Interview: Acting is in Her Genes

Comparing Liv Tyler with The Incredible Hulk might seem farfetched. But the actress, who stars in Hollywood’s latest film about the Marvel comic character, does have special genes.

She has never been exposed to gamma rays, but Liv’s DNA is still pretty extraordinary. The daughter of Aerosmith lead singer Steve Tyler and former model and Playboy pin-up Bebe Buell, the 30- year- old was born into fame.

After moving from Maine to New York in her early teens, she’s still not entirely sure why she decided to become an actress.

“I started modelling,” she says. “Then I was asked to audition for a couple of movies and met Bernardo Bertolucci.”

The Italian film director asked the 16-year-old to play the lead in his coming-of-age movie Stealing Beauty and her acting career was born.

Since that time, Liv has become famous for her performance as elf princess Arwen in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

Liv says she jumped at the chance to work on The Incredible Hulk.

“I always wanted to work with Edward Norton and took the part without having read the script. This was a big deal because I’ve never agreed to do a movie before without really knowing about the character.

“But when I finally did read the script it far exceeded my expectations. I just feel very grateful that I had so much to do and I was not just the damsel in distress.”

In this action-packed adventure story Liv gives as good as she gets.

“I’ve made a lot of movies since I started acting at 16 and this is really the first time I’ve ever done stunts,” she explains.

“I actually loved it and thought I’d like to do more because it’s such a physical challenge. I’m not totally fearless, but I’m quite brave and I love a challenge.”

The brunette completely understands the responsibility she has to fans of the original Hulk comic, saying: “There’s that feeling of how important it is to do the best job. I wanted to be a part of the movie because I could see and understand the direction they wanted to go with it.”

(c) 2008 Evening Chronicle – Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.