NEW YORK – Forget almost winning an Oscar for Almost Famous. Kate Hudson's biggest challenge is taking on a Mummy and some rock 'n' roll Knights at the box office this weekend.
Her new film About Adam, a little movie she made in Dublin a year before Almost Famous, opens against some pretty stiff competition. The film is a small romantic comedy — what the studios like to call "counter programming." She speaks with a very credible Irish brogue and even sings. (Look out Gwyneth).
In a small Manhattan suite recently the golden "It" girl seemed relaxed and kicked off her shoes, revealing a small star tattoo on one foot. She seems game for anything. Well, almost.
Bill McCuddy: Can you Riverdance?
Kate Hudson: Me?! Oh no.
Q: C'mon, a little Irish jig?
A: No Irish jig! I actually have done some Irish dancing when I was little. It's very interesting.
Q: Ever eaten [the cereal] Lucky Charms?
A: Yes! (laughs) I was actually a big fan of Lucky Charms.
Q: They're magically delicious.
A: (Laughs) They are. And I'm so mad now, because when I was little, you know when I ate cereal, they were just plain you, know? The clovers. The rainbow and then you had like a balloon.
Q: Stars.
A: Stars! Right. Now they're multi-colored. They're really rainbows of colors. And the four-leaf clover has different colors in the clover. Horrible!
Q: You gotta credit Jesse Jackson. That whole rainbow coalition thing. He got all the colors represented in the Lucky Charms. Because they were too Irish.
A: (Laughs) Yes!
Q: We also had Irish Spring [soap]. Did you use that as a kid?
A: I did! Yes, the green bar.
Q: Manly yes, but I liked it too.
A: (Laughs) Right.
Q: So these are the things you draw on as an actress. Everything Irish inside you comes out?
A: (Laughs) Exactly.
Q: And the accent?
A: It was actually difficult.
Q: Why?
A: Let's start at the audition. I walked in and had this sort of — what an American would think who's never been to Ireland — that an Irish person sounds like ... which is a Leprechaun. But they don't sound like Leprechauns. And (the director) looked at me and said "Do I sound like that?" And I went, "Does that mean I didn't get the part?" (Laughs)
Q: Well how over the top was it at first?
A: I just went in and I said, "I don't know how to do an Irish accent." And he goes, "Just do whatever." So I did it, I did it kind of, you know, (raising and lowering her hand) with inflections, I went up and down and all over the place.
Q: (Attempting my own bad Scotty from Star Trek) "Aye! Aye! Aye!"
A: (Laughs) Yeah! You just sound like a Leprechaun. And it didn't work. But when I went to Ireland I realized that what Americans think Irish accents are completely different from what they actually are. It's so subtle. The Dublin four accent which is what we did ...
Q: The Dublin four? Is that like a neighborhood?
A: Yeah. Within a ten-mile radius there are like 15 different dialects. Very bizarre.
Q: Walk a block and you're screwed?
A: Yes. Walk a block and it's a northern accent. Wild. Very wild. And very class oriented. The accents represent the class.
Q: When did you know you nailed it?
A: You know what? I fooled Irish people. That made me happy. There are people in Ireland who saw the movie who had no idea who I was because they'd never seen me in anything — and they thought I was Irish. Then I did my job. I realized no matter what any American says — 'cause as an American I knew I had no idea what Irish people sounded like — I did it.
Q: You were almost Almost Famous. This was before that.
A: (Laughs) Yeah, whatever. It was really fun.
Q: Tell me about the star on your foot.
A: I love stars. (Stops herself, and then--) I sound like such a hippie geek. But I do. I love stars. And I've always wanted a tattoo but I'm not a tattoo person. So I just decided to get a little star as my 'stamp' I call it. You know, you look up at the sky and a star could be a galaxy. You never know.
To watch the full interview with Kate Hudson, tune in to Fox's new show, Entertainment Coast to Coast. It airs Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. (EST) on the Fox News Channel.
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