Kat Dennings

Alicia here…. with Kat Dennings. Who, you ask? Well let’s just say give it twelve months and you’ll turn cerise upon being reminded you ever did. Dennings has rapidly emerged as one of today’s most in-demand and most popular young actresses and this year she’ll be seen in no less than three major movies. Following small but showy roles in “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” and “Raise Your Voice”, the vivacious brunette was promoted to bonafide co-star in films like “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” and “Defendor” with Woody Harrelson. Now, Dennings joins Aussie Chris Hemsworth and Oscar Winner Natalie Portman in “Thor” but as I mentioned before, the Marvel blockbuster is but only one of the actresses’ bravura additions to the arts – she’s also the star of the buzzworthy indy “Daydream Nation” and the challenging drama “Renee”, in which she plays the title role of Renee Yohe, a young woman who, after a battle with drugs and depression, started charity group To Write Love on Her Arms. I had the pleasure of talking to Ms Dennings on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

So one thing surprised me about ”Thor”, was how funny it is.

Yeah.

I never expected that it would be quite funny. Is it that… When you read the script, did you notice that on the page or is it something that came out during the performance?

Some of it was on the page but I think during the table read and we all heard each other say it, everything. I was very… I was stunned by how funny it was.

Yeah.

I really wasn’t expecting that. So I think you really need it in an epic like this and there’s all the costumes and the effects. Everybody has a sense of humor which is really important.

Well, some of those situation are just comical in themselves, aren’t they? Dream. [chuckle] A good couple of dreams to explore. I might flip in and discover that.

Oh, wow, beautiful.

So with your character, specially was a comic release, did you enjoy playing Darcy?

I loved playing Darcy. Darcy is so much fun because she’s sort of… Yeah, like I didn’t have to wear a cape or anything. I just had to chill out. I didn’t have to train. I didn’t have to learn any ninja moves and she’s got to get the audience’s point of view. So that’s really fun to play.

She has a bit of a weapon, right? She’s got a taser.

She’s got a taser.

And is it right that you accidentally tasered yourself?

Yep.

On set?.

Yes, I did.

How did that happen?

Well, I was filming… And it’s not the movie I mean, but I was filming it and sort of just my hands firing. And I was leaning on a metal kind of like that chair, just like a metal thing. And I hit the target where I was suppose to hit and it bounced back and hit the metal which traveled the current through to my body.

Oh my God. What did that feel like?

It felt horrible! Horrible! I just don’t do it. Horrible! Actually, it was terrible.

It’s amazing they used a real taser on set.

Yeah well, this is Thor. We had a big budget.

What was it like being on such a big budget film? You guys had that big action scene towards the end.

Fantastic. And the good thing about that is that they built the destroyer for us.

Oh really.

So we weren’t looking at a…

A tennis ball.

Right, now we were looking at the destroyer. Which is crazy. I mean crazy. That never happens. And if we needed to looked shocked… Luke, our first AD had a gun with blanks in it. And he would fire into the sky. We would react and he wouldn’t tell us that he was doing it. I mean, it was terrifying. But they did that… I mean, they did all that amazing stuff for us.

Did a lot of that come from Kenneth Branagh?

I think so, yeah. There is nothing harder than trying to look scared at nothing. I say that might be one of the hardest things to do, is being scared at…

Reacting to a blue screen…

I’m like a guy eating a sandwich. Like there’s just nothing to react to. So he gave us like explosions. He gave us giant robots. It was awesome.

Do you think a lot of that comes from him being an actor, himself?

Absolutely. I can always tell that… Like, oh someone’s getting married down there (looks out window).

Yeah.

But yeah. I think the frustration of having those moments and having to do that yourself and then changing it and remembering that and making it easier for people later. I mean, awesome. That’s so cool of him.

I always think of him as in ”Much Ado About Nothing”. He seems like a really funny guy. What was he like to work with?

He is. He is like that. And just generous and giving and has all the time in the world for you. That’s how it feels. So if you have a question before you shoot, he’ll just stop and come over to you and talk to you for ten minutes.

Oh, that’s great.

Yeah. And I cannot say that about most people.

Yeah. The cast is fantastic as well.

Yeah.

I know you didn’t get to share any things with Hopkins. You hope you can…

I know.

But just to have people like that involved and…

I can feel them around. I can feel that I was in a movie he was in. It’s just crazy to me.

It seems like a lot of these big actors are coming on board with these superhero films. What do you think that is? Is it just because they’re getting better and better and better with the scripts and story?

They’re better and better and I think Kenneth is so special that everyone wants to work with him. I mean, there’s certain directors that everyone dreams of working with and he’s up there with, like Tony was saying, with Spielberg and Scorsese and all of the greats, Hemsworth and Kenneth. They’re all out there. I don’t know who wouldn’t want to be one of these.

And Chris Hemsworth, of course I should talk about him being an Aussie. We know him from ”Home and Away”, just a daggy soap opera.

Of course yeah and with Dancing with the Stars.

Yeah, ”Dancing with the Stars”. How was it seeing him transform into Thor? He looks pretty good.

He was amazing. I’m so proud of him. He’s working so hard. And he is still getting beefed up for Avengers because they’re staring the movies. Yeah just so proud. And I knew cause we were acting together but seeing it all put together and edited and put the 3D and stuff, I just… Yeah you guys should be proud home town boy. He’s so talented.

And watching it, I can’t really imagine any other actor doing Thor.

There is no one else who could do it.

Cause he brings that comedic set as well as being good to look at and that…

He’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. So that really comes through, I think.

Pretty amazing for him to have starring role, as well. It’s a big film.

Yeah, I’m really happy for him. He’s headed for beautiful things.

So with this film, are you going to any comic book conventions or have you done that already?

We did Comic Com already.

How was that?

Crazy.

Did you prepare for all the fan boys?

I was sort of prepared, but not fully prepared. Someone got stabbed at our panel…

Oh, my gosh!

Over a seat.

Was that with a pen? I think I heard about that.

Yeah. It was a mechanical pencil.

A mechanical pencil?

Terrifying. So that scared me to death. That scared all of us. We were like, “Okay. Now, they’re dangerous.” So, yeah. That speaks to the terrifying passion of fans.

Did you do research in to the comic books to know a lot about the characters or you just stuck with the script?

I went with the script. And I also, on purpose, didn’t prepare too much because Darcy is completely clueless. So I wanted to be sort of clueless, too.

When I was telling people I was going to be interviewing you, a lot of people were so excited, girls and boys, pretty excited that I’m going to talk to you. When fans come up to you, what is the main role they like to talk to you about?

It’s funny. I get a lot of… I get, I think, “Nick & Norah.” And then, I get “Sex in the City” a lot, which is really good. I did that when I was like 13. That’s the thing that I get the most.

You had some attitude back then. I mean, that character.

Yeah. And I just worked with Michael Patrick King again. So that’s interesting.

And what’s next for you? You working on anything so far?

I’ve sort of been working non-stop. And so, I’m finally getting a break. But I… The thing that I worked with Michael Patrick King that I worked on is a pilot for CBS, that he wrote with Whitney Cummings.

Oh, cool.

So it’s called “Two Broke Girls.” And it’s really funny. So hopefully, it’ll go.

It seems like TV as well is giving a lot of opportunities…

Yeah.

To good actors, good meaty roles.

Yeah, it’s pretty exciting. Yeah, I’m looking forward to having a little bit of a break.

”Thor” has already being released in Australia. And it’s done really well.

Awesome.

What have you heard from fans who’ve seen the film?

I was trying to kind of staying away from stuff outside of my personal thing. But my friends are like, “Oh, my god!” Everyone’s flipping out. This movie’s incredible.

Mm-hmm.

And I am reading reviews. I mean… Because I’m so proud of this film. And it’s so good, and people are really loving it. So I’m happy.

Any talk of more ”Thor”? Did you have to sign a contract for a sequel.

I did. But you never know what’s going to happen. But I think there’ll be a Thor 2. There has to be.

And there’s a lot of superhero films coming out this summer.

Yeah.

Why do you think people love to watch these superhero movies?

I don’t think it gets old. I think it’s something that we all sort of fantasize about, having powers, and doing good, and getting the girl, and making things blow up, and fighting enemies. We all fantasize about that stuff. So I think it’s just really fun and entertaining for guys, and chicks, and families, and older people. Just everyone loves them.

Do you enjoy watching this kind of film?

I love them. I love them. I absolutely love them.

I can’t wait for ”Avengers”.

Me, neither. I know I’m so excited.

That’s simply amazing [laughter]

I’m so excited.

And with Thor, we should point out that people need to stay right to the end.

Because it’s a surprise. Yeah.

What was it like with Natalie Portman, working with her and Stellan…

Awesome.

You guys are like a little trio?

Yeah, we were a little family. Natalie and I, we’re already friends. So that was easy. And then, with Stillen he’s just like a big soft teddy bear. And he has lots of kids. So he’s just like the best to be around. I’m like a child. So, yeah, he’s so patient with us. Because Natalie and I mostly just gab constantly about boys, and like clothes, and like silly stuff. So he would just look back. And he’d be just so bored…

Yeah.

Listening to us.

He’s a great character actor.

He’s brilliant. Brilliant. I wish he were here. I’m really sad he’s not here, actually.

What was the most fun day, would you say, on the set. Or the most interesting scene that you got to shoot? Would it be the destroyer?

That was more technical, to be honest. That took about 2 weeks to finish completely, that sequence. I would say the stuff with the pins with the car because I went through a lot of stunt driving training for that. And so my favorite… Actually, one of my favorite run was from was when I was driving that through the dessert on my lunch break. It was the most fun. I loved that. Thing I wanted to buy one after we were done.

Did you actually get to hit Chris with practice?

No. But the rig was… We were literally hitting him. So that’s real.

Wow.

Yeah. We were both on track so that we kind of hit each other at a slow pace. But we still hit him.

The 3D looks amazing, as well.

It does. And then… Yeah.

Did the… Shooting that way, did that slow down the process at all?

We didn’t shoot it for 3D.

Convert after…

They added it.

Because it looks better than a lot of those conversions.

Yeah. It does. Well, I mean, they are the masters. Yeah. And the 3D’s great because it’s exciting, but it doesn’t distract you from it being good a good film.

Do you think that’s the way for it for movies now, when we say making films in 3D?

Looking like it, right? It’s looking like it. And I think there are like 3D video games coming out, and stuff.

3D Porn, that’s the one that’s going to be interesting. [chuckle]

Wow! I heard that they’re doing that in Asia.

Oh, God. We don’t want to do that.

We’re already on that. Be careful. I’m scared.

But the 3D in this film definitely adds to it.

It adds to it.

There’s no gimmicks, or anything.

But it doesn’t scare you. Yeah.

It has nothing coming straight at your face.

Yeah.

So what do you think audiences will take away from watching ”Thor”? Or what do you think they might enjoy most about it? The humor, do you say?

I think it’s the humor will surprise them because it’s… It’s sort of an unexpected twist. But it really… It really makes your so comfortable and excited. And the action just pumps you up. It’s just so thrilling. And the performances are brilliant. It really has all… Everything I can… I don’t know. I’m still… I’m still processing it. It’s just so good. I just saw it.

Have you seen it just once?

Yeah, just once. And I really want to see it again. So I guess I’ll see it tomorrow again.

At the premiere?

Yeah.

And how do you go with these press days? Do you get so… You’re repeating yourself over and over?

Yeah, I do. To be honest, I completely… I hate myself.

I don’t know how you guys do it.

Yeah. But at the end of the day, I hate myself. And I can’t talk on the phone became I can’t hear my voice anymore. But it’s interesting because as annoying as like hearing myself is I… I… I legitimately am in love with this movie. And it’s so good that I could talk about how good it is all day. And I want people to see it so much because it’s so brilliant. And I’m so proud to be in it at all. I can’t believe I’m in this movie. It’s such a good movie. I’m so proud.

Well, it’s fantastic. So, congratulations.

Thank you very much.

Nice to talk to you.

Nice to talk to you.