Jessica Biel reveals why she feels like an outsider

Jessica Biel

There are lots of gorgeous celebrities in this world, but not all of them are as likeable as Jessica Biel. Here are some of the many reasons why: Her family and other loved ones are more important to her than stardom. She’s talented but she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She hasn’t messed with her natural beauty and she has a healthy attitude about diet and fitness — unlike many female Hollywood stars who look like they have eating disorders or are addicted to plastic surgery. And she doesn’t pretend that she’s perfect and has her whole life figured out.

If some people see Biel as just "the hot chick" in her movies, they might change their minds after seeing her in "Easy Virtue," a comedy film in which Biel shows a very different side to her talents. In "Easy Virtue" (set in the 1920s and based on the Noël Coward play), Biel plays an American race-car driver named Larita, a free-spirited but vulnerable woman who elopes with a sheltered British heir named John Whittaker, played by Ben Barnes. When John brings Larita home to meet his family, she gets a frosty reception from John’s elitist mother (played by Kristin Scott Thomas), who disapproves of the marriage. Biel shows new depth in her acting career by playing this complicated character with a scandalous past. And although Biel isn’t shown singing in "Easy Virtue," she does sing on the movie’s soundtrack — including the song "Mad About the Boy," which can be heard in the movie’s opening credits.

When I recently sat down with Biel at the New York City press junket for "Easy Virtue," she candidly talked about her experiences making the film and how she’s dealing with being stalked by paparazzi. (And for any fashion fans who absolutely need to know: Biel was wearing a teal Yves Saint Laurent dress at the press junket.) She also had some surprising things to say when I asked her if — just like her "Easy Virtue" character — she ever felt like an outsider. Here’s what else Biel said about which singer she idolized when she was growing up, which scene in "Easy Virtue" is the hardest for her to watch, and what she still wants to accomplish in her life.

Do you see "Easy Virtue" as a breakthrough departure role for you?

I don’t really see it that way … So many times I’ve heard, "This is the break! This is it! This is the one!" Is it? Because it wasn’t last time. I really don’t look at movies anymore like that. I think it could be a breakout role in the sense that it’s very, very different from what I’ve done before, and I don’t really look like myself. But in a sense of career-wise, is it breakout thing? I don’t know. Who knows?

Jessica Biel in "Easy Virtue"

Whose idea was it for you to go platinum blonde for this role?

It was Steph’s idea [Stephan Elliott, the director of "Easy Virtue"] and it was a last-minute thing. He e-mailed me over Christmas and he said, "What do you think about Larita being platinum?" He sent me all these photos of Jean Harlow and old-school actresses that were really blonde. And I was looking and looking and I thought, "Why the hell not? Yes! She should be blonde, because she will completely stand out and look completely crazy, compared to the way Mrs. Whittaker appears." The whole idea when [Larita] takes that hat off is to [see] the complete, utter hatred from Mrs. Whittaker, looking at this glamorous, blond-haired —what does she call it? — bauble.

How did you end up singing on the "Easy Virtue" soundtrack?

I think Stephan had asked Ben [Barnes] to sing ["Mad About the Boy"], and when they tried to do that, Noël Coward put in his will that no man could re-record it. So if you dig around iTunes or whatever, you can only find female recordings. He [Stephan Elliott] heard me humming around or something, and he said, "Why don’t you sing it?" And I just jumped on it.

Did you ask your boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, for any help or advice?

No, I was totally embarrassed. I didn’t want him to have any part of it. I was sort of doing it on my own. I was excited, because I hadn’t been able to sing publicly like that in years.

Did you have any voice lessons or training?

At 8 years old, I was taking voice lessons. That was my dream. I wanted to be Whitney [Houston]. I wanted to be a singer. And I don’t know, I just took a left turn somewhere. It just makes me feel really good. It’s one of those hobbies that just warms my heart.

Ben Barnes and Jessica Biel in "Easy Virtue"

What aspects of Larita’s personality did you identify with the most?

I related to her in the sense that she’s a really strong, opinionated person who really cares about the integrity of who she is and doesn’t want to stray too far away from that. I’m really trying to do that more. I don’t want to be a people pleaser, which is sort of the way I am a little bit. I really want to be a strong, empowered woman, and I really feel that Larita is that way. I wanted to really be her.

I feel like — not that I’ve had a tough life — but I’ve been working a long time and been through some ups and downs, and I kind of felt like I understood a path that goes up and down. It’s life. Everyone goes through lots of stuff. I was feeling [Larita] there.

Larita is treated like an outsider in the Whittaker family. Were there any times in your life that you felt like an outsider and how did you deal with it?

This may sound really weird, and I hope it doesn’t sound vain, but I feel like an outsider all the time.

How so?

The aspect of celebrity is strange. Everybody knows you; you don’t know anybody. Everybody feels like they should have a piece of you and you don’t know anybody, and you’re just trying to live your life. There’s an aspect of that I get with [Larita] as well.

I felt like an outsider ever since I started working on "7th Heaven." I didn’t really know how to communicate with my peer group. I spent so much time working with adults that I would go to a high-school football game and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had a hard time just being a kid and hanging out with other kids. So I felt like an outsider all through the stages of school … Going to college was weird. I felt like an outsider there.

Jessica Biel in "Easy Virtue"

People might be surprised to hear all of this, since so many people see you as a Hollywood insider, and you’ve been named the sexiest woman alive …

[She says humbly] That was four years ago. Someone else has that ["sexiest woman alive"] title now.

Justin Timberlake would beg to differ.

[She smiles.] Thank you! [Fame] is a kind of an isolating experience at times. I don’t know how else to explain it other than it’s a little weird. The whole celebrity thing is weird. It’s not always being surrounded by fans and [going to] parties. It’s more like, "I’m working and I’m alone again, and now I’m trying to go out to eat and everyone’s staring at me."

Kristin Scott Thomas and Jessica Biel in "Easy Virtue"

What was the atmosphere like on the "Easy Virtue" set?

It was a gang of crazy people making a fun movie. It did not feel isolating or scary after the first week. The first week was nerve-racking to get in there and get the train moving slowly, but Stephan is so much fun and everyone was so great.

If you could travel back in time and live in the 1920s, what would you like the most about living in that era?

Definitely the glamour factor. People got dressed, like every day; dressed to go to the market, dressed to go to dinner at home. That is something I’m just so fascinated with.

And what would you like the least?

[I’d miss] the freedom that we have as women to be what we want and do what we want, to have careers and families and anything you want as a person.

Jessica Biel and Colin Firth in "Easy Virtue"

Is there any scene in "Easy Virtue" that turned out better than you thought it would and any part of the movie that makes you cringe?

I really loved the scene with Colin [Firth] and the motorbike. I remember when I saw that for the first time, I thought, "Wow, that looks beautiful!" The metal and the lighting and just the contrast between that really harsh and really soft beauty.

I kind of hate my performance in the dog-crushing scene [where Larita accidentally kills the Whittaker family’s Chihuahua by sitting on it]. It kills me. That was a tough one.

How do you feel about your comedy skills in "Easy Virtue"?

I think being funny is really hard. I can be fun and silly, but being really funny and dry and witty and killing somebody with a comment and a great smile, that sh*t is hard. The tone and getting everything right and perfect, but I’m telling you, the Brits just do it.

You pulled it off though.

Thank you!

Jessica Biel and Ben Barnes in "Easy Virtue"

If you were a teacher, what subject would you teach?

I would probably teach creative writing, because it was my favorite subject as a kid and I love creative writing. And I would probably not want to kill myself grading those papers.

What’s next for you?

I’m actually doing "Guys and Dolls" at the Hollywood Bowl. I’m Sister Sarah [Brown]. It starts July 31. It’s only three nights. Toes in, toes out. We’ll see how it feels.

When you were talking earlier about dealing with being a celebrity, what do you have to do to go unrecognized in public, and does it work?

Sometimes. I do sometimes use a disguise to get out of the house when I can borrow my friend’s car and be in a different car, so the paparazzi that sit outside my house aren’t looking for that car. I have a whole [disguise]: a wig and a scarf and sunglasses. And I take it off, but I’m considering a nose piece, actually. If I’m in my car, I could literally have a completely different nose and elf ears, and [the paparazzi] would still follow me. They follow the car.

Is there anything you want to do or accomplish that you haven’t done yet?

I think about that a lot. I want to do a lot of things. I definitely want to travel more … I definitely want [to start a] family. I’m not ready yet, but definitely sometime in the future. I’m kind of going through a selfish phase.