Kristen Bell is a Golden Girl trapped in the body of a cheerleader.
She may blend in well in Hollywood, with her impeccable skin and pixie-ish look, but the 29-year-old actress is so wry, charming and foul-mouthed that she’s becoming a hot ticket on the talk-show circuit. She’s a particular favorite of “Late Late Show” host Craig Ferguson, who’s featured her on his couch 10 times in the past few years, yielding clips that tend to leap to the top of the YouTube queue.
And she’s as good at Twitter as she is at banter. One of her recent tweets was: “I heard Betty White use the word ‘pecker’ yesterday. My life is complete.”
Equally ardent is Bell’s adoration of the geek community, which worshipped her first in the cult-fave show “Veronica Mars” and now in “Heroes.” And then there’s her role as the snarky, silky-voiced narrator of “Gossip Girl.”
We caught up with Bell after a long day of shooting her new movie, “Burlesque,” alongside Cher and Christina Aguilera. As Bell’s hungry dogs stared at her impatiently in her kitchen, she got in a few good lines.
On why Craig Ferguson keeps inviting her back:
“When you do those shows, all they want is for you not to be boring. If you sit there and talk about your ‘craft,’ people turn off the TV.”
On her cult TV show “Veronica Mars” becoming a movie:
“I, for one, would love to play her again before I’m 40 and shriveled. I know for [creator] Rob Thomas, that was a big part of his life.
I think he and I might just end up shooting it in his back yard.”
On dating, to Complex magazine:
If someone can make me laugh, you’re in like Flynn. I like to laugh — that’s the number one for me. Also, the old rule of thumb: If you’re not nice to the waiter, you’re out. And you’re not just out — I might kick your ass. “
On “When In Rome”:
“In a romantic comedy, I have to not scare the s–t out of guys going to see it. I have to be a girl on screen that an audience will want to see fall in love.”
On cursing, to Entertainment Weekly:
“I have the mouth of a sailor. I have to remember not to drop F-bombs when I’m ordering my lunch. Nothing is supposed to be offensive about it, it’s just meant to be real.”
On acting with Russell Brand, to the Scottish Daily Record:
“He didn’t try to mess with me or get in my pants. He knew I would lop his nuts off.”