Kristen Miller

By Rob. Walton

WHO IS SHE?
Cherubic, athletic Kristen Miller, 25, is one third of the sexy crime-fighting trio who kickbox baddies into submission on She Spies, the action spoof making its trial run on NBC this summer before going into syndication this fall. The daughter of a choreographer and an opera-singing lawyer, Kristen, a third-generation Californian, was raised doing musical theater and was destined to end up in showbiz.

WHAT HAS SHE DONE?
Kristen cut her teeth as the principal's daughter on the mid-1990's teen show USA High. That was followed by starring roles in a number of short-lived TV series, including Aaron Spelling's Malibu Shores (six episodes) and Comedy Central's That's My Bush (eight episodes). She spoofed Jenny McCarthy on an episode of Howard Stern's Son of the Beach before landing the lead role in an international horror movie titled Swimming Pool.

WHY DO WE CARE?
With her angelic face and devilish dancer's bod, the smart and spunky Kristen holds her own against buff beauty Natasha Henstridge on She Spies. With three movies in the can—the improvised comedy Man of the Year with John Ritter, the Martin Landau-produced Jungle Juice with Christopher Walken and the reality show-inspired Reality Check—she's got a promising year in front of her.

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PLAYBOY: How is She Spies different from Charlie's Angels and last year's Gina Gershon stinker Snoops?

MILLER: It's cheeky and spoofy. It reminds me of Get Smart and The Naked Gun, so it's way more stylized, making fun of the genre and celebrating it. Our writers are from Moonlighting and Night Court; then they did The West Wing for a while. They're great, and I think it's really different.

PLAYBOY: What martial arts have you learned training for She Spies?

MILLER: Kickboxing. Tae Kwon Do. Basic karate moves. We had a two-week crash course to get ready and it was so fun. [Natasha Henstridge, Natashia Williams and I] hadn't worked together, so that was how we met. We bonded so fast because we were in so much pain. I was just terrified, but after eight weeks of doing it, I love it. I love fighting. Now I'm watching Bruce Lee movies all the time. I used to hate those movies, and now I really appreciate them because it's like a dance. I think it's beautiful.

PLAYBOY: In a Celebrity Deathmatch between the three of you, who would win?

MILLER: Natasha Henstridge, no doubt. Natashia Williams and I are getting better, we're catching up, but she's the reigning queen of fighting. Natasha's the one who's completely fearless because she's done so much combat fighting in films that she's like, "Bring it on!"

PLAYBOY: She Spies, That's My Bush... Do you always play the sexy roles?

MILLER: I'm always at either end of the spectrum. I'm either the super-slutty sexy girl or the total nerd naive girl in big dresses and glasses. I'm never in between.

PLAYBOY: You were the innocent principal's daughter in USA High. What's at the sexy end of the spectrum?

MILLER: In Cherry Falls I was the high school tramp in a town of virgins. The concept of the film was that this killer has come to town and he's killing all the virgins. But I am not a virgin. I'm the token slut, so I was safe. I held these meetings and was telling the girls, "This is what you have to do. This is how you lose your virginity."

PLAYBOY: On USA High, guys were always scared to ask Ashley out because she's the principal's daughter. In your real high school, were guys afraid to ask you out?

MILLER: I don't think so. I kind of always had a boyfriend. I was doing the serious relationship thing. I was really into that.

PLAYBOY: Are you still into that?

MILLER: Yeah. Yeah, I am.

PLAYBOY: Was USA High really shot in Paris?

MILLER: No, we just had our little Eiffel Tower backdrop. I did get to live in Paris for a summer before that job. It was a wonderful gift from my parents when I graduated high school. I went with my boyfriend, who was going to school there, for the whole summer. We ate and drank and went to museums and walked around and sat at cafés. We drank so much. We drank wine from morning to night. When I was there I remember thinking, "My life is never going to be exactly like this again" because it was right when you're on the brink of becoming an adult and you have to get a job.

PLAYBOY: What job changed your life?

MILLER: USA High changed my life, because we did 95 episodes in three years. That experience was like my college. I loved that I was able to do so much work, but it was sort of in secret. We had an audience of children, so it was like my little private, secret training.

PLAYBOY: So you didn't have to shake the child star image, and you were able to slip smoothly into the part of the President's air-headed assistant on That's My Bush. What was it like to work with creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone?

MILLER: I was so afraid to meet them. I remember at the callback, I was like, "Oh, my God. What are they going to be like? Are they going to be insane?" But they are like small-town boys. They are so not L.A. They are so real and nice. They're like boys with good moms. Matt and Trey are great.

PLAYBOY: The German horror movie Swimming Pool, in which your costume is a bikini, was your first starring role. Do you speak German?

MILLER: It's German produced and directed, but it was done in English. It was such an amazing experience because we shot for seven weeks in Prague, and I was the only American. Everyone was from Australia, England, Israel, Germany. The cast was like this Benetton ad. It was so funny because all they wanted to do was discuss American politics.

PLAYBOY: After Swimming Pool, you got a part in the movie Reality Check, which just made its festival premiere. What is this about?

MILLER: It's like The Real World where one of the members starts killing everyone. It mocks our obsession with reality television and our obsession in America to be famous.

PLAYBOY: What reality shows do you watch?

MILLER: The Osbournes. I'm obsessed. I think they're the sweetest family. I think they're great parents. My parents always talked to us and were great communicators, but my parents are not that crazy.

PLAYBOY: Do you date other actors or musicians?

MILLER: No. I'm always friends with them. I think they're fun and great and creative, but...well, my boyfriend's actually a writer, but [he doesn't write] screenplays. He's actually trying to write a novel. He does music and he's in a band when he's out of school, too, but when he goes back to school he's always in school.

PLAYBOY: Ultimately, what are your hopes for She Spies?

MILLER: I hope people understand it and where the humor's coming from. I hope people laugh. I love comedy, and I think comedy is very needed.

Photo: Newscom