Were you friends with your husband first?
Yeah, I met him and within five minutes I knew that I wanted to spend a lot of time with him. I didnt know I was going to marry him for sure. We were together for four years before we got engaged. And weve been together for nearly eight now, so hes getting sick of me! (Laughs)
How did you meet him?
We met in a bar in New York City. I was in there with some girlfriends and he was in there with some guy friends and he came over and asked if he could sit down next to me and I said, please do. And that was it. We hit it off straight away. It was really amazing. That was it.
Whats the most romantic thing youve done for him and hes done for you?
I surprised him once with a little trip, like a little rendezvous that was unexpected and weve taken each other places that "just got in the car and weve gone somewhere." Thats kind of romantic as there is always an element of surprise involved. But I think probably the most romantic thing hes done for me is ask me to marry him. Ill never forget that day. For any woman, that day is unforgettable and beautiful.
Did you know it was coming?
No, that was the thing. I had no idea. I mean, I knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together but I had no idea when that would start. So that was pretty cool.
Where is your favorite place to travel?
Australia for sure. Were headed there tonight, so Im pretty excited.
Is your husband Australian?
Yes, hes from Melbourne.
What was he doing in New York when you met?
Hes a graphic designer, so thats where he was working.
Do you live in New York?
Yeah.
Are you getting recognized a lot on the street?
No. (Laughs) I really can walk down the street.
A lot of actresses complain about being recognized. So you ride on the subway and walk around Manhattan?
Oh yeah. Id die without that subway. Honest to God. I always think that I dont really look like I do in my movies. I think you probably might not recognize me if you saw me walking down the street. Or maybe they do in New York and people just dont say anything, which is awesome. But yeah, I havent run into that problem.
As opposed to Patrick Dempsey who is on every billboard and poster and side of a bus in LA.
Yeah, I mean everybody is just looking for him! (Laughs) Women wake up and they start their day: "Ill be damned; I will find that Patrick Dempsey today if its the last thing I do!" (Laughs)
So are you big on brutal honesty or do you think white lies are okay sometimes?
It depends on the white lies, like if youre going to save somebodys feelings you know what I mean? I think you can be a good judge of when its a good time to spare somebodys feelings or not. But in general I think honesty is always the best policy.
Was your hen night as wild as the one in the movie?
I didnt kiss that many men! (Laughs) No, I had a really fun night with my girlfriends. They threw me a really good party.
Is that a tradition in Scotland where you have to kiss as many men as you can the night before you get married?
Ah no, I just think theyre trying to make an ass out of me (Laughs). I have no idea. There were a lot of kisses. I think it made all of those local boys day. There were a lot of kisses going on that day and I didnt even get to keep the change. (It was a penny for a kiss).
You shot a lot in England and in Scotland, how were you experiences there?
Oh my gosh, we were in Blenheim Palace. That was insane, we shot in the most beautiful castles, which were great, because we worked six day weeks and so we didnt have a lot of time to sight see. We shot in so many beautiful historical places, so we kind of killed two birds with one stone. We also shot in Woodstock, which is the cutest town both Patrick and I had ever seen. We loved it there. Oh my gosh, it was amazing, it looked like a movie set. We were shooting there and it honestly looked like a movie set. It was a beautiful place. And Scotland was probably one of the most romantic places I had ever been, it was so pretty there.
Did your husband go too?
Yes, he came and Patricks family came too. It was really nice.
It must be nice to be able to travel with your husband for work?
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, thats the thing, I love my job and my favorite hobby is to travel and so this was the ideal job. Certainly any time you get to do that its great, but if you can share that with somebody else, it just doesnt beat that.
Is it hard being home after that kind of excitement?
I would probably lose my mind if I was at home too much. Ive been traveling since I was seventeen so thats something that has always been a constant in my life. Its like a lifestyle.
How did you make that progression from modeling to be considered as a serious actress?
Thats a stigma I honestly havent experienced. I know people talk about that a lot, but that didnt necessarily exist that much for me. I wasnt a supermodel by any stretch of the imagination, I was doing like catalogue modeling. Maybe a little editorial here and there. I modeled but I wasnt one of those models that youre really familiar with. For me I started out doing that and then doing commercials. It was just a random audition that somebody said: "Listen, you should audition, youd have really good luck doing commercials." And I auditioned and I got the job and from that, I thought well, maybe Ill get an agent and I got a great agent who Im still with today and I just started working really hard and one thing led to another. Im grateful for having that modeling background, because it helped me deal with rejection in a way that had I just jumped into acting at some point - you know, theres certainly a lot of rejection in modeling...... my hands are blue because of the dye on the denim (her pants are indigo denim) and I look like a Smurf! Oh my God, I have to explain this everybody because they think I have the poorest circulation ever! (Laughs) Its my jeans, they havent been washed and they were given to me this morning - just call me Mama Smurf. So....you know this will probably be the one time I get recognized. I will walk out of the hotel covered in blue!
Are you big on fashion?
Yes, I am big on fashion especially if it has blue dye in it! (Laughs)
How would you describe your personal style?
Im really a jeans and T shirt girl. I really like to be comfortable. I like slim silhouettes. I really love clothes a lot. I like to shop. I love vintage a lot. I live in New York and that has some of the best vintage clothing. But honestly, Id be lying if I didnt say that one of the best things about this job is getting to wear pretty dresses and getting dressed up. I mean Im a total girl.
Who are your favorite designers?
I like Derek Lam and Gilles Mendel.
What is your dream role?
Thats always a good question for me because I never actually really know until I look at it. I never really anticipate what I want to do. I definitely know I want to be on stage. That is a goal of mine that has kind of withstood the test of time. I definitely want to do theater in New York or Jersey - (laughs) way off, off, off Broadway! So thats what Id like to do, but I just want to keep exploring different genres. So far, so good. I learn something from each experience and I never really want to repeat myself, because if Im bored with it, then other people are going to be bored with it.
Is there a director youd like to work with?
I love David Lynch. Michel Gondry. The Coen brothers of course. Id love to work with Robert Downey again, that was one of my best experiences.
The character of Tom in the movie - had you met that kind of man before you got married?
For sure. I dated one for four years (laughs).
What non-committal?
Yeah totally, I dated one for four years and it took me four years to figure that out.
So what got you over that?
Just having the last straw and going: "What am I doing? Am I crazy?" And that was it.
(Patrick Dempsey walks into the room and the interview ends).
Tagged in Michelle Monaghan