Mila Kunis is Denzel Washington's sassy sidekick in 'The Book of Eli'

Mila Kunis

Remember when Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher played a ditzy on-again/off-again couple in "That ‘70s Show"? Well, it turns out that the "airheads" on the show ended up with the biggest movie careers out of anyone in the cast. Since "That ‘70s Show" ended in 2006, Kutcher still gets top billing in most of his movies, and Kunis has landed supporting roles in several high-profile films. (She also continues to be the voice of Meg Griffin in the animated series "Family Guy.")

One of Kunis’ movies is "The Book of Eli," an action thriller set in a post-apocalyptic world. Denzel Washington plays an enigmatic loner named Eli, who has warrior-like qualities and possesses a book that’s coveted by the power-hungry Carnegie (played by Gary Oldman), a dictatorial leader of a makeshift town. Kunis plays Solara, a young woman who ends up becoming Eli’s friend and sidekick in his quest to do good in the world. At "The Book of Eli" press junket in Los Angeles, the fast-talking, high-energy Kunis took some time out to share her experiences in making the film.

How did you find doing the physical action in "The Book of Eli"?

The weather was a little bit complicated. The weather didn't know what it wanted to be. It would snow one day and then wind the next day and then sunshine and rain. I didn't really have many stunts. Denzel had most of the stunts. I ran a lot. That’s all I did. Walking for me is hard enough, so running, I was like, "Whew! This is going to be rough!"

Mila Kunis in "The Book of Eli"

How do you think you would survive in a post-apocalyptic world?

I would fail. I would fail miserably. Would I be resourceful? No. I would need Bear Grylls with me, because I wouldn't know what to eat. I would eat that snake with the yellow tail, because I wouldn't know it was poisonous. I'm not like a survivalist. I'd like to think that I would be, but I’d fail.

How would your fighting skills be?

I could kick some serious ass, especially if I'm wearing five-inch heels. It's amazing what I can do. I can throw a really strong right hook. I learned that from my "Max Payne" training, and I can shoot really well. That's it. And I run. I can run really fast. So if anything happens, if an altercation occurs, I'd run.

How was it working with twin brothers as directors?

Well, the brothers, yes, it’s such a weird thing. They do work together, and so it's not like you gravitate to one versus the other. But I guess Allen is who I dealt with earlier on a lot more when I got the job, regarding my character and the look of the character and the feel of the character was mostly Allen. But during production, it was both of them.

Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis in "The Book of Eli"

And what can you say about Denzel Washington?

He’s fantastic, absolutely fantastic. He’s very professional, very generous, very giving. He’s great.

What attracted you the most to sign on for "The Book of Eli"?

It was the Hughes brothers directing. Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman. It would've been pretty stupid to say no. And the character was great. Don't get me wrong. The story is great. The film is great. The character is fantastic, but it was also an amazing opportunity to work with people that I respect and can learn from.

Can you describe the atmosphere on "The Book of Eli" set?

I laughed a lot. I'll tell you that Gary Oldman is probably one of the funniest people that I've ever worked with. Jennifer Beals and I created a song for Gary that I will not go into detail about, but I'll tell you one of the lines: "Gary is not so scary," because everybody has this preconceived notion that Gary Oldman is going to be very [scary]. He's not. I mean, he is. On screen he's so powerful, but in real life he's one of the funniest. He cracks jokes left and right [and is] just fun to be with.

Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Denzel Washington and Jennifer Beals at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Book of Eli"

How was it to shoot that action sequence with Eli and Solara holed up in an elderly couple’s house and fighting off the bad guys?

It was fun! I think it took four days to shoot that sequence. Frances [de la Tour] and Michael [Gambon] were so fantastic and were such a relief. We shot [the movie] as chronologically as we possibly could. So they really did come in pretty close to the end. And they were fun! A breath of fresh air on set. They were a hoot to be with. It was great.

What’s the one thing that you couldn’t live without in a post-apocalyptic world?

Can I have toilet paper? Doesn’t that count? Toilet paper I would want. I don’t think I’d want to use leaves for the rest of my life. Is that too graphic? OK, scratch TP. TP is useless! Can I have deodorant? Chapstick! I want Chapstick!

Mila Kunis and Denzel Washington in "The Book of Eli"

Typically, in an action movie, your character would be romantically involved with the male lead character, but that wasn’t the case with Solara and Eli. Can you talk about the relationship between Solara and Eli?

I think it makes sense because if you look at him … based on the story, he was sent here for a purpose. He had to achieve this one goal and everybody has to have followers. That's not the right way of putting it, but ultimately [they need] people to believe in them. I think she was just one of those that followed him and believed in his journey and believed in his purpose and believed in what he wanted to achieve, and wanted to learn from him and pass it along to future generations. So I thought it was important.

Did you learn anything from working with Denzel Washington? Did he give you any advice?

Sure. It’s Denzel. He’s very fatherly. He’s got so many kids. He’s a father, so he always looked out for me. But it wasn’t one of those things where he was like, "Hey, child!" I mean, I’m not that young! But he was very protective.

Mila Kunis at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Book of Eli"

Do you think there will be a sequel to "The Book of Eli"?

This would be a very weird movie to have a sequel. Let’s be honest. I don’t see it happening. I haven’t heard anything, so I’m going to say, "No." I don’t think there should be a sequel …

Do you and Denzel Washington approach doing scenes differently?

We’re very different, yes.

How?

I can’t say. I can’t really explain it. Everybody works differently … It’s never been the same. It’s as different as two people can get.

Mila Kunis in "The Book of Eli"

Was there anything you liked about your wardrobe in "The Book of Eli"?

I kept none of it. It was so dirty and filthy. I, in fact, burned it when we wrapped production. There was nothing fake about the dirt in this movie. All the wind, all the dirt was very real.

Can you talk about filming "The Book of Eli" almost chronologically?

We were able to do it. I think it was done toward Denzel’s character. I think it was important for his character to have a specific progress in the film. I think if you’re able to shoot in chronological order, it’s the best way to do it.