Alexis Bledel in 'Tuck Everlasting'
Sometimes nice girls do finish first.
In WB's teen universe, 19-year-old Alexis Bledel stars as Rory on "Gilmore Girls." But Rory breaks the WB mold. She's not your typical rebellious, back-stabbing mini-adult. Instead, Rory is a studious teen who actually considers her single mom, Lorelai, to be her best friend.
So it comes as no surprise that rather than follow in the steps of some of her WB peers, Bledel has chosen to spend her summer hiatus working on Disney's live-action adaptation of Natalie Babbitt's young adult novel, "Tuck Everlasting," rather than vamp it up in a teen gross-out film.
"I wanted to do something different," Bledel says. At the moment, she is done filming, curled up on a couch after a photo shoot, still dressed in 19th century period costume, flowing white dress with pink sash.
"It ended up being the project I liked. I thought Jay Russell, the director ( My Dog Skip ), was going to do a good job with it, and I do think he's doing a great job."
In "Tuck," which is due next year, Bledel stars as Winnie Foster, a 15-year-old girl with strict parents. "Her parents want her to be a refined young lady. And she's not. She's kind of rebellious. She just wants to do her own thing, but she's stifled at every turn by her mother," Bledel says.
Winnie goes in search of her own life and finds the Tucks, a family that has discovered a spring that holds the secret of eternal life. William Hurt and Sissy Spacek play parents Angus and Mae. Jonathan Jackson plays Jesse, who catches Winnie's eye.
The film has offered Bledel, whose Gilmore Girls castmates include Edward Herrmann and Kelly Bishop, another opportunity to work with some of Hollywood's legends. "On Tuck, we just have all these great actors that have done things I saw a long time ago and are just great. It's awesome. I was really excited to work with Ben Kingsley," who plays the Man in the Yellow Suit. "He's so supportive."
Bledel spent years working as a model, but "Gilmore Girls" is the Houston native's first TV show, and "Tuck Everlasting" will be her film debut. The two, she says, are very different experiences.
"The pace for shooting a movie is a lot slower, so you have more time to think about what you're going to do in a scene and just kind of let it ferment in your head," she says.
Despite a busy schedule that leaves little time for family and no time for dating, Bledel is happy to have the work. "I like TV because every 10 days we get to put together a new story, and you get to develop your character over a length of time. But movies are also nice because you know what the whole story's going to be. There aren't any surprises."
Speaking of surprises, Bledel wouldn't reveal any about the second season of "Gilmore Girls," which moves to Tuesdays this fall. "I have no clue about what's going to happen. Only the writers know," she says. "I wish I knew. It would be cool to know. It's always a surprise."
