Hitchin' a ride! Celebrity on the road 

She's had on-screen pashes with Freddie Prinze JR and Heath Ledger, and in her new flick struts her stuff with Sean Patrick Thomas, but as Julia Stiles tells TV Hits, all she wants is to get hitched to Eminem!

You steal the dance floor in your new flick, Save the last dance! Have you ever loved to boogie?

I love to dance! I took classes when I was little, so this film was a chance for me to revisit ballet training. I told the director, "I don't care if my toes bleed, I want to be the one dancing in the film"

Was the training for the film hard?

It was tough! I danced six hours a day for a month and a half. My toes hurt but it was worth it! I put pressure on myself to dance well cause at any moment they could replace me with a double.

Did you have a stand-in at all?

Not in any of the hip-hop scenes because I insisted I could do hip-hop! But I had a classical dancer step in for the close-ups on my toes!

Do you prefer hip-hop dancing to classical ballet?

I'm more comfortable doing hip-hop dancing. I did study ballet for two years, but I always felt it was too strict. It was too rigid, and I had mean teachers!

Where was Save the Last Dance filmed?

In Chicago -- I love that city. We were there in the dead of winter, but we still had a lot of fun. We did a lot of research in the dance clubs there!

But you're 19 -- don't you need to be 21 to get into clubs in the US?

You can go to over-18 clubs! The bouncers actually took pride in not letting me in. My ID was confiscated one night and this bouncer said "Well, you make enough to buy another". They can be so obnoxious!

You're juggling movies with college life. Is it hard work?

I'm almost done this term which is great! I'm really engrossed in my classes and I know I can defer if I want to do a film.

Why go to college when you could be making movies?

College will make me a well-rounded person. The more I pursue learning and study things I'm interested in, the more interesting I'll be to watch on-screen.

Do you have any celeb classmates?

Anna Paquin and Joseph Gordon-Levitt go to my college, but I don't know of any other celebrities.

Didn't you and Joseph once date?

Yeah, but I'm not talking about that!

What are the tell-tale signs that a relationship isn't working?

If you're playing games then you're not really in a relationship. You have to have fun together. Those are the basic things. But you have to be able to fight, because fighting will get the truth out. Then you can make up and hopefully it'll be better!

Do you have any celeb crushes?

I always joked about wanting to marry Eminem! I think he's really talented.

Do you get recognized for being famous at college?

I don't walk around thinking, "I'm famous." I act like a normal person and hopefully people will treat me that way. My friends don't have any issues with it, but I guess I do get recognized.

Besides grooving on the dance floor, how do you keep in shape?

I play soccer. Ballet can seem kinda wimpy when you compare it. I like having a strong body and being able to dance, or run around a soccer field for two hours and not getting tired.

When you go to the cinema what type of flicks do you like to watch?

I love seeing a movie where I can forget about myself and the world for two hours. I love seeing a movie that will make you laugh. Groundhog Day is one of my favourite movies.

It is true you're going to take a break from teen movies?

I was proud of my part in 10 Things and Down To You, but I'm keen to move into different roles. And for Save the Last Dance, I was proud to be part of a movie that deals with social issues more than your average teen movie.

What are you working on now?

State and Main. It's a comedy that makes fun of Hollywood. I play a diabolical character that seduces Alec Baldwin to get a part. It was a fun and incredible experience -- not just the part where I seduce Alec!

Originally published in the April 2001 issue of TV Hits Magazine