By EMILY CHRISTIANSON Special to the Daily Press
Child actress Katherine Heigl, 27, shot to fame in the 1990s with hits like “My Father the Hero.” She is now enjoying the recent success of her new TV show “Grey’s Anatomy.” Now she stars as a volunteer in the new comedy “The Ringer,” a heartwarming comedy about a desperate office clerk who attempts to fix the Special Olympics to win a bet. The blonde bombshell talks about her “Grey’s Anatomy” costars, working with Johnny Knoxville and her addiction to shopping.
QUESTION: Were you concerned about taking a role opposite Johnny Knoxville after seeing him on Jackass? KATHERINE HEIGL: I actually hadn’t seen Jackass … Jackass is something you have to see to believe … When I met him he was the perfect southern gentleman and he is a really good guy at so many levels. I didn’t think anything of it until I happened to catch an episode of it and was horrified. It completely changed my whole opinion of him. I realized he has some dual personality issues.
Q: Did you confront him about it? KH: Yeah … (I said) “What are you thinking? Why would you do this?” … It’s a bunch of guys acting like 14-year-olds laughing at fart jokes, but just a little more painful than that.
Q: How is Grey’s Anatomy going? KH: The show is going great. It is phenomenal. It is such a huge blessing in my life.
Q: Do you ever get squeamish on set? KH: I used to be a little bit more so. I can almost take anything now, except we did one scene with pig intestines and it was-n’t just that they were there and we were pretending to cut them up, we had to man handle them and squeeze things out of them. The smell alone, I think it was the smell that really bothered me. Almost anything else I can deal with because a lot of what we are using, not to demystify the magic of it all, but … we line the cavity wall of the fake person with cuts of steak. The scene where I was cringing and throwing up a little bit in my mouth, that was real.
Q: What’s it like working with Patrick Dempsey? KH: Patrick is wonderful. He’s dreamy. There is no other way to describe Patrick. He’s charming, he’s witty, he’s McDreamy.
Q: Were you a fan of his before the show, with movies like “Can’t Buy Me Love?” KH: Yes, that’s my favorite and then recently “Sweet Home Alabama,” which I think reignited many women’s infatuation with Patrick Dempsey.
Q: Do you hang out with the “Grey’s Anatomy” cast outside of work? KH: Oh yeah, all the time. This is a really wonderful set. Everybody is just really cool and really talented. A lot of times T.R., Justin and I will go. There’s a restaurant bar around the corner from our set and on a Friday night if we get done before 5 a.m. we’ll go and grab something together and hang out.
Q: Are you married or do you have a boyfriend? KH: No, I’m not married, but I do have a boyfriend.
Q: Is he an actor? KH: No, he’s a musician.
Q: Smart move. KH: We’ll see. Everybody says to me “don’t date actors, don’t date actors” and I could never understand that. I think actors are so fun. They are charming, they always tell a great story, they can do fabulous impersonations of people. It’s guaranteed entertainment.
Q: Is there a downside to it? KH: There is a downside of it and I think it is the narcissism. I can say that because I am an actor. I’m well aware of my self absorption.
Q: What do you do for fun? KH: I eat a lot. I don’t know what happened. Suddenly food has become a bit of an obsession.
Q: How do you feel about the obsession with being ultra thin in Hollywood? KH: Obviously I don’t think much about it. What bothers me about it is my own insecurity and inclination at times to look like Nicole Richie. I cannot. I’m 5 foot 8 and a half inches. I have substantial breasts and hips and everything else. I’m never going to look that thin … I think it’s very important that people not confuse fitness with beauty. It is important to exercise, not to be beautiful but to be healthy. It is important to eat right, not to be beautiful, but to be healthy … I often feel inclined to lose weight, because I think I have to because it’s Hollywood, but what has stopped me every time is that I want young girls to look at me and go that’s normal, that’s healthy. She’s on TV and she looks like me.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 30, 2005. Read the original PDF.