Christina Ricci Talks 'Bel Ami' and Says Rob is a "Lovely Individual"

Christina Ricci Talks 'Bel Ami' and Says Rob is a "Lovely Individual"



Was Broadway always part of your plan?
No, I had terrible stage fright, so people eventually stopped bringing it up. But when I was coming back from making Bel Ami with Robert Pattinson, my agent, who also represents Laura Linney, asked me if I wanted to read for Time Stands Still, and I completely forgot I had stage fright. Literally, walking home from the audition, I was like, Oh, shit, I just remembered I hate acting in front of people. So now I’m sort of ignoring it.

I love how casually you just namedropped R-Patz. Are you a Twilight fan?
OK, first of all, publicists train you to say your credits along with your costars. You can’t be shy about self-promotion; it’s like Kathy Griffin or something. [Laughs] I’m a very lazy pop culture fan—if it involves leaving my living room, I’m pretty clueless—so I’ve never seen a single Twilight movie, and I guess I missed it when it was on Starz. But Rob’s a lovely individual.

Do you two share a love scene in Bel Ami?
We do. But he’s like your best friend’s little brother, so we would just laugh and make fun of each other the entire time. He thought it was outrageous how comfortable I was being naked. I was like, “That’s because I’m 20 years older than you.” Seriously, I’ve never felt so old in my entire life.