Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci and James McAvoy in Penelope Courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Have you had experiences with paparazzi like your character?
I have a very different approach to paparazzi than I think most people do. I've decided that the best approach is to be friendly and nice. When there are four cars following you, I like to view us all as a caravanning team. I'll talk to them, I'll pull up and roll down my window and [ask], "Is there anything specific you're out here for today? Because I'm going to run errands." And they'll [say]: "No, no, no. We just want some fashion shots. Blah-blah-blah." But I find that if you are nice to people, they are generally nice back. It's going to happen anyway, so why allow it to drive you crazy. It is really not that big of a deal. Unless you have something you really don't want people taking pictures of.

You talked about the message of the film a little bit. A secondary message intertwined [in the story] is the love story with Max. Can you talk a little bit about Penelope's journey about learning of love, and how Max makes her view the world?
Yeah, I think given what Penelope has gone through for years and years she does not really believe in love. And I think that's why she's willing to settle in a way in the film. And I think that's why ultimately there is this sort of — they misunderstand, and they don't get together. It really has to do with Penelope's experience with men is that they would reject her. And I think Max really teachers her that there is someone out there for everyone, there is true love. I think it's great in the movie that she can't find it until she really learns to love herself. Because I think that's sort of a universal truth.

Speaking of men, how was it working with James [McAvoy]?
Oh, it was great, he was awesome. He's such a talented actor, and really a great partner to have onscreen. I loved working with him.

Preparing for a role like Penelope, how do you go about doing something like that?
Unless it's a specific accent, or something about physicality that you have to change, I am generally not such a conscious actor. And usually it's a mix of being on a set and being surrounded by a production unit. But certain production design really informs you of tone. Then reading with different actors and getting a feel of what the story is and who they are. And then your hair and makeup has a huge impact on the way you behave. So generally I don't do a ton of preparation.

This is a fantasy film, which I know with films like Big Fish and other fantasy films not doing really great in America, but still being good films. Are you at all nervous about how American audiences will perceive this movie?
Everybody that I've spoken to, in terms of the press, has responded really well to this. And we've had test screenings, and they've done really, really well. I think this is one of those movies that I think a certain group of people will be immediately attracted to. But then I feel like it's a movie people will talk about, and because of that it will kind of spread in popularity. I don't think people are going to dismiss this one just because it's a fairy tale, because really this movie isn't a fairy tale. [Marylin Kaye, the author of the book on which the screenplay is based] sort of uses the fairy tale structure in order to employ a lot of metaphors that are really telling a very realistic, human, universal kind of story.