Ashley Greene: Law's Loss is 'Twilight' Fans' Gain

By PopEater Staff Posted Jan 13th 2010 01:00PM

Breakout star Ashley Greene is beloved by 'Twilight' fans worldwide as sprightly and sincere vampire Alice Cullen, but her acting career nearly disintegrated during a long struggle to book roles. Greene's chat with 'New Moon' co-star Michael Sheen appears in the upcoming issue of Interview magazine, where the 22-year-old actress admits her parents urged her return to their Florida hometown, where she'd once planned to study law.

"It just so happened that every time they told me to come home, I would coincidentally book some type of role. I don't know if it was fate or luck," she tells Sheen. More after the jump

On becoming an actress: "I went to a public high school with a magnet program for law and psychology. But right before my junior year, I decided that I wanted to leave and become an actress, so I graduated early and moved out to L.A. Now that I'm here, I can't imagine living there ... Everything was kind of set up to go on this course, which my parents absolutely loved; they were like, 'Our daughter's going to go to law school or become a psychologist!' And then out of nowhere, I pulled the acting card on them."

On moving from Jacksonville, Florida to Los Angeles at 17: "It was more frightening for my mother and father than it was for me. I have a certain way of thinking where I see something, and I know that I want it and I make up my mind-and that's pretty much all there is to it. It was like, This is what I want to do, and I'm going, and everything's going to workout. I'm going to be an actress ... My parents, on the other hand ... Obviously, they had a lot of long talks and sleepless nights. I was always a good kid, so they went out on a limb. But they did say, 'If you go out to L.A. and start becoming this wild child, then you have to come back home and go to college."

"There was a time or two where they were like, 'You probably need to come back to Florida.' But it just so happened that every time they told me to come home I would coincidentally book some type of role. I don't know if it was fate or luck, and it
was just happening at the right time, or if it was that they would say, "You are coming home," and I would immediately go into survival-of-the-fittest mode and book something ... I'm always grateful to my parents for letting me struggle, because you really don't appreciate it as much, I don't think, if you don't realize what you're gaining. But they paid my rent for the first year."

On snagging the role of Alice Cullen: "It was just another audition. My managers were like, 'You're going into a great casting office. They cast great projects. They're sticklers. If you suck, they won't call you back in.' So I was like, Okay, I'll pay extra attention. Then I figured out there wasn't a script or a breakdown, but there was a book. So I got the series and fell in love with it. Then that determination kicked in and I was like, Okay, I'm going to book this part is what's going to happen. I worked my butt off for it."

"It's a really hard thing to wrap your head around. I was working at a restaurant, I booked the role in 'Twilight', put in my two weeks' notice, got fitted, flew to Portland, filmed, and then it started getting hype. That helped me get my foot into certain doors before the movie even came out. I did four independent films during the break between 'Twilight' and 'New Moon'. I haven't even really had time to sit back and process it all. But when you do finally sit back and think about it, it's incredible."

On 'The Apparition': "The great thing about this film is that it's really serious. It's more of a thriller. And, for once, I got cast first. They consulted me on the lead male, and we're talking back and forth about this character, so it's sort of a new stepping stone in my career."

Check out Interview magazine for the rest of Greene's answers and a behind-the-scenes video.

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Ashley Greene Shapshots

Ashley Greene enters the Museum of Modern Art on November 17, 2009 in New York City. More photos >>

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Ashley Greene Snapshots

NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Actresses Jessica Szohr and Ashley Greene attend the premiere of "Sherlock Holmes" at the Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on December 17, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jessica Szohr;Ashley Greene

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NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Actress Ashley Greene attends the premiere of "Sherlock Holmes" at the Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on December 17, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ashley Greene

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Actress Ashley Greene attends the premiere of "Sherlock Holmes" at Lincoln Center in New York, on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)

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Actress Ashley Greene attends the New York premiere of "Sherlock Holmes" at the Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on December 17, 2009 in New York City. "Sherlock Holmes" New York Premiere - Inside Arrivals Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center New York, NY United States December 17, 2009 Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.com To license this image (59168673), contact WireImage.com

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NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Actors Jessica Szohr and Ashley Greene attend the premiere of "Sherlock Holmes" at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on December 17, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jessica Szohr;Ashley Greene

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