Initially, Jessica Biel seems to personify
the stereotypical Hollywood
beauty when she arrives for her Cosmo
interview at one of Santa Monica's
trendiest restaurants. Her long, shiny
hair is perfectly styled, her soft makeup
appears meticulously applied, and her
off-the-shoulder Juicy Couture top and
jeans, and Dolce and Gabbana kitten
heels create the standard hipster uniform.
But then something happens
that makes it clear she's not your average
diva starlet: She discovers a little
black bug swimming in the sea of
cheese topping her enchilada, but
there's no shrieking, no sending the
food back, no demanding to see the
chef. Instead, the 23-year-old actress
just…laughs. "I usually get a hair," she
jokes, moving the insect to the side of
her plate before chowing down again.
It's that kind of accessible attitude
that has made Jessica one of the most
popular young actresses in Tinseltown,
but it's her ability to reinvent her image
that's made her so successful. After a
five-year stint playing Mary, a preacher's
daughter, on The WB's wholesome
family drama 7th Heaven (a role she
landed at age 14), the Boulder, Colorado,
native decided to shake her Grated
image by taking the part of a
strung-out coed in The Rules of Attraction,
and then playing a badass vampire
slayer in Blade: Trinity and a fighter
pilot in this month's Stealth. In October,
Jessica will be trying her hand at
romantic comedy, portraying Orlando
Bloom's girlfriend in Elizabethtown,
directed by Cameron Crowe, who had
this to say about his decision to cast her:
"When she kisses Orlando, you get a
contact buzz just watching her."
Offscreen, Jessica's been smooching
up-and-coming hottie actor Chris
Evans, her boyfriend of more than two
years (he plays a superhero in the Fantastic
Four, out this summer). Here,
she dishes about all the reasons she's in
7th Heaven for real these days.
Cosmo: You play a tough-girl
fighter pilot in Stealth. Did
you have to train really hard
to buff up for the role?
Jessica: I was in the gym six days a
week for two hours a day, doing cardio
and weight lifting. And I ate no sugar,
dairy, flour, or salt. But I'd have a cheat
day on Sunday, when I could have
whatever I wanted. I'd get a sundae, a
brownie, chocolate cake, cheesecake,
a burger, and French fries.
C: All in one day?
J All in one meal!
C: Have you ever struggled
with body-image issues?
J: Absolutely. I struggle with it every
day. Shooting the bikini scene [in
Stealth] was stressful. Everyone has
areas they're not comfortable with, and
mine are my bum, thighs, and legs. So
having those areas exposed…it was like
"Okay, I'm gonna try to be cool with it."
C: Is it true that you have it
written into your contracts that
you won't do nude scenes?
J: Yes. I don't feel comfortable doing
nudity. I used a body double in this
little indie, London, because they
wanted a close-up of a breast and a
bottom, and I didn't feel comfortable.
I thought, That's for my bedroom and
my man, not for everyone else. I had to
pick out the body double, and it was a
really bizarre experience. I felt like a
man. I wasn't talking to the models or
getting to know them. I was just assessing
their bodies. There are so many
shapes of breasts. I never knew. You're
just used to what yours look like.
C: Speaking of good bodies,
what was it like working with
Orlando in Elizabethtown?
J: He has this youthful, sweet energy
to him. He's very unaware of all the commotion
around him, and he's very unaffected,
which is nice. He'd just be all
sweaty, chasing his dogs around, running
after them in the grass.
C: Is your real-life boyfriend,
Chris, a romantic?
J: Yes. When I turned 21, I actually
awoke to find my bed covered in rose
petals. In the middle of the night, he had
pulled apart at least 24 roses in all different
colors and sprinkled the petals
everywhere. He's definitely a keeper.
C: What sweet things do you
like to do for him?
J: I love to take photographs of him and
his dog, East. We call him "our" dog
now. He's this 75-pound, half-English,
half-American bulldog. And I cook for
Chris when he's working hard. When he
comes home, I'll have dinner ready. It's
old-fashioned and fun, and I feel kind
of homemakery and great doing it.
C: Do the two of you ever talk
about getting married?
J: We always talk about it. We both
want to be married, and we both want
to have children. But we're not engaged,
so the rumors are false…so far.
C: What's something annoying
about guys in a relationship?
J: Boys don't know what they want. I'll
say, "I want to go on a picnic. I want
there to be wine and a blanket, and I
want there to be a sunset." And Chris is
usually more like, "I don't really know
[what I want to do]."
C: Looking back on all of your
past relationships, would you
say you have a type?
J: Well, I love somebody who can make
me laugh and be a goofball. I think it's
incredibly sexy if a guy can look uncool
and completely not care. Also, somebody
who likes to show affection. I show
a lot of affection. I'm a very big fan of
PDA. I'll do it anywhere. If I see a couple
making out in public, I'm always like
"Awww. Can I join?" [Laughs]
C: Did you ever go through a
bad-boy phase?
J: I had my bad-boy moment in my
teens. I'll never do that again. It wasn't
pleasant, and I learned my lesson. It was
sexy and mysterious, and it's like "Look
how cool they are," but it's just not worth
it. He was lying to me and accusing me
of cheating—but then I realized he was
the one cheating. He was putting it on
me and making me feel like shit. I had
woman. I will kick a man [like that] to
the curb. But then three years later, I
was still with him. And then it finally just
smacked me in the face and I was like
I'm done. I'm over it.
C: You completed a year and a
half at Tufts University in
Massachusetts. Why did you
leave before graduating?
J: I felt very scared that I was gonna be
forgotten about [in Hollywood]. Looking
back, I wish I would've just gotten it
done with. It was hard watching my
friends graduate without me. I still keep
in touch with five best friends from
school. Two are coming to visit next
week. I love those girls.
C: Did you like college?
J: I really enjoyed myself. It was my
first time being around kids my age
full-time since eighth grade [because I
had been tutored on-set during high
school], and I really needed it. I was
really craving being a normal kid. I
lived in the dorms. I went to the parties.
I went to the games.
C: What kind of stuff do you do
with your friends now?
J: I love to dance. I like to go out and
have a good time and party with my
friends, so I'll go to a club. For my birthday,
we went to a karaoke bar in L.A.'s
Koreatown. We got a private room, and
it was really fun. I sang "To Be With
You," by Mr. Big. I love to sing.
C: Any interests you would like
to pursue in addition to acting?
J: I'd like to start writing scripts. I think
I'd probably be inclined to write a very
dark comedy or a tragic romance. As a
kid, I used to write really dark stuff. I
wrote stories about girls being sexually
abused, which never happened to me.
I wrote about death a lot. I wrote a horror
story once. I was into the dark side
of everything, maybe because my life
was always pretty light. I was totally intrigued
by the things that made other
people uncomfortable.
C: Can you describe what
would be a perfect day for you?
J: Waking up in my cabin in Colorado
with my family around. There's a fire
going and it's winter and my dad's outside
plowing the driveway. Or watching
Sex and the City reruns with my
girlfriends, [sharing] chocolate and
wine, or staying in bed with my boyfriend
and just not having anything to
do all day. Letting the dog sleep with
his head on the pillow right between
us, making the bed all gross and sweaty
and full of dog hair. It sounds disgusting,
but it's just great.
