Ashton Kutcher

Emmanuel Itier: How is life?

Ashton Kutcher: Life couldn’t be better, even if I was standing on that beach out there. We have a really great gift to give everybody, to the world, all on the same day, except for Japan. It’s almost like being Santa Claus. He gives on December 25th, we give on May 9th. That’s pretty cool. And we’ve got a big, fat, laugh-riot toy gift to whip out of our red bag, even if you’re naughty…especially if you’re naughty. I’m so good, I almost need another one of me to be any better.

EI: What do you do when you go to the beach? Surfing?

AK: I do surf, but I prefer scuba diving. I’m going a little bit past 100 feet, a bit over 30 meters.

EI: Man was not created to breathe under water.

AK: Yes, he was. There’s this thing called an oxygen tank. And if you get really good, you get nitrox and you feel better when you get to the top.

EI: Did you have time to gamble when you were in Vegas?

AK: A little time. We kept the blackjack table open during takes. That was a quick way to lose money. If we had a break, we’d go over and play a little bit.

EI: You’d need to learn how to count.

AK: I know how to count. But it’s really hard to count in your head when you have to go and do a scene, and when you come back, they give you a new deck. You don’t have time to get the count because you wouldn’t make it through the shoot.

EI: You would have somebody play all the time and give you the count when you come back…

AK: That’s the old 21 trick. Or you can, if they’ll hold the deck for you and you’re at negative 13, you could remember that when you come back. It’s difficult in Vegas because they run a six-deck shoot and you’d have to start at negative 32, and it gets a little tricky. I read a book on it once.

EI: Speaking of Vegas, can you tell us the weirdest story that ever happened to you in Vegas?

AK: Are you talking about an experience…? Oh, I got craps from a gal once… I’m kidding. I’ve had great experiences in Vegas. The worst is usually waking up the next day with a hang-over and wondering who that girl is. I never married them, thank God.

EI: What was the most fun scene in the shoot?

AK: We were there for two weeks. I don’t think we even had the most fun in Vegas. The most fun was in New York. You’re acting with the city. The pedestrians in New York don’t really care that you’re shooting a movie, so you sort of act with them also. We ended up surrounded by large crowds and guys with long lenses every day. When I moved to New York, I was star-struck by the city. My friends would always say, “Don’t look up. People will think you’re a tourist.”

EI: How did you feel about being cast again as this non-committal guy, when you’re happily married in real life?

AK: I thought the root of this character was that he was this wickedly competitive guy. That was the fun of playing the character. I chose this film, and I had two other movies that I could have done, but I wanted to do this first because it looked fun to me, and it was. And beyond it, it’s fun to watch.

EI: Are you competitive in real life?

AK: Yes. I never lose. And if I do lose, I convince myself that I never wanted it in the first place.

EI: How do you make your choices of roles?

AK: If a character is right for me and it’s something I want to play… I just read something that I loved, loved, loved, and the character was so different of who I could play, so I felt it was too much of a leap. Like me playing Truman Capote, that’s what I would compare it to. It’s like people wouldn’t buy me in it, no matter how good I was.

EI: You didn’t feel able to do it?

AK: I do, but I can’t make myself physically smaller. I can lose weight, I could do a ton of prosthetics on my face, but I would still look a certain way. There are some things that you are just not right for.

EI: In a recent interview, you talk about how you can get jealous when Demi plays love scenes.

AK: I never said that I’d get jealous. I just don’t like to watch them. I have no desire to see her making out with another dude.

EI: What would she say about the chemistry you have with Cameron?

AK: She is really proud of me. It’s my job. What we do is that we go to work. If you’re in a healthy relationship, you’re partner roots for you at work to win and do well. Our job is to sell relationships to audiences and make it believable.

EI: Was that difficult with Cameron?

AK: No, not at all. Cameron is a fantastic actor. She throws the ball really hard, and if you can catch it and throw it back, it becomes easy. She’s a naturally open person, which allows you to get that groove. But if you’re in a good relationship, your partner is rooting for you, just like I’m rooting for her to have good chemistry with her male lead on screen.

EI: What is the worst and the best thing about being a celebrity?

AK: The best thing is the cause, the worst thing is the effect. The cause is the job, I love what I do. I love sharing with people, giving to people… It feels really good to give, and I think I’m pretty good at it. And people appreciate my gift–some people. Some don’t. The hardest part is the extra curricular.

EI: Interviews or the paparazzi part?

AK: Both. Paparazzi are just stealing. On the red carpet, it’s great. I step on the carpet, I agree to give a picture to you. This is great when we talk about the movie, the craft, the art. It’s not great when we talk about my personal relationships. I understand this is a relationship movie, but when you ask me about my wife’s ex-husband relationship and our kids, that kind of stuff is not part of the craft or the art. Sometimes that is …

EI: Do you really think just the art is selling the movie?

AK: Talking about relationships is good when it relates to the film. It has nothing to do with Bruce Willis and my three daughters. Some reporters that sound-bite makes some reporters sound ignorant because they missed the whole opportunity of talking about the craft. If you ask me about my relationship with my wife in relation to this film, absolutely. If I play a nanny, asking me about my kids makes sense. But I haven’t made a film about an ex-husband yet, so why ask about Bruce Willis?
I don’t want to sell my relationships.

EI: Isn’t Hollywood creating this soap of people’s lives itself?

AK: It’s about commerce. It’s about Rupert Murdoch, whose company made this movie. He can make money off of making money by creating a soap out of people’s lives, except that the performers aren’t getting paid for that.

EI: Are you feeling used?

AK: Ultimately, it’s not about anybody else but me. It’s about what I can overcome about myself. Any action that I take is about sharing with the world. If you are not sharing, you are taking. So if people want to record it, it means that I have to be more giving.

EI: …In the spirit of Kabala…

AK: That’s right.

EI: Next projects?

AK: I’ve just filmed two far more dramatic films, one called Personal Effects with Michelle Pfeiffer and Kathy Bates, and another film called Spread, about a guy who sleeps with wealthy women and takes their money. A gigolo…

EI: What are you wearing?

AK: D Squared. Socks are Calvin Klein.