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At a tender 19 years of age, actress Jena Malone has already amassed a respectable body of work, holding her own alongside Oscar winners like Julia Roberts, Kevin Costner and Jodie Foster. She first gained attention in the cult flick "Donnie Darko," and her stock continues to rise with edgy roles, including a heroin addict in "The United States of Leland" and her starring role as the soul up for grabs in the religious teen comedy "Saved!," which also features Mandy Moore and Macaulay Culkin. MTV News' Rodrigo Perez caught up with Malone to chat about being subversive, admiring Mandy Moore and signing on for an all-girl rock and roll film called "Vinyl."
MTV: You went from the dark, intense "The United States of Leland" to "Saved!," which is pretty much on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Jena Malone: Yeah. It's about this young girl who's been given a foundation of belief since she was very young, and when she's approaching that age of graduation it starts crumbling apart, and there's a point when she has to start questioning her beliefs — which ones resonate and which ones don't. It's very funny and very heartwarming. I think eventually the film is very much pro-faith.
MTV: It's edgier than your average teen comedy. It's subversive.
Malone: Yeah. It's trying to sort of say a lot of things while using the format of teen comedy that [audiences] are familiar with. Our senses are sort of relaxed. It's gross to say, but then you're sort of hit with what's underlying.
MTV: What was it like working with Mandy Moore?
Malone: It was awesome. It taught me another beautiful lesson in life: that you can't really prejudge people by what their status has become. I was kind of worried at this whole teen-pop-diva-singer-whatever and [I thought], 'Oh, she's trying to act now. ... What the hell?' But you know, the moment she walked in we were doing these read-throughs, and she was totally there. She was giving her all and trying to show people what she wanted to do with this character. After that I was just like, 'She's absolutely right. Not only is she a good actor, but she's giving 110 percent and she's really passionate, she's really smart about it.' She was awesome. I think people are going to be really surprised about her performance.
MTV: Do you think the film's message will find an audience?
Malone: I do, because it's a young enough film and it's dealing with teen issues and, you know, teens are really going to be drawn to that, and it's not only that, it's not really for a specific audience because it is really subversive. It's got a lot of questions it asks as well, so older people can get a lot from it.
MTV: This film is essentially an indie movie, but you've worked on both sides of the fence. Do you find much difference between making a Hollywood production and an indie one?
Malone: The only thing that's different is time. In independent film, you have 20 to 28 days to make this film all that it can be, and you have less film that you're working with. In films endorsed by the studios ... you're shooting two pages a day, and you have up to five months. So I find that's pretty much the only difference, because you can find very truthful depictions of youth in studio films as well. It's just depending on what studio wants to take a certain risk.
MTV: Your upcoming movie "Vinyl" looks like it could be another breakout film for you.
Malone: Really? It's a two-week part. It's a really small role. Actually, I don't want to talk about it too much because I don't want to jinx it. It's really the type of girl I've met in Hollywood millions of times that I absolutely despise. You know, the wannabe groupie wearing her thong out of her pants, wearing her Uggs with a skirt. Every time she speaks you want to slap her, but I'm really excited about understanding the truth of that situation, the sort of fronts that are put on, her naiveté, trying to make her a real person. I've never really played that role, so I just want to make it as honest and truthful as I could.
MTV: You've worked with A-listers like Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster and Kevin Klein. How does it affect you?
Malone: I've had really good experiences with them and with actors that I've never even heard of. Ryan Gosling, I think I had seen "The Believer" once, and then getting to work with him [on "The United States of Leland"], you know, I learned so much because I didn't have all those preconceived notions of what it would be like to work with someone. It's sometimes damaging, but I think I'd like to work with anyone who wants to make good material. I learned so much working with Mandy Moore because I came in expecting nothing and I got so much in return, so I don't have my list of actors I want to work with. As an audience member I know who I think are really rad. I just want to keep working with interesting, passionate people who care about it as much as I do.
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Photo: Diyah Pera
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