Kate Beckinsale: 20Q

Q1

PLAYBOY: Underworld: Evolution is your third movie with vampires. Do you have a thing for the undead?
BECKINSALE: Not at all. I've never been interested. I did the first Underworld because I love action movies. I like all the Die Hard films and all the Terminators. I'm quite a fan of Rambo. It's what I grew up on. At that point there weren't many opportunities for a girl to play the hero in a movie. I thought Underworld having a female hero was really cool. Then Van Helsing was a whole different thing. It seemed different to me because I didn't play a vampire. But I seem to have acquired this Goth reputation that I'm not into at all.

Q2

PLAYBOY: Which was harder to get into, your outfit for Underworld or the one for Van Helsing?
BECKINSALE: Van Helsing's. We burned it when we finished shooting. I was desperate to burn it the minute I put it on. I did not want to wear those boots ever again. The boots alone took about 20 minutes to put on. The costume designer wanted everything to be authentic, so it was buckle after buckle. My assistant would buckle one, and someone else would buckle the other. They ended up with giant calluses on their hands. It was really horrible. The Underworld costume wasn't that bad. It was a bit stretchy and not that restrictive. As long as you don't have to pee 25 times a day it's okay.

Q3

PLAYBOY: As a teenager you appeared in an industrial-safety film. What was your role?
BECKINSALE: It's hideous. I would never show you. I was probably 17 or 18, and it was a training video about safety. I played a factory worker who dreams of being a pop star. Then I run down a corridor, skid on some cleaning fluid and become a paraplegic. It's fantastically bad. I look terrible, and the whole thing is ghastly. It's one of those things I put every boyfriend through to make sure he can actually handle being with someone who has done something so appalling. It's like telling them I've had a sexually transmitted disease and asking, "How do you feel about me now?"

Q4

PLAYBOY: You've spent the past 13 years with only two men—Michael Sheen, the father of your daughter, and Len Wiseman, your husband and the director of the Underworld movies. Do you feel you've missed out?
BECKINSALE: No, I don't. You gain something and lose something by that. I remember being 13 or 14 and everyone was going to parties and making out with everybody else. My mom told me, "Just bear in mind that you don't want loads of people to be able to say they've had you. Make it special." I thought that was really cool, and I still do. It's not a gift you bestow on any old sucker. You have to be privileged.

Q5

PLAYBOY: We hear that you and your husband use webcams while you're apart. Is that true?
BECKINSALE: Yes. We play with those all the time. It was his idea. He bought them and set them all up. Then he gives me orders as to what sort of outfit I should wear each evening. It really helps.

Q6

PLAYBOY: Should we assume you guys are keeping it clean?
BECKINSALE: No way! That's the whole point. It's like when you get a photocopier, you have to do a print of your bottom. It's one of those rules of life.

Q7

PLAYBOY: You don't drive. How do you survive in L.A.?
BECKINSALE: I rely heavily on favors from my husband and friends. I haven't been married that long, so I can still get away with it. Give it a few years and I may be taking the bus. It's getting ridiculous now, though. After this movie I decided that since I had mastered the golf cart on the lot, I would progress to a grown-up vehicle. I'm not worried about finding my way around. I'm just going to see if I can make it start and stop and turn corners.

Q8

PLAYBOY: You're now 32 years old, one year older than your father was when he passed away. How does that feel?
BECKINSALE: It was a strange year—my daughter was the age I was when he died. It made me reevaluate where I am in a way that was really good. It was painful but also exciting. I felt as if I'd gotten my get-out-of-jail-free card and entirely owned my life just as myself.

Q9

PLAYBOY: When you were nine your mother moved in with your stepfather, and you suddenly went from being an only child to having four brothers and a sister. How did you adapt?
BECKINSALE: Luckily, they didn't all live with us—just the two youngest boys, who were about my age. It was great. I was a tough kid, and we would fight, but we're really close now. I became a bit less of a princess quite quickly. I think it made me a more well-rounded person. I now have a temporary pass to the boys' club, which I like to use now and then.

Q10

PLAYBOY: During a break between movies, you once worked as a waitress. Couldn't you find a better way to use the time?
BECKINSALE: I got really bored. I was in my early 20s and had no real reason to do anything. I needed some structure to my day. I walked into a restaurant and asked if I could have a job. They looked at me like I was crazy. I was surprised by how much wiping was involved. I pictured myself in a cute outfit, asking perky questions and bringing people things—sort of like a porno waitress. Instead, I was constantly wiping down brass things and cleaning the floor. I hated it. Then I got a part and quit. I was probably there only eight days.