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I don’t know if you’ve been paying close attention to the previews for the new Matthew McConaughey movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, but just in case you were wondering - why, yes! That IS former VJ Amanda Walsh playing a bridesmaid/supporting role.

After leaving MuchMusic in 2004, Amanda moved to LA and has taken roles in several TV and movie projects. I chatted with her on the phone about her role in a flick that includes big cheese actors like Jennifer Garner, Matty McC and Michael Douglas!

[Note: we don't have a way to record phone conversations, so I attempted to type at lightspeed during the convo. So this isn't a full transcription... only the finest in technology at MuchMusic.com).

Give us a twitter length version of your life the past 5 years. Ok, you can have 6 Twitter updates.

Amanda: I left Much, did a Canadian independent film, came to LA for pilot season and ended up on a show called Sons & Daughters - Lorne Michaels was the producer. I did one season, then after that, I was like, well I guess I’ll stay here and see waht happens! I ended up working on a few things - worked on some pilots that didn’t get picked up - there a was one with Molly Shannon. I had a few different parts in movies and TV shows, like Veronica Mars and Disturbia. I ate a lot of avocado. Then I ended up working on this movie called Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. I also did another pilot called Washingtonienne, which was produced by Sarah Jessica Parker.

Do you like LA?

Amanda: I do, I love it. The longer I’ve been here, the more I’ve loved it. At first I felt very far from home - and it is geographically! But there’s lots of good food, weather, people. But now I breathe a little deeper when I get home - I appreciate it more. And I find myself into more uber canadian things than i used to be. Someone will talk about an actor and I’ll be like, “That person is Canadian!”

Did you develop a thing for hockey?

Amanda: I don’t know much about hockey, but I’m from Montreal so now I’m like, “you go guys!” I have two Canadiens t-shirts that I wear around LA now. I also listen to CBC Radio 3 in my car.

The director for this movie is Mark Waters, who also directed Mean Girls. I remember when you were here, you did press interviews for Mean Girls - how did it feel coming full circle?

Amanda: Pretty cool. When I did that interview there was a part of me going, “I hope one day I get to work with a director like Mark Waters.” Yeah, it’s pretty awsome. I ran into him a few years ago and he had rememered me. His brother is Daniel Waters, a friend of mine, (who wrote Heathers).. I ran into him at a function and was like “I interviewed you one time!” and he remembered. Then I auditioned a couple years later for this movie, and here I am.

Now, there were a few notable actors on set… who were you most looking forward to working with?

Amanda: Hm. Probably.. I guess when I got the job I was pretty exicted about Matthew, cause in high school I thought he was cute. I thought he was a hunk. I was really into courtroom dramas at the time. I was excited for the 10th grade version of myself. But on set, I really loved working with Jennifer - she was so funny and grounded and cool. I gues I have a bit of a girl crush, or maybe see her as a bit of a sister figure. I was just like, “she’s really cool”. I looked up to her.

Did you learn any weird acting excercises from any of them? Did Michael Douglas ever roll out in boxers while performing hypnotising vocal warm-ups? Or how about just some good advice?

Amanda: I never got to meet Michael Douglas cause we never shot together! I can’t really remember specific advice because it all blends together, but I do feel like, since a lot of our scenes involved a gaggle of girls, there was a lot of girl talk… so I feel like Jennifer offered a lot of bridesmaid-like advice for us.

How do you prepare for a scene wherein you mack your game on Matthew McConaughey?

Amanda: Well. The best thing about that scene is that my characer isn’t very good at it, which is familiar for me. When I auditioned, Mark told me that I could be nervous around Matthew, so that worked well. It’s easier for me to play someone who isn’t smooth and find humour in awkward moments.. my character feels awkward and nervous around Matthew’s character, so it was natural for me to be like that. Then he could think I’m a good actor!

There’s a stigma around the idea of a “bridesmaid dress”, and you had to wear one pretty much for the duration of your shoot. How did you manage?

Amanda: A strapless bra is not the most fun thing to wear in the middle of winter for hours at a time. But I was strong, I faced the challenge, I believed in myself. At first I thought we’d have to wear big, poofy, atrocious dresses which would have been fun! But they were actually pretty tasteful, so it wasn’t so bad. But there was a lot of adjusting going on!

How did you find inspiration to play a woman who digs short men?

Amanda: Easy. Cause they’re low to the ground.

If you were visited by a ghost, would you prefer to go to the past, present or future?

Amanda: Oh, gosh. Not the present. I’m tempted to say future but I think that could be bad. I think I’ll go with past, to go see childhood events from the outside.

It could be hilarious to see elementary school replayed.

Amanda: Yeah. Like, man - that kid who made fun of you was NOT COOL! And see the really bad bedazzled leggings. Then I’ll go to the future and see they’re back in style again.

What of your own flair did you add to the role? Ideas, ad libs…

Amanda: I think my awkwardness brought something to the table. I BROUGHT IT. I was like, “I will make this weird, don’t worry!” Mark let us improv some stuff, but I don’t really remember cause it’s all a blur now. When my character was introduced as Denise, I said it was the female version of Dennis, which got a big laugh on set but didn’t make it in the film. I also faceplanted in front of Matthew, not intentionally. I was hoping it would make it into movie though.

Maybe it will be in the bloopers.

Amanda: Yeah, maybe! That’s when you know you’ve made it.

What was one of your favourite experiences on set?

Amanda: I think just all the girl time. I was always with this gaggle of ladies. There was a lot of lady bonding. We spent a lot of time in the hotel together too, off set. There was a frozen yogurt place up the street and we ordered delivery from there a lot. So it was just a lot of girl talk, adjusting strapless bras and eating frozen yogurt.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is in theatres tomorra.

Tags: amanda walsh, interviews, Movies

Posted on Thursday, April 30th, 2009 at 1:44 pm by Wendy and is filed under MuchMusic.com Interviews.

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