[IMG:L]Even though she’s a married woman, Kate Beckinsale’s had a regular date with the fanboys. With a resume of fangy films that include Van Helsing and the two Underworld entries, the British beauty’s been a frequent visitor to San Diego’s Comic-Con over the past several years and made the blood of the undead-loving attendees beat quicker, even with her husband, director Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard) at her side.
But, alas for her admirers, in her current comic-book derived role, there’s not a curve-enhancing corset or skin-hugging catsuit to be seen. For the film version of writer Greg Rucka and artists Steve Leiber’s Oni Comics miniseries Whiteout, Beckinsale plays a U.S. Marshal on the trail of killer at the U.S. science base McMurdo Station in Antarctica just as the sun is about to set for six months straight–and her lithe figure is covered in layer after layer of thermal clothing.
But Beckinsale showed up looking babe-alicious in San Diego, though she barely made it onstage due to a delayed train ride down from L.A.–it turns out Kate doesn’t drive, as she reveals while also telling Hollywood.com that, while the twilight world of the arctic may be suitable for vampires, it left her a little cold.
Hollywood.com: Even though Greg Rucka had a hand in some of the film’s writing, Whiteout, and your character Carrie Stetko, departs in some significant ways from the original comic book?
Kate Beckinsale: In the comic book I understand the character is a little bit different. They wanted her as kind of jumping-off part–on the whole comic book was fairly different. I found out that my costar actually should have been a woman: Gabriel Macht‘s character is a chick in the comic book. They wanted her to be very real and earthy. They gave her a big backstory of terrible things that have happened to her. She’s gone out to kind of forget about it. You can understand why somebody might go. We just went to Manitoba, and God knows what it would be like in the North Pole. [Laughs]
HW: What was the attraction of this particular character for you?
KB: It was actually quite nice to do one of these types of movies. I love genre movies–I love other kinds of movies too, but I do like these kinds of movies. It was nice to play someone who was a human, actually, for a change. You know, usually I am battling with learning how to make this realistic and she’s been alive for 700 years and all of that. I thought it was an interesting story and I thought it was an interesting character.
HW: Was there a physical challenge to the role?
KB: There wasn’t as much action as I am used to–there wasn’t weapons and fighting as much. It was more just the conditions were really different. Especially the first few weeks, it was like minus 58 where we were. I am thinking ‘I did Van Helsing in Prague and that was cold. I did Underworld in a latex suit.’ And it was just completely different.
[IMG:R]HW: How so?
KB: Well, first of all when we arrived in the hotel they gave us telephone directories of these are all the different ways that you can die of being cold. They have to give it to you, if you die, so you can get frostbite, hypothermia, where your fingers start falling off. If you have ever had an alcoholic drink in your life, basically forget it, so half the crews were freaking out. All the crew was freaking out! When you see movies and they’ve got the frost in the beard and it always looks a little bit fake. So when I got on the set I was like ‘Why has the director got frost in his hair, have they done make-up tests on the whole crew?’ but it was real. My hair. I had a bob in the movie, and my hair would just, from breathing on it, freeze into a right point. I’ve never known anything like that. Really what was tiring was every time you get inside anywhere you have to take all the clothes off. Otherwise you overheat. Then to go back outside? Most of the movie was just pulling on five pairs of pants, pulling off five pairs of pants. [Laughs]
HW: When you were shooting in those conditions were you up there by yourself? Was the family with you?
KB: My kid always comes with me. Len was busy with this little movie that he was doing Die Hard.
HW: Does your daughter ever watch your films?
KB: She won’t watch any of them, not any. No, we tried it actually. We were just on holiday and it was on pay-per-view, Van Helsing and she was like ‘No, no! No, no.’ She likes Some Like It Hot–that’s her favorite movie.
HW: Has she seen Click?
KB: She’s in Click for a split second. She’s furious because her line was cut. So Click is a totally sensitive subject in our house now.
HW: What attracted you to Click of all things?
KB: I had just come off of Underworld 2 and it was weird. When I first did Underworld every time I walked in the room I would think there were crumpets and fine china – “Kate’s from England.” I really wanted to do something with a little bit more edge. Then it kind of took off a bit more than I thought it would. So, with Click, I just wanted to kind of play a nice human, warm, and Adam Sandler is like my second favorite person in my life.
HW: What else are you working on right now?
KB: I’ve done a few movies, I did a movie called Snow Angels with Sam Rockwell, it was at Sundance. I did a movie called Winged Creatures with Forest Whitaker and Guy Pearce and Dakota Fanning. That, I think is going to be really good. It’s an independent movie about a bunch of people who end up dieing, I’m actually a waitress and somebody comes in and basically kills a bunch of people and then kills himself. You follow all of the different people in the movie. They are basically, it’s kind of light, fun, a big hoot. Now I’m going to do a movie called Nothing But the Truth with Rod Lurie directing.
[IMG:L]HW: Lurie always has these great roles for women.
KB: He’s written an amazing role. It’s actually sort of semi-based on a true story. It’s basically about a woman who won’t give up her source. She’s a journalist, any more points? [Laughs] Yeah, she’s a journalist and she gets involved in a whole situation where she won’t give up her source and ends up going to jail.
HW: Are you talking to real journalists for reference points?
KB: No, all of that is starting next week. Yes, we are going to do all that stuff.
HW: We know this is a sore subject BUT: Have you learned how to drive yet?
KB: No. [Laughs] I was busy, I was in the North Pole–f*ck! [Laughs] There are a few of us–apparently Penelope Cruz doesn’t either.
HW: What is going to make you finally bite the bullet and learn? You live in L.A. after all!
KB: No, I’m going to, because when I get a bit older, it won’t be like interesting and eccentric and cute. Because I also have two cats, it will become a disaster soon. Either if my husband divorces me or buys me a car.
HW: Speaking of your husband, what is going on with Underworld 3?
KB: I think they are doing it, but I don’t think I’m doing it.
HW: What do you mean you are not doing it? You are the girl!
KB: No, I think it was always conceived as a prequel, before Selene got involved.
HW: Are you looking to work together on something different? Are you looking for a project that you two can share?
KB: We’d love to, yeah. We would really, really like to do that. I don’t know, I hope so. I like him. [Laughs]
HW: Is it hard for you to balance this incredible personal life you have – marriage, child, saturated with this movie career?
KB: It is hard. I think any working mother will tell you that what gets pushed by the wayside are the hours of sleep that you wish you had. I feel incredibly lucky and blessed. But, I do sometimes feel like the Exorcist lady.
HW: Do you feel like if you don’t have a genre project next year you’ll miss your annual trek to Comic-Con?
KB: I think in the family we have kind of got it covered. I’m sure I could just kind of sweep in on Len’s deal.
