EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: "Lovely Bones" Hot Sister!

New Zealand actress Rose McIver plays the younger sister to Saoirse Ronan in the "after death" thriller The Lovely Bones. In real life Rose is now 22 and Saoirse is 15 but the girls bonded on set. "She's one of my best friends", says Saoirse .

In the film, Saoirse's character Susie is murdered by a weird neighborhood stranger. Rose's character Lindsey is left behind to find clues to convict the killer and adjust to life after Susie's horrible death. (Note: The movie is rated PG-13)

Rose ages from age 11 to 19 in the film but the actress started in films at age three. We just got off the phone with her and here is the report....

So when you were 3 years old you were in The Piano? Were you a baby Anna Paquin?

Rose:  I was the youngest angel in the school production.

When you were a young teen, did your parents warn you against weird strangers and not trusting them?  

Rose: My parents were honest and open and it wasn't like I was sheltered when I was younger so I knew that was a reality. New Zealand is a very safe place and I'm lucky to live there but there's somebody in every town. There's always a danger that that can happen and you can't live in fear about it but you do need to keep your wits about you.

In "Lovely Bones", how was working with Susan Sarandon as your colorful, wacky grandma? She put eggs on your hair and goop on your face to make you beautiful. Was that a fun or icky scene?

Rose: Well, Susan is fantastic. I think she pushed me to see how far it could go.  I think there seven eggs on my head and a pound of oatmeal. She just went to town on me. I got some (cigarette) ash on me, a drink spilled on me.  It was a very humbling experience.

But, it was so flattering to be cast as somebody in her family. She's such a professional and has a lot of experience I feel like I learned a lot from working with her. But, eggs on my hair? I'm not really too fussy so it wasn't too bad. I felt like my skin was in better condition after that though.

You do have a few scenes with Saoirse. She's 15 now and you are 22. So did you still relate to her and did you two joke between scenes or hang out?  

Rose: We get along really well. I was very fortunate.  We took to each other pretty quickly. She's so wise beyond her years.  Really, she's more mature than me. We had a couple of weeks before shooting.

Had you read the novel or did you afterward?

Rose: I read it when I was 13.

What did you think of your character Lindsey when you read the book?

Rose: I just thought she was admirable and brave.

She's really a hero because she is brave enough to go after the killer to get proof that he did it.   Would you be that brave?

Rose: I don't think so. I just respect her so much because I don't think I could do that.

Any accidents when you climb through that basement window or escape the killer's house? That was such a tense scene.  

Rose: There was one stuntwoman on the dive out the window but most of it I got to do myself which was great. I got a couple of scrapes but I was relatively unscathed.

Lindsey is kind of sporty, she's in track and everything. Are you into any sports?

Rose: I love running and I live by a beach so I love water and I enjoy things like kayaking. But I'm not a natural athlete. I can't play soccer as well as Lindsey could but I do enjoy running.

How else did you identify with the character?

Rose:  Well, she's not glamorous and I'm certainly not glamorous.

Hey girl, you take a pretty glam picture!

Rose: It took a team of people to make that happen! But I can relate to her being preoccupied with practical things and that's what I'm like really and she's a teenage girl and I've been 13 to 19 as well so there are a lot of things she goes through that I can connect to.  

What did you think of the 1970's clothes in the movie?

Rose: Well, everybody else got to wear the cool 1970's clothes.  I was stuck in track pants (she laughs). I wasn't crazy about my wardrobe but I had one (nice) dress of a big occasion.

Did you get to help design what would be in Lindsey's teenager room? What did you select?

Rose: We kind of walked through this store of games and relics of that time and that really helped to inform us of the period and I'd looked at a lot of films and listened to a lot of music to get into the 1970's teenage mindset so. We chose colors; Susie's was purple and mine was yellows and greens.  It was really fun actually to be a part of the creation of that time.

Susie's In-Between world is both beautiful and scary.  Do you believe in some kind of afterlife or hope for it and what would be in it for you?

Rose: I do (believe). I think I'd be very disappointed if there wasn't a heaven but I'm not exactly sure of what it would be. I don't think I'd want to know.  I'd rather be surprised. If it were something I could plan for it now, I'm sure it would be boring.

What most impressed you about working on the film? What did you take away from the experience?

Rose: Just working with such high caliber people; leaders in their fields; crew and cast.  I loved how they really get down to work and they are actors' actors but still a very down-to-earth bunch of people.

What music artists are you into?

Rose: Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, EmmyLou Harris.

Do you play music before going into a scene or did your director Peter Jackson play music on set?

Rose: Yeah, he does sometimes. I think it's really dependent on your frame of mind that day and the scene you are trying to make.  I don't have a formula. It depends on if I feel I really need something, I'll listen or if I feel like talking to people around me is going to get me there, I'll do that. It's on a scene by scene basis.

What's next for you?

Rose: I've got a film called Predicament, which is a really dark comedy and I've been studying (in college). My majors are linguistics and psychology. I really enjoy it.

What do you hope teens will take away from seeing The Lovely Bones?

Rose: People have different reactions in a time of grief or loss and I think it's a bit of a misconception that you would deal with it in the same way or that everything around you would stay the same because it doesn't. There is also humor (in the film) and positivity. Good things can come from tragedy. So I hope people take that away.