After being plucked from obscurity to play a small but crucial role in 1998's "The Horse Whisperer", Kate Bosworth went back to school, determined to enjoy her formative years away from the big screen. Since returning to acting, the 20-year-old has starred in "Remember the Titans", "The Rules of Attraction", and "Blue Crush". Next she'll be seen in "Wonderland" and "Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!".
You learned to surf for "Blue Crush". Is that a skill you've maintained since the film?
Oh yeah, I'll keep surfing as much as I can. I've been back to Hawaii a couple of times, because it's too cold in California. It's so close to LA that I try to get over there when I can.
Rochelle Ballard is one of the best female surfers in the world, and she was my stunt double on the movie. At one point she invited me on a surf trip with her and her friends. I remember thinking that was cool, I didn't know whether I could exactly hold my own but the invite was open. Those surfers are the most fun, down to earth girls you could possibly imagine. They are just extraordinary. It was really fun to hang out with them and try to do them justice on screen.
Casting complete strangers as friends is always an interesting experiment in chemistry. Did you, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sanoe Lake get on together?
We did, we actually lived in the same house on the beach in Hawaii, and I couldn't have picked two better girls to do that with, because they were great. We lived together for about four months. It was fortunate that we all got along.
There must have been some arguments in all that time...
Of course everybody had their own little thing. My worst thing was ice cream, I was so intense about that. I insisted that no one touch the Ben & Jerry's Half Baked. If they did, it was a full-out showdown.
You started your career working with Robert Redford. Have you had the chance since to meet any Hollywood superstars, and do you ever get star-struck?
I don't really get star-struck, but I do get talent struck. If I meet somebody that I think is just wildly talented and brilliant, that's when I start getting nervous.
I was a presenter this year at the Broadcast Film Critic Awards, and the people in the audience - the people I had to stare out at - included Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon, Denzel Washington. The most amazing people. I remember thinking, There's nowhere I can look, everybody I look at is a wildly talented genius. So I just stared at the wall. That room was filled with so much talent, it was really inspiring.
