Moon Bloodgood is Kick Butt and All Girl!

Gorgeous Eurasian actress Moon Bloodgood has played Indian princesses, time travelers and an ice-bound researcher in the sled-doggie adventure Eight Below opposite Paul Walker. This week, catch Moon kicking butt, flying war planes and standing by her man in a post-nuclear apocalyptic wasteland as resistance fighter Blair Williams in the sci-fi actioner Terminator: Salvation.

The friendly and candid actress met with us in Beverly Hills where we asked her all about the shoot, co-starring with hot cutie Sam Worthington in the film, what she wants in a man, why women should love Sci-Fi, what historical character she'd like to play and we got her advice to teens on entering the acting profession. Picture the leggy beauty in bright yellow mini-dress by an Asian designer. We had a true chat (she asked me as many questions as I asked her) but we'll just stick to her side of things here. As I enter the room.....

Moon: Oh, you have red hair like Bryce [Dallas Howard, a co-star in the film].

TeenHollywood: Yeah but mine's a bit lighter. Yay, redheads! Hey, speaking of Bryce, can you contrast your characters? You are both very powerful women but in different ways. She's John Connor's [Christian Bale's] wife and pregnant in the film and your character Blair is kicking butt.

Moon: It's so hard to be objective. It's too simplistic to say that [between] Bryce and I, I get to carry the gun and she doesn't because you've got to be bad-ass to be John Connor's wife. I think we're sort of one character split in two. We both have vulnerabilities. You're seeing maybe more of a window into her vulnerability and her strength; hers is more in her presence. Mine is more in my physicality and the tenor of my voice. Bryce has a very ethereal, strong strength. I have a very gritty, sturdy thing and, if you see us together, you see that.

TeenHollywood: Yep, we saw it. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of you gals in a dark alley. Once her character Kate, has that baby, watch out!

Moon: [laughing] Yeah, for sure. It's true!

TeenHollywood: Your director McG has said that if L.A. were nuked, you'd be the last woman standing. So what did he see in you to merit that?

Moon: [laughs] I didn't know he said that. I think he's implying that there's a toughness, a confrontational side. I'm a survivor. I think there's a tomboy side.

TeenHollywood: But there is a great feminine side to your character. Bryce got to kiss Christian Bale and says he's "quite sexy". Any jealousy there?

Moon: Yeah, I told her 'you got to make out with him? Why didn't I get to make out with him?' [we laugh].

TeenHollywood: Well there was Sam Worthington.

Moon: Yeah, he's pretty good too.

TeenHollywood: Talk about working with hot Sam as Marcus. You two have some tender scenes. Did you meet and talk about your characters beforehand?

Moon: We talked a little bit about it. We have chemistry. From the moment he met me, I was sort of like teasing him and he was teasing me. That dynamic was there but there wasn't a lot of time. I felt so rushed into it. We met for a couple of weeks and there were so many variables going on with the script but we talked a little bit about it. We talked mostly with McG with us together. You never feel like you have enough time to develop the character.

TeenHollywood: You started out as a dancer, then a Laker Girl and went into music videos. When did you get interested in being an actor?

Moon: Never wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be a singer/songwriter when I was a dancer. Acting came to me five or six years ago and I'm still learning my craft. I thought, for sure, I would be a singer/songwriter. You just couldn't convince me [otherwise]. And, then I saw the business side of it and it's really hard. So, with acting, I feel, you get to do a project, you walk away from it. You get to talk about it but you never have to re-sing those songs so to speak. It's similar and different. I have an acting coach. I don't consider myself a Christian Bale but I think, when I'm doing well, I do a good, solid job and I'm still learning to find layers and depth and I really enjoy it.

TeenHollywood: Are you still writing songs or lyrics?

Moon: It's not the same. You get older and your creativity changes. When you're a kid or teen you're always writing poems. I can't write a poem to save my life anymore. I don't want to write a poem but I still will pick up the guitar. [we discuss our mutual love of singing and playing guitar].

TeenHollywood: For the role of Blair, didn't you consult with a real female fighter pilot?

Moon: Yes, Captain Jennifer Shoeck, an A-10 Thunderbolt Two fighter pilot. Love to have flown with her but it's a one-person plane. The canopy goes up and you're by yourself. I got to sit in one at Kirkland Airforce Base in Albuquerque. We did the simulator and she taught me all the different aspects of the plane. I asked her everything from 'what would you be wearing if you were shot out of the canopy?' and 'what would you have in your bag?' 'How would you behave in the cockpit?' 'What would the tenor of your voice be?' 'How would you speak to men as a female pilot?' I asked her a ton of questions.

TeenHollywood: And she was helpful, huh?

Moon: Yes. Sweetest girl in the world. Sweet voice too.

TeenHollywood: Were you a fan of the 'Terminator' movies?

Moon: Huge! I'm sci-fi girl! I don't understand how anyone can watch Terminator and not have fun.

TeenHollywood: Women love these films. Look at what a cool woman Ripley in Aliens is.

Moon: She is who I modeled Blair after.. well, not modeled but I watched her. When I see Ripley, I don't think she's a dude. I think she really didn't want to fight the aliens. She was reluctant. Neither did Linda Hamilton (as Sarah Connor). She was a waitress in the first one and very demure.

TeenHollywood: What it proves is that women can rise to the occasion.

Moon: I love that! I'm gonna use that, 'rise to the occasion'.

TeenHollywood: Was it cool for you that in the post-apocalypse world of 'Terminator', race, gender.. all that b.s. we live with now, doesn't matter? It's just who can do the job the best?

Moon: That's all McG. But, you know what? I just figured something out. That's probably why I love Sci-Fi. 'Battlestar Galactica', Bladerunner, women get to be f-ing tough! That's got to be why I like it.

TeenHollywood: Were you hurt on set? This was a very tough shoot we hear.

Moon: I think I cut my nail. But, Sam got hurt, Christian got hurt. Anton [Yelchin who plays young Kyle Reese] got a little hurt. I didn't get hurt. I fell and got a little scratched up but no, thank God, and we did some crazy stunts like running through the mine field. Explosions were popping and we had earplugs and there was one time when Sam and I jumped and we couldn't see where we were landing. There was so much fog, and I ate it and he grabbed me. I really rolled.

TeenHollywood: Ouch! So you are also in the new videogame for the film? It's a computer-generated Blair with your voice?

Moon: Yes. That was the first time I had voiced a videogame then I did another videogame. Then I just [recorded] Michinema, they are little movies with my videogame and you can interact with them. I did all day with a professional voice-over guy. He's like 57 years old playing a 22-year-old and I was watching him and it's an art form. There are no visuals [while voice recording] so it doesn't matter what you look like. I love animated. Love Wall-E. Hire me for animation! I love it. Love Japanime.

TeenHollywood: I enjoyed the "Journeyman" TV series but it didn't last as long as it should have. Would you do another TV series?

Moon: I turned some television down. I did do [a recurring character] on 'Burn Notice' because that was an easy character and easy to come in and out. If it's a series and it's sci-fi, I'm gonna be a little bit nervous about it because it just has to be so good. I'm a little more careful with TV because you're shooting so much more within a day. It's a little more stressful.

TeenHollywood: Blair really stands by her man in this film. In your life, is that important for you? Or are you going to question what he does?

Moon: Both. I don't know how to live any other way. I want to be as loyal and as feminine as I can. I want to make him a plate of food and take care of him when he's sick but I also want him to respect me and I don't think that, just because you're a man, you need to be the breadwinner. I also don't think that you should ever talk down to me. I want both and maybe that's too much. [we discuss how a good man is hard to find]. Some women do want the breadwinner but I want both. I want to be feminine and masculine and I want my man to be masculine and feminine.

TeenHollywood: Your character says to Sam's 'You're a good guy. You just don't know it'. Are most tough guys you meet like that?

Moon: Most people are good people. You've got good and evil and all of us in the middle. You've got your Hitlers and you've got your Ghandis. All of us are in the middle. I think I'm a tough girl and people maybe go 'oh, she's so masculine' but deep down, I'm quite feminine so I like tough guys. I like Alpha males but I like Alpha females. I like all different types. Are good guys, tough guys? Sure. If people are good when you're not looking, that's when you know they're good.

TeenHollywood: Great point. Is there an historical character or someone from literature you would like to play at some point?

Moon: Julia Pastrana. There's a script going around. She was someone who wasn't physically beautiful [Pastrana had a malformity that covered her body with hair] but she had the most amazing spirit. She danced and I'm a dancer, she sang and was in love with a man who didn't love her until she was gone and because she wasn't beautiful.

TeenHollywood: Any more pet projects in your drawer at home?

Moon: A couple of projects about Korea because I'm half Korean. I don't want to be a producer or director. I don't have those kinds of ambitious because I know what they take but sometimes I feel like I have to do it to have more control in editing, in storytelling etc.

TeenHollywood: Any advice to teens on pitfalls to avoid if you want to be an actor?

Moon: There is so much about this business that they have no idea. Let them be very clear that art is art. Hold onto that but don't ever forget that there's another side of it that's business. Hold onto your ideals but know that you will see things that you will never imagine. If you are the kind of person who needs the ups and downs, be an actor. If you're someone who needs consistency....just know what you're getting into and know the price you pay for it. Be an adult about it. But, when you're 17 or 18, it's hard to handle that.

TeenHollywood: What would you say to teens as to why they will enjoy Terminator: Salvation?

Moon: It's why I love certain blockbusters, like an I Am Legend. A great movie, to me, has certain elements; great action, great male and female characters that come together with friction and love and inner struggles. The look of it is interesting. There are so many different ethnicities, different ages and it's about technology and what happens to us if we're now machines? It's Matrix. It's John Connor. It's got flashiness and it's got heart. A great blockbuster movie in the summer makes you escape and doesn't leave you sad at the end but makes you feel something.