Kristen Bell: Heartbreaker

19-year-old pretty, blonde actress Kristen Bell's star first rose on Broadway in plays like the revival of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible". She played Becky in a Broadway production of "Tom Sawyer" and was in "Hair", Wizard of Oz" and "The Miracle Worker". After attending NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Kristen made a trip out west to discover if she might like Hollywood and appearing in t.v. and film. She was cast in several t.v. guest roles and tonight, (Sunday) appears as a teen in search of her father in the Hallmark Channel's movie "The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay" based on the novel. We talked to the bright young woman about her work, dating preferences and co-stars.

TeenHollywood: How did you hear about the role in Moonlight Bay and what was the audition process like?

Kristen: I had come out for two weeks in the Fall to see if I wanted to move here and the first week I was here I shot the season premiere of "The Shield" and the second week I had the audition for Moonlight Bay and I think they had been looking for this girl for a long time. I only had one audition. I had a great reader, reading with me. They put me on tape and called the week after and said 'all the producers saw the tape and you're hired'.

TeenHollywood: What attracted you to the part of Alison?

Kristen: Her determination and courage. Alison was so smart for being seventeen and she's was very in touch with her curiosity. She said 'I don't know about my father. I want to know'. She made the effort to write to him. She grew up before her time. It was so cool to see her realize everything she wanted to realize.

TeenHollywood: Had you read the book that this "Moonlight Bay" is based on?

Kristen: I read the script first then got a copy of the book and read it. There's a lot more that goes on in the book as far as characters she meets throughout the town but we obviously had to cut that down to make the storyline more efficient.

TeenHollywood: How was working with Sean Young, Tim Matheson and Ed Asner?

Kristen: Ed Asner is one of the coolest dudes I have ever met. I have always admired what he has done with his time as far as his political stance, speaking out and his interest in the union and standing up for what he believes in. We became like buddies. He's constantly reading the media, what Congress is passing and he would leave things on my chair, articles. He kind of mentored me. I'd never really done film before so I really didn't know what I was doing and everyone taught me so much. I felt like they wanted me to succeed. Sean was great just to have a little female companionship. I didn't have that much with Sean but what I did, she was wonderful. I had a lot with Tim and he and I became genuine friends. He has two daughters. We would talk about his kids. We started shooting at 5:30 in the morning and we got a gym membership. He would knock on my hotel door and say 'get up' and we'd go run on the treadmill together for like a half an hour. It was fun. There wasn't a lot in Lake Havasu [where the film was shot] but they had a gym.

TeenHollywood: Who did you play on "American Dreams"?

Kristen: I played a girl named Amy Fielding. It's a fantastic show and they've gotten picked up again. It's the first time they dealt with a bigtime controversy, something really serious because my character had an abortion on the show. I played a Freshman in college who meets Helen, the mother and we have a study group. She comes to my house and discovers I'd had this abortion. David Semel directed and he did such a beautiful job of not making Gale O'Grady come across as a crazy religious bible beater to me, and me come across as some wild kid. He made both sides seem very informed and right. It's hard to not really lean. It was a great episode. They've told me that they might have me back in the Fall.

TeenHollywood: What is great about doing theater that you love?

Kristen: The fact that it's live. I would be completely content just doing a theater show for the rest of my life. I do miss the big houses on Broadway. There's nothing like playing to a two thousand seat audience. But, I'm really happy to have the chance to do some theater out here in L.A. There's nothing like making people laugh on stage and being able to see their reactions. It's great to do a film but I can't see people's reactions when they watch the movie.

TeenHollywood: What is your favorite play?

Probably Steven Sondheim's "A Little Night Music". I did it this Summer at the Kennedy Center in D.C. They did some of his shows in rep. I think it's quite possibly the most perfectly-formulated show ever. There's not a word in that play that shouldn't be there. It's the perfect play.

TeenHollywood: Do you have a favorite t.v. show and why is it your fave?

Kristen: Having been on "American Dreams" I got into watching it a lot and I love that one. I love "Will and Grace". Or my favorite is reruns of "The Brady Bunch". I would sit down and watch reruns of that for twelve hours straight. I love them.

TeenHollywood: What was the most challenging scene for you in Moonlight Bay?

Kristen: Definitely the scene where Alison courageously talks back to her father for the first time. He treats her like crap then he hits her. It takes a lot of courage to come back and speak up. She finally gets the courage to walk out of the house and he stops her. She looks at him with fire in her eyes. She says "I hate you and I hope you drink yourself to death". To say something like that to a father figure was really hard no matter what they've done to you. I had to get so angry.

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TeenHollywood: Did anything funny happen on the set that you can share with us?

Kristen: Tim and I started having a practical joke war about halfway through. He's a big kid and we would have these water fights where I would leave a puddle of water on his seat or he would leave one on mine and we'd sit in it. Or, he'd come up with a cup of water and spill it all over my pants. I would punch holes in my water bottle and spray it. The sound and costume people were having a fit. It was a full on water war.

TeenHollywood: If you could plan the perfect date, what would it consist of?

Kristen: Definitely be dinner out like going to a Japanese or Ethiopian restaurant. Something we hadn't experienced before. I think you really get to know somebody when you both have a new experience together. It would probably be in the afternoon, a hike up Runyan Canyon (in L. A.) and, hopefully he would have a dog and he would bring the dog. Then going out to dinner somewhere we'd never been. I'm dating someone right now and he's very good to me. I've been trying to get him to get a dog. He's almost caved in.

TeenHollywood: Who are you dying to play a film or t.v. role opposite?

Kristen: I've always wanted to work with Hank Azaria. He's so funny. I would always want to work with Toni Collette. Not that many people know about her but she's also done Broadway. She's fantastic.

TeenHollywood: When you go to a film for fun, what is your favorite type of film?

Kristen: I love comedies. I'm always cast as some kind of heartbreaking girl because I look like the girl next door and my emotions sit on the surface so I can cry if you need me to. But comedy is really my thing. I'm thinking of joining Second City. Seeing a good comedy, there's nothing like it, just watching an old Saturday Night Live episode. Animal House with Tim or the newer Chris Farley movies, there's nothing better. I love Amy Polar, the small blonde on Saturday Night Live. She's hysterical.

TeenHollywood: What kind of music are you into?

Kristen: I like Motown. I grew up in Detroit and my dad never, ever let us change the station from Motown and we would have The Spinners and Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin. He loved James Brown. I have a keychain with James Brown's face. Motown and oldies. I do like a lot of newer music. I don't really dislike any genre. I like classical if it's really good stuff.

TeenHollywood: What are you doing next?

Kristen: I'm shooting the new David Mamet movie. He wrote and directed. Starring Val Kilmer and William H. Macy and Eric Luke. It's called Spartan now but that's gonna change. I've been shooting for a couple of weeks on and off. I'm also rehearsing for a play that I'm doing at The Matrix theater on Melrose and Stanley. It's a new musical, sort of funny and campy.

TeenHollywood: Who do you play in the movie?

Kristen: It's about a high profile political figure's daughter who has gone missing. That's who I play. It's probably the President but we never say it's the President. She's very much in the media, very much America's sweetheart. It's the search to find her.

TeenHollywood: What advice would you give to teens who want to make it as actors or actresses?

Kristen: Stick with it and anything that you can get your feet into, do it even if you just do a play in your basement. Always journal, write down your thoughts. You'll have it to look back on. If you really believe you should be doing it, then stick with it. Go do community theater. Get seen. Don't let anyone tell you it's stupid. This show that I'm doing is only a 100 seat house. That's small, it looks like a small dinner table from stage. Just follow your heart and don't let anyone tell you you can't.

Note: If you missed "Moonlight Bay", there will be another airing this Thursday the 19th. Check your local t.v. listings for time.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter