Q 13

PLAYBOY: How competitive was the child-acting world back in the 1980s?

Christina Applegate: Unbelievably. Everything was kid-dominated. It was the era of Silver Spoons, Family Ties, Charles in Charge. Every girl my age had long blonde hair, and we'd all curl it for our auditions. It was really important to get on a show, get on a show, get on a show. I used to pray, "Oh God, I just want to be on a sitcom. I really, really do."

Q 14

PLAYBOY: How did you kill time when you weren't curling your hair for auditions?

Christina Applegate: We lived in the Hollywood Hills, and when you lived in a canyon you couldn't go anywhere without a car, and there was nowhere to walk. So we'd run in front of cars and scream, "Aaaauuggh!" The drivers would slam on the brakes and be like, "What? What? What?" And we'd be like, "You got a cigarette?" People would get really mad at us. Sometimes they'd give us cigarettes, though. Sometimes they'd offer us other things and we'd have to decline.

Q 15

PLAYBOY: An inordinate number of child actors wind up in trouble with drugs or the law. How did you make it out the other side in one piece?

Christina Applegate: My mom was a huge reason. She would say, "If I ever catch you doing anything, I will not only kill you, I will kill whoever you're with." So she threatened me with death. But she gave me a lot of freedom, and because of that I would call her at one in the morning and say, "This is where I am and this is who I'm with and this is what's going on." She kept me from turning into a statistic.

Q 16

PLAYBOY: Is there an article of clothing you'll never wear again after playing Kelly Bundy for 10 years on Married With Children?

Christina Applegate: Miniskirts. I almost wore a minidress type of thing to some event recently, and at the last minute I couldn't do it. I felt like a hoochie.

Q 17

PLAYBOY: Have men finally stopped assuming you're Kelly?

Christina Applegate: Some studio heads still think I'm her. It's the oddest thing. There was this movie I wanted to do, and the director thought I wasn't "upscale" enough. That was the weirdest thing I'd ever heard about why I wasn't getting a job. Am I walking trash? I mean, I have a beautiful home. I don't eat fast food. I love caviar and champagne. My eyebrows are tweezed. I mean, I'm wearing Prada fucking shoes right now.

Q 18

PLAYBOY: Describe the financial security that comes from starring on a popular sitcom for 11 seasons.

Christina Applegate: Not so secure, honestly. Fox didn't give us residuals. When it came time to negotiate for syndication pay, Fox claimed it wasn't really a network. So we didn't get what we would have if we were on Family Ties or one of those other shows. Those people can live off their residuals the rest of their lives. I think about it every once in a while and get a little pissed off, but we were stupid to accept it. Married With Children is showing five times a day on three different networks in almost every country in the world, and the checks I get are hysterical, literally for 75 cents.

Q 19

PLAYBOY: Weren't you called for jury duty in the Robert Blake murder trial?

Christina Applegate: It was horrible. Everyone who'd received a notice was in this huge room, and they came in and said, "We have a very important case, and we'll need people for at least five or six months. Can we see a show of hands of who would volunteer?" I turned around, and right there was Robert Blake and his attorneys. They'd brought him into the jury pool room, which I found really odd, like, "Here he is on display. Want to be a part of it? Woo-hoo!" And out of 400 people only three raised their hand. I have to work, plus I don't want to be the sideshow at a trial of this magnitude, so I filled out my hardship paperwork and handed it in. And out of all those people, I was one of 30 or so who had to explain myself to the judge, who said, "That's no excuse. You're coming back." She kept cutting me off and putting me in tears. I think she was pissed off because I'm a celebrity. Anyway, a week later Blake fired his lawyers, and everyone in that jury pool was dismissed. If he hadn't I guess I'd be sitting on a jury for six months.

Q 20

PLAYBOY: As someone who's devoted to physical fitness and exercise, what do you eat when it's time to pig out?

Christina Applegate: Pizza. I can eat more pizza than any man, more than anyone I know. I don't understand, when someone sits down with a pie in front of them, how they can eat one piece, maybe two, and just leave the rest! No, no, no, no. Eat the whole fucking thing, or at least half of it. Not a lot of people see me do that, though, because it's usually at home, with delivery. When I'm out I try to be a little more dainty. You know, a little more upscale.