters, he knows this franchise. And if anyone's going to recreate it or spin it off and have it be more of a 'Night Stalker' franchise then I think it should be David. And I think I would be less likely to want to be a part of it if he weren't involved."

Did you like the first two films?
"I hadn't seen the second film. I'd seen the first film, which I really liked; I was a fan of that. When they handed me the script, I first thought, Blade III? I don't know if anyone would be that interested in three! And then I saw number two. I saw one and two again, and then I read the script. And the script was very different than I expected it to be. I expected it to be cheesy, a silly action thing. And that's not what it was at all. It was smart, and funny, and layered. Characters were not just idiots, you know, running around toting guns. I was surprised by it. And then I met David and was surprised by him. He just talked to me like a real person and we had a really candid conversation and I just thought, well, I guess this is what I'm doing next because I feel good about these people and I feel good about this script and it's, as you said, a complete departure from anything that I have ever been apart of."

Given that it's an action film and you are in it from beginning to end, was the physicality of the role a concern?
"Not at all. I was very excited about it, very intrigued and ready to get into great shape. I've always been an athlete. I played soccer and was a gymnast. I've always been a tomboy, so the gym, for me, has been part of my life. I enjoy being healthy, I enjoy working out. It's definitely a stress reliever for me. So, to get paid to work out, and to have a trainer and to be coached and have my body moulded into this amazing shape, I was in love with it! I was over the moon about it!"

Most actresses just cringe at the idea...
"That's true. I think there are two different types of people. One person who really enjoys working out, or you don't. And I know both. I know some actresses who just love it, it's just a part of their life, it's what they do. For me, I've always been that way. I've just always been active so, to be an adult and to stop being active, that just wouldn't work for me."

You come from television, from a very wholesome show, to feature films. It must have been almost a tightrope decision-making process for you to figure out: how am I going to fit in cinema; what kind of roles should I accept? Did that happen to you?
"Yeah, it's always a bit of a tightrope. You never really know what to do. I mean, obviously, if you have the opportunity to work with other great actors that you respect and admire, or directors, then you have a better idea that this movie is going to be something that's positive for me. But a lot of the times I'm looking at things that are maybe an unknown director or an amazing script that has people that I don't know of. You never know. And even with a great director or a great script it could turn out terribly and maybe not be positive for my career. But when I'm trying to decide what to do I really try to think, am I going to feel really good when I see it? What are my parents going to think about it? What is my family going to say? I just want to do things that fulfill me creatively, and yes, that push the envelope a little bit, that maybe my parents will be a little uncomfortable to watch but which I will still respect myself after I watch it. That's kind of the way I think about it, but it's always hard. I know image is a big thing, but, you just gotta let it go at a certain point and say, this is what makes me feel fulfilled as an artist right now."

Do you find that people in the business, casting agents, try to pigeonhole you in a certain role?
"Yeah, I mean I think that happens to everybody to a certain extent. For me, for a while it was, play the pretty girl at school, or the cheerleader, or the girlfriend. You know, it was kind of a role that had no meat to it. And now, I'm getting a lot of action-style roles, strong, physically demanding roles. It's interesting: whatever you do, people come to you with other pieces that are similar. No matter what. And I think it changes all the time. I do think I have an uphill battle towards more art pieces, comedic pieces, pieces that can really be respected, that would maybe go to a festival and get an award. That is my biggest battle right now, to really prove myself and find a place where I can showcase another side of me. Maybe some art director can say, I think that girl really has something going on, not just the scream queen or the minister's daughter."

Are those scripts not landing on your lap?
"No, they're landing. They're there. But the question is, do they want to see me? Will they even think about me for the role? I get to read a million great scripts, and a million crappy scripts. But first I have to beg just to get in there. And then walk in and really be up to par with a great audition. I've got to go in there and hit a home run. Then maybe I'll get a callback or an audition. I'm not looked at yet as a respected actor."

Why not?
"I don't know! The movies that I've done, I mean we're not talking about festival movies, we're not talking about really great movies. I'm doing really interesting, good movies but they've been more like genre type movies. That just might not take notice of somebody unless they're involved in a great cast or put in a film with a great director or a really well-known director."

You could just get involved with somebody who is writing a script.
"Right. And be a producer and be able to really be hands-on from both sides. I'm definitely not complaining, saying, woe is me, nobody looks at me. It's a challenge. It's something to look at as a positive thing, and as a cool journey. I have a goal, far in the future and we'll see how that happens."

Do you still follow 7th Heaven?
"Not really. You know, there's all these new cast members and I watch the show and I'm like, who's that?"

And they all look alike.
"Everybody looks alike [laughs]. You can't tell anybody from anybody else. I haven't been watching. But, I know that when a show goes on for so long, you have to start adding new characters. What I always loved about 7th for the first couple of years was that it was all about the family. We had issues and we had stuff to deal with but it was all just our seven people doing stuff. And then as the years went on we started adding more people, and then the issues were outside the home. I just felt that the first couple of years were the golden years."

Was it your choice to leave?
"It was my choice to leave. I left to go to college. And then I came back, and did my last year of my contract, and then I went back to school. And then, when my contract was pretty much done, I just thought, as scary as this is to not have a job and to not know what I'm going to do or if I'm ever going to work, I need to try something new. I needed to really challenge myself in certain areas."

What's next?
"Stealth, which I did right after Blade, which is a sci-fi, fighter pilot movie. That comes out probably in the summer. And then I just finished a little role in Elizabethtown, which is Cameron Crowe's new movie, which is really awesome."

So there you go! That's a great movie!
"I know, it's starting! I'm making slow steps!"
Blade: Trinity is currently playing in local cinemas.

Publication Date: 2004-12-19
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4728