Hilary Duff: "Malcolm's" Bond Girl

She's number one as "Lizzy McGuire" on Disney, supports animal rights, has a music CD coming out and is going to earn a huge paycheck playing a modernday Cinderella. Hilary Duff came to L.A. from Texas with her own Cinderella dreams. For the petite, blonde, 15-year-old, brown-eyed actress, hopes and dreams are coming true bigtime. We spoke with Hilary, who looked cute in a heart-themed outfit (hearts on shirt, heart bracelet)at an L.A. hotel recently where she told us about her career and working with her pal Frankie Muniz as Agent Cody Banks' girlfriend in the new teen action/spy film.

TeenHollywood: Why did you want to be an actress?

Hilary: I'm from Texas and it started with my sister. We were going to a performing arts school in San Antonio, Texas because it was a really good private school. We started getting involved in school plays and singing and stuff like that. My sister was doing a Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare play and she didn't want to be bad in front of her friends because she had a lead part so there was a little acting workshop near our house and she started to go and my mom asked me if I wanted to go and I thought 'Oh, that's so stupid. I would never want to do that.

My sister kept coming home showing me all this stuff and I was 'mom, I want to do that'. So I just kind of followed in her footsteps. She's the older sister so whatever she dose I want to do. She started acting and singing so I started doing both of those things. My sister and I knew that if we went to California we could go on real auditions for movies so we asked my parents and they were like 'It's a big step', but they did it and they've been so supportive and so amazing. When we first came out here, we were only here for a month and we rented an apartment for us and she got all these books about the business and would call people up and go 'I have these two really cute girls from Texas' and it was like 'click'. It was so hard but she did it. It was about four years ago.

TeenHollywood: I heard you like to shop a lot, love clothes.

Hilary: It's awful. I think I have a problem.

TeenHollywood: Would you want to become a designer and have your own line?

Hilary: I think so. I'll look in my closet and go 'how come I never wear this?' But, I totally will rip up stuff or change it. I like to do it a lot but I don't have time right now. Maybe when I'm not so busy I could think about doing something like that. It would be fun.

TeenHollywood: Who is your favorite designer?

Hilary: My favorite kind of thing is not necessarily name brands. I have to say I love Louis Vitton bags but I'm fifteen years old so I like to go to little boutiques but I shop in normal stores like Bebe and Guess and stuff at the mall.

TeenHollywood: What was your favorite part of the "Cody Banks" movie?

Hilary: It was amazing. It came together really cool. I have to say the best part of the movie was at the end when everything was getting blown up. It was cool to see behind the scenes how they actually did it. Also, there was a part that I did with Arnold Vosloo and he's so cool. I got to run up the side of a car. It was really fun.

TeenHollywood: So he's not so scary in person? (Vosloo played The Mummy)

Hilary: He's really nice but it totally freaked me out when I had to look at him when we were working because he had this one contact in that was white. It was so creepy. I was like ewww, this is so weird.

TeenHollywood: How did you work this film into your schedule with the t.v. show?

Hilary: It was actually kind of hard. We did the last season of Lizzie McGuire and that night, after we wrapped the last season, I flew to Vancouver and worked the very next day. We had two weeks of the show left and every weekend I was flying up to Vancouver and doing like one scene at a time and coming back. It was kind of rushed but it was cool.

TeenHollywood; In real life do you go for shy guys with brains or the macho types?

Hilary: I don't like guys who look like they spend more time in front of the mirror than I do. They have to be smart. That's important but it's so hard to find guys because I'm always working and I don't go to regular school and I don't want to date anybody in the business and I'm fifteen!

TeenHollywood: Frankie was a guest star on Lizzie. What was your relationship before and did that have an effect on your getting the job?

Hilary: Frankie and I were friends since the pilot of "Malcolm in the Middle". So I knew him a long time and he came on the show and he was telling me about some action movie he was doing and he took Troy (her manager) to a Clippers game and was talking to him about it and was like 'hey, there's this really cool girl part in the movie'. I didn't know but the producer of the movie Dylan Sellers had already called my manager about it and my manager didn't think we could work it in. It turns out that the producer of the movie, his daughter Natalie really loves "Lizzie McGuire". It just all came together really fast.

TeenHollywood: How was kissing your friend Frankie?

Hilary: It was really weird. We had kissed on "Lizzie McGuire" before. There were so many people watching that it was kind of embarrassing.

TeenHollywood: What kind of music are you into?

Hilary: Pretty much everything. Until a couple of months ago, I didn't like old music but my sister is older than me. She's eighteen so she kind of like expanded what I like to listen to. I like Van Morrison. Lots of people my mom listens to. Some of their stuff is cool. And I like pop, I like rock, I like rap. I like punk music. I'm not that picky. But not too much techno, though. That gives me a headache.

TeenHollywood: What kind of movies do you like?

Hilary: I saw How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. It was so cute. Kate Hudson is amazing and Matthew McConaughey is so hot! I liked that. And I have to admit, I'm a big fan of Ace Ventura movies. My friends can sit for hours and laugh because he's so funny and I like scary movies too.

TeenHollywood: Would you have liked to do more stunts in this?

Hilary: I did a couple even though I wasn't the agent in the movie with the CIA. I'm looking at a script right now that's really cool. It's kind of a (younger) girl version of Charlie's Angels but with a girl my age and an older woman and it's totally action-packed. I want to be really good. I want to focus on working in like Tai Kwan Do or something if I do something like that.

TeenHollywood: What is your schedule like...an average day?

Hilary: It depends if I'm working on a movie or the t.v. show. Right now I'm focusing on my album that's going to be out in August or September. It's crazy because I don't go to regular school. I have a teacher that comes pretty much everywhere with me. So I have school from 8 to 12 in the morning then I go to straight to voice class for two hours and then I go into the studio at night for probably four to six hours. Or during the day, if I have a little time, I do interviews. I just did a couple of talk shows and photo shoots. I go to New York a lot. I like it. Most people say, 'you're only fifteen years old and you have a full time job'. I feel like a normal kid. It's totally fun.

TeenHollywood: Isn't there a Lizzie McGuire movie?

Hilary: Yeah. The movie is coming out May 2nd. And we got to go to Rome to film half of that so it was really awesome.

TeenHollywood: Do you want to go to college?

Hilary: I think college is really important and I like school but I don't know if I'm going to go right away. If I'm busy, there's always time for me to go to school later. But it's definitely important.

TeenHollywood: What is your music like? What are your influences and do you write?

Hilary: My sister actually writes a lot on my albums. She's an amazing writer. I don't think I could sit down and write a whole song because it's so hard to get the form down and write the chorus, and pre-chorus and the verse and the bridge. I can't really do that. I do have ideas and things I want to say and the way I feel and what I want to sing about. It's cool because I can collaborate with some of the writers on my album.

TeenHollywood: Is it pop?

Hilary: Not pop. Kind of a mix between pop and rock, edging more to the rock side. It's kind of like Michelle Branchy, Vanessa Carlton feel..kind of like that.

TeenHollywood: What would you want to do on the ideal date?

Hilary: I really don't like to go out one-on-one unless I feel really comfortable with the person. If we go out in a group, we go to the movies, to dinner. Most of my friends drive so sometimes we can go to the Sunset Strip. It's fun at Sushi on Sunset but not for the clubs. There's a couple of underage clubs we like to go to and dance and stuff. We don't have to worry about alcohol or drugs going on so it's fun.

TeenHollywood: How do you think The Cinderella Story will change your life or will it?

Hilary: It's all happened so fast. It's a really great story because it's kind of a new age Cinderella story. It's a totally different character than I've ever played before. Lizzy McGuire was really into make-up and hair and clothes and whatever the style is. Same with Natalie in Cody Banks. She was a very popular girl at school and she had everything going for her. I think The Cinderella Story is different. She's very independent. She's a plain Jane and she has a metamorphosis. I'm hoping it will appeal to a little bit older audience. It's not so funny.

TeenHollywood: And you're an executive producer on it?

Hilary: Actually, my mom is. I'm excited. My mom has a lot to do with my career. She doesn't want to be my manager or agent but she has a lot to do with it. She wants to make sure that everything is okay. She gets to say 'I kind of think it's this way or that way'. She can have some input.

TeenHollywood: Do you have any pets at home?

Hilary: I have two rescue dogs. Little Dog is her name and she's a fox terrier Chihuahua mix and she's a total princess. I want to come back in my next life as Little Dog. She's so spoiled. I have a border collie. His name is Remington and he lives in Texas with my dad but we're big dog people at my house.

TeenHollywood: Can you talk about your fans? Is it good to be a role model?

Hilary: I think it's definitely a good thing. I always looked up to people when I was growing up. People are always saying 'do you feel a responsibility because so many people look up to you?' but not really. I think it's really cool that they like me or like my show. I think maybe kids should look up to people that have changed the world like doctors or astronauts or something like that. So it feels kind of weird but it's nice to know that they like me and look up to me.

TeenHollywood: Who are some of the people you looked up to when you were getting started?

Hilary: I remember what was really big when I was younger was Hansen and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, the Spice Girls and "Boy Meets World". Those were definitely people I looked up to so I understand if kids are not looking up to doctors.

TeenHollywood: What was the weirdest fan encounter you've had so far?

Hilary: I was at Macy's with my sister and my mom and this girl my age was following me around everywhere. I looked at her and said hi and she was like this (cowering) and then ran away and kept coming back. Finally, her mom comes up to me and was like 'excuse me, are you that girl from Lizzie McGuire, Hilary Duff?' And the girl was hiding behind her mom. She got so embarrassed that she shoved her mom. 'mom don't say that'. The mom grabs the daughter and says don't talk to me like that'. They got in a fight. I hadn't said anything. The girl runs off and the mom says 'thanks a lot. You've embarrassed my daughter'. I was like what? I just walked away. I was like I'm sorry.

TeenHollywood: What subjects do you like in school?

Hilary: School gets kind of hard when I'm working but we always get it done because it's just me and my teacher working one-on-one. I have three hours of school a day and I like Math because it's a challenge. It's getting harder as I get older but I like it. I'm also interested in history. When I was in Rome doing the Lizzie McGuire movie, it was perfect because I was learning about Roman history. I got to see it all.

TeenHollywood: What kind of a driver are you?

Hilary: Not very good. I can't drive yet but my dad, when I went back to Texas during Christmastime, he let me drive his car and I did a pretty good job. It's bad when I'm in the car with my mom because she's 'stop, stop, stop, stop stop'! And I'm like 'mom, I can't take it when you're yelling at me like that'. But I'm a pretty good driver with my dad. In Cody Banks I didn't get to do any of the driving. They put me on a camera truck.