by Brad Balfour

G21 Contributing Editor

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NEW YORK, NY, USA - Nineteen year-old Actress Jena Malone isn't your typical teen star worrying about her hair or singing career. She has tackled roles fraught with adult traumas from such films as the cult classic DONNIE DARKO to her two latest films, THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND and SAVED!

The former tells of a teenager who kills his girlfriend's retarded younger brother and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the crime (including her drug addiction). The latter film offers an irreverent look at an evangelical Christian high school in which Mary (Malone) tries to save her gay boyfriend by giving herself to him and getting pregnant as a result. Malone has lived through her own controversy; she sued her mom for control of her career and finances and won. So Malone doesn't shy away from making decisions -- and thank God she did SAVED!

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G21: YOU OFTEN PLAY CHARACTERS SEARCHING FOR THEMSELVES WITH TRAGIC EXPERIENCES IN THE BACKGROUND. HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO YOU?

JM: Because I am an adolescent girl who has to deal with herself and how she relates to the world, they relate to me. What's important for me in choosing a character is that there is a truthful depiction of youth today. I don't know if throughout the films mentioned my characters have been tragic, but they're at least characters who are not stereotypical and cliched. They are young women going through some important issues who have to make some pretty important decisions. Yes, some of them make mistakes and are coping with that but what young person isn't?

That's really an important thing to address -- that adolescence isn't all proms and wearing sparkling glitter. There's so much more to it and any film that endorses that teens have very rich and deep emotional lives is something I am very adamant in showing because I feel that adults water down what they think young minds are capable of when, actually, they're capable of great things.

G21: YOU'RE NOT KNOWN FOR PLAYING THE ROLES THAT THE TYPICAL POPULAR TEEN STAR (SUCH AS HILLARY DUFF) PLAY. DO YOU EVER GET OFFERED THOSE PARTS?

JM: I get everything and make sure that I read things I'm not right for [as well as] the typical kind I am right for. I just try to read as much as I can because the more you put out there, the easier it is to find the projects you really love. You can read hours and hours of complete shit but when you're actually struck by something that's honest, you want to fight for it. I'm not saying [everything] has to be this weighty, dramatic, dealing with heavy things that are hard to understand. You can find a lot of truth in humor and that's the beauty of life -- there's a lot of messed up things that happen but have a lot of humorous moments. You have to depict both in an honest manner.

G21: YOU'VE CONSCIOUSLY AVOIDED SOME OF THE CLICHES THAT TEEN STARS FEED INTO TODAY.

JM: It's a conscious choice but it's also because I couldn't not do them because it feels so false to be putting on a lot of make up and crazy clothes and . these heightened forms of sexuality and femininity That's just not really who I am or what I want young girls to look at and say "Well, I can also look like that and can also act like that."

What it really comes down to is that a lot of choices I've made in representing myself in the media is that my 6 year old sister, Madison [will see me doing them]. I have the highest respect for her and would never want her to see me on some cover of Maxim, you know, looking nothing like who I am and who she knows me to be. So, I have to just keep myself honest so that she doesn't think that I am some weirdo.

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G21: THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND IS A RESTRAINED LOOK AT YOUTHFUL PROBLEMS. DO YOU FEEL IT STRUCK THE RIGHT BALANCE?

JM: I felt it struck a perfect balance. I found the topic of girls and their exploring of drugs has become a very sexy topic in Hollywood. It's something that's been capitalized on. They look. dress and listen to the same music so it's very much about setting up the stereotype for us to believe in. And it's also romanticizing [drug-taking] a bit. That's why I was really excited to have the opportunity to do this film because she's making those mistakes. She shoots up speed in the beginning of the film but she doesn't look like that stereotypical drug addict; she's awkward and innocent and still trying to figure out how to represent herself. I thought it was really important for girls to see the flip side of that stereotype that's being fed down their throats.

G21: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO AN ADOLESCENT GIRL WHO GOES TO A PAROCHIAL SCHOOL BUT DOESN'T QUITE GET THIS SATIRE?

JM: I hate it when I leave a movie saying "Okay the meaning of this film is A.B.C. and I don't have to think about it again because it has offered all the easy answers and is perfectly summed up -- it's so clear cut."

It's more important that questions will be in the [audience's] mind and though they may not have all the immediate answers, they have to relate it to their own personal experiences. If they leave doing that -- seeing in it their own terms -- then this movie has definitely served its purpose.

G21: WHAT ABOUT SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER MET ANYONE GAY OR KNEW SOMEONE WHO GOT PREGNANT?

JM: Because the topic of gay marriage is weighty and everyone's probably aware of it on some level, its not like this [film] is an insider's joke. It reveals both sides of [the gay experience]. It's not some magical thing that no one knows about. This film giving a personalized experience of this gay teen and this young woman who decides to keep the child [she has with him]. I think there are a lot of things that people can relate to [in SAVED] whether they've gone through these circumstances or not.

G21: WHERE DO YOU STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE?

JM: It should be absolutely legal. I grew up with two moms who were lovers and I'm a perfectly healthy, normal human being with two people who truly love each other and me. I always felt that having two people who love each other was better than one, in any form you can get; I think it's a blessing. It shouldn't be something that should be despised in the public. That's really gross.

G21: WOULD MARRIAGE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IF MARY MARRIED HIM?

JM: I don't know if I necessarily believe in marriage. But saying that you're gonna be with someone is as powerful as any sort of state endorsing your marriage.

G21: HOW DID YOU GET STARTED AND KNOW THIS WAS WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO? JM: I always wanted to do this. I came up with a list of five things I wanted to do when I was younger and it was acting, singing. dancing, writing, and teaching. And the dancing and the singing came out very fast, I was five or six and my mom did a lot of community theater so I did a lot of stupid plays. When I was of the age to want to dedicate my energies to something, I somehow convinced my mom to move out to LA to give it a year to see what happens. We went from Lake Tahoe to Los Vegas to Los Angeles. It's been nine years and I'm incredibly blessed.

G21: WHAT'S THE MOST ENJOYABLE PART OF YOUR WORK?

JM: It's that moment right before you start working on something. You have that sort of intangible energy that someone puts into something. The most addictive [quality] with independent films is not about the money and about trying hard to be controversial or whatever but it's about knowing that you want to see the project all the way through to the end.

G21: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO NEXT?

JM: I try not to strategize or do anything. I just try to pretend I'm in a dark theater when I'm reading a script and just try to come at it from [the point of view of an] audience member and see what's new or what needs to be told. There are so many parts that to respect and that I have to learn about before I can put my own voice out there. I feel like I'm constantly in school so as long as nothing is too planned that's really cool.

G21: HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN ACTING SCHOOL?

JM: No. I did some acting classes once a week with a group of 20 people. I did that for a little bit but then the people got kind of weird so I stopped.

G21: DO YOU FEEL YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON COLLEGE? JM: I went to public, private, home school, and a community college for about a year. Most of the things I've learned in my life which I deem valuable have been through self-education; I don't find that offering up four years of my life to standardized education is going to make me any more smart or more interested in the things I already am interested in. I like to dedicate myself to one thing at a time like taking one class until I thoroughly understand what I'm learning. But everyone has their own way of learning and I don't try to push that on anyone else.

G21: WHAT DO YOU STUDY?

JM: Photography, History, English, kick boxing, and printmaking just as random things.

G21: WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?

JM: Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins.

G21: DO YOU SEE YOURSELF DIRECTING?

JM: I see myself doing more cinematography. I'm a dork, I love equipment, and I love lighting. I've taken photos since I was 14, so it's part of how I love to interact with people.

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