Cameron's irresistible blend of ditzy chick and smart career girl has endeared her to both male and female audiences. It has also made her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, given her a life of luxury and, of course, a toyboy lover in the almost perfect form of Justin Timberlake.
The 33-year-old Hollywood stunner is getting women everywhere deciding whether they are a Maggie or a Rose with her sister act in new movie In Her Shoes. The comedy drama is something of a diversion for Cameron who, despite her character, is more the thinking man's or woman's woman in this, rather than the goofy, dancing-in-her-panties type of leading lady, as seen in 'Charlie's Angels'. But she does walk around in her panties in this too - just to keep everyone happy.
Here Cameron explains that her Maggie side is why she can't leave the funny stuff behind, why she's already planning to be a glamorous granny and why she just can't help but be flattered by her many male admirers - even older men!
Your character is a fun-loving party girl. Did you worry about exposing your real self through this movie?
(Laughs.) I don't know how much of myself I exposed. I definitely feel like I exposed a lot of Maggie and who she was, and it was fun. It was awesome. It was a great ride and I loved doing it, especially with the talent that I got to do it with. Working with Toni [Collete] and working with Shirley MacLaine - actors that you could trust and go into that with - was great.
What attracted you to this movie?
Well, I don't take films based on characters per se. I look at scripts as a whole. Often that gets me in trouble. Like how many times have I done a film where I've gotten tied up or I've had to get into cold water or I'm in a wedding dress? Those things are like, 'Oh, right. I'm going to have to spend all that time tied up. I didn't really realise that because I was looking at the whole script.' So I wasn't looking at Maggie going, 'Oh, she's dyslexic. She's a whore. Yes! I want to play her.' I mean, I looked at the whole picture and the whole arc of all the characters in the story that they were telling, and I knew my place would be Maggie.
There will be a lot of discussion among women who see this movie about whether they are a Maggie or a Rose. Who do you relate to?
I think I'm a mixture of both of them. I mean, I can get things done if I need to, but I can really be completely irresponsible and procrastinate until the very, very, very bitter end. In fact, sometimes I work better under pressure. So, yeah, I think that I'm kind of both. I can be the very nurturing one or I can be the one that doesn't really help. Well, that's not true. I like to figure things out. I like to help find the solution. I don't really like being the problem. In fact, I hate being the problem.
What do you mean by that?
I just hate causing trouble. I think that it's because I spent so much time as a child causing trouble (laughs) that now I don't want to.
What kind of other roles would you like to play?
I want to play a Sasquatch (laughs). Do you think this'll open that up for me, because I might be able to do Bigfoot? It's amazing what they can do with prosthetics these days. I don't know. It's weird and bizarre. I probably should go, 'I would like to play this character and this character and this character.' But I can't do that and I don't. For me personally, the way that I make decisions, it's all about making the decision based on what's best for me right now. I can't really map that out. I'm just doing it as it comes long.
Shirley MacLaine said she was surprised that you and the rest of the cast never asked for her advice.
That's such bullshit (laughs). You don't have to ask her. We talked about all of that stuff constantly. That's all we talked about. We talked about everything. You can talk about anything with her. She'll tell you exactly what she thinks. She'll tell you the truth. She'll tell you straightforward. That's the great thing about Shirley. That's what you expect and what you hope for.
Did working with her teach you anything?
Well, she's of course like a great athlete like Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, they make it look effortless. They make it look like, 'Oh, it's so easy. I'm going to sink this 60ft putt. I'm going to take my six iron and I'm going to hit it 320 yards.' It's effortless for them. With Shirley, the truth comes out of her and that's what I learned. Everyone has a different process and it's awesome to witness hers.
Do you think there are misconceptions about you that have left you typecast in Hollywood?
Honestly, I really just do not pay attention to it. I'm sure that there are misconceptions, but I wouldn't know what they are, as I really do not pay attention to them. It's really hard to see yourself as other people see you. I'm not really worried about whether I'm going to be able to go and get that part or this. I've always felt this way even before I started acting, when I was modelling, because there was a lot of competition in modelling. There were hundreds of girls in one job, so I always felt like if it was my job, I'll get the job and if it's not my job then I won't get that job. That's not like a lack of ambition, because I've auditioned for things that people probably wouldn't consider me for and I've gotten some of those parts and I didn't get other parts. It's so random.
Is that how you have managed to keep your feet on the ground despite your success?
Yeah, I think so. I don't have any expectations. If you just want to be really laid back and not be stressed out and just cruise through life, just have no expectations whatsoever. When you don't have expectations, you're not worried about whether or not you're going to reach them or if you fall short of them or if something is better than it could be or worse than it could be. You just kind of have what it is and for me that works best.
So you've figured out the secret of success in Hollywood?
(Laughs.) Yeah. Don't want something. I never wanted to be famous. I never wanted to be rich. I never wanted to be the top actress or paid the highest in Hollywood. I never wanted any of the things that people think that they're supposed to aspire to. I've never wanted those things. All I've ever wanted to do was to make movies and have fun. I feel incredibly fortunate that I've gotten to do that.
