Zimbio Interview: Ashley Greene

Twilight made Ashley Greene a star and she’s not even involved with Edward or Jacob. She plays Alice Cullen, Edward’s vampire sister. She was a model before landing the role in Twilight, but now she gets paid to talk while she looks all pretty. You’ll see her in a few other movies in between Eclipse and the two-part Breaking Dawn. You might also want to copy her fashion sense, since The Young Hollywood Awards named Greene the Style Icon of the year. If Hollywoodlife.com says it, it must be true, right?

Zimbio: How big is the Twilight phenomenon for you when you’re not one of the main love triangle actors?

Ashley Greene: It’s huge for all of us. Even though it’s Rob, Kristen and Taylor in this love triangle, Alice still has her own thing going on. I’m lucky enough to still have someone like Jackson Rathbone to have my own love story with in the movie, with Alice and Jasper. So it’s still fun.

Zimbio: What do you miss getting to do anonymously now that you’re famous?
Ashley Greene: Walking around without any makeup on and without doing my hair.

Zimbio: Why are girls so into Edward? Do you see it?
Ashley Greene: For me, I think that thing about Edward is that he’s very mysterious and he’s kind of got that bad boy thing going on. He’s dangerous but he’s got a good heart and really wants to protect this girl, and honestly kind of puts aside what he wants to make sure that she’s safe. I think that’s a hard thing to find. He also is such a gentleman. He pulls out chairs, opens doors and he’s the one that’s willing to wait for Bella and wants everything to be correct and right.

Zimbio: So that’s what women want.
Ashley Greene: I mean, I think so. At least, that’s what I kind of want. You don’t want someone who is waiting on you hand and foot and is like, “Yes dear, no dear.” You want someone who does have their own opinions and is comfortable with who they are, but also embraces you and treats you like you should be treated. You kind of get the best of everything.

Zimbio: Since you’re not in every scene of the movies, how do you spend your down time?
Ashley Greene: We were there for three months and we’ve been there, in Vancouver, a lot but it’s really nice. I love going back there because it’s so beautiful and you can walk outside and it’s a breath of fresh air. I enjoy nature and I like running outside and hiking and stuff like that so I really enjoy it. What’s great is that for this one, it’s very physical. There’s a lot of action in Eclipse and we had fight training but we also had personal training. The trainers were like, “Whatever you want to do, if you want to go hiking, if you want to go kayaking, if you want to go swimming.” They were kind of up for anything which kept it really fun.

Zimbio: I guess all the stars have personal trainers. I wonder if it really makes a difference.
Ashley Greene: It depends. I think that there is a point where you can take what personal trainers give you and you can do it on your own. For me, I will do all the cardio in the world but I hate doing weights. So I need someone to tell me to do them. I think it depends on the person but I also think that it’s like a doctor. There’s someone that specializes in that area. They know every muscle. They know how they move. They know how to target certain areas, so for me, it’s just easier.

Zimbio: You had a modeling background before these films. Do you think that helps your acting?
Ashley Greene: I mean, I think certainly the modeling world makes you aware of your body, how it moves or it looks like for sure. I definitely love acting a lot more than I love modeling. For me, modeling was kind of boring. Unless you’re a supermodel, you’re kind of just a hanger and there’s really no creativity in it. It certainly does help though with the press aspect of it. You’re doing photo shoots and stuff like that to be able to be comfortable, and to know your way around a camera helps.

Zimbio: So you don’t miss it.
Ashley Greene: I was the worst model ever, because I was short.

Zimbio: Short? You look about 5'9".
Ashley Greene: I’m like 5’6” so it made it a lot harder. They would call me for jobs and meetings and stuff like that and I would never, ever go unless I couldn’t pay my rent. Then I would go and then I would do a job and work here and there.

Zimbio: Since you were an ex-model, is it important not to be cast as the pretty girl in every movie?
Ashley Greene: Not as long as it’s a pretty girl that has something beneath the surface. This is Hollywood, so even the “girls next door” are pretty. She needs to have something else going on. She has to be conflicted. She has to have layers. I think it’s boring to be the girl that walks down the hallway and all the guys stare at you. It’s the same thing with modeling. It’s boring. You don’t get to creatively do anything or create any kind of world. So it just depends on what the circumstances are.

Zimbio: So who are you wearing today?
Ashley Greene: I like to mix it up a little bit. I don’t think that you have to wear one designer. I believe very much in pieces, statement pieces. I think if you have a Chanel blazer, you can wear jeans and a T-shirt and it looks very put together and it’s comfortable. I love being glamorous and dressing up on the carpet. I love being comfortable in my everyday life. It’s kind of nice because I get the best of both worlds. I have just become a huge fan of Antonio Berardi because he understands women’s bodies. You don’t have to be a stick to fit into the clothes. They’re very complimentary. At this point, I’m exploring again having a lot of fun with it. I grew up in Jacksonville, Fla. so I was a jeans, T-shirt, flip flop girl so it’s kind of nice to be able to play with clothing.

Zimbio: Now you’re the Style Icon of Young Hollywood.
Ashley Greene: The Style Icon award was a really, really incredible thing for me to be able to accept because I don’t walk around every day like I’m on a runway. When I was younger, I wasn’t necessarily confident. I didn’t have a personal style, didn’t know who I was. Now I dress for me and it’s nice that people appreciate that.

Source: Zimbio