Movieline - October 1999

Sporting seven tattoos, a mean cigarette habit (she smokes over a pack a day) and a humongous Ford F150 truck, you might think Clea DuVall is a Hollywood rebel of sorts. But the L.A.-born, tomboyish 22-year-old declares, "I'm not a rebel at all!" In fact, DuVall's tough-girl accoutrements belie a soft side, one that encompasses staying home and arranging flowers. Such contradictions make her one of the more intriguing actresses in her age group. She's certainly one of the busiest, too. In the past year, she's appeared in the teen thriller The Faculty (as the outcast) and the sci-fi flick The Astronaut's Wife (as Charlize Theron's sister). And later this year she'll be costarring with Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted, a true story of life in a psychiatric clinic based on the memoir by Susanna Kaysen.

Despite DuVall's soulful, lived-in look and aura, she says she played her role of a pathological liar without ever having seen a therapist herself. She readily admits, however, that, "Teen years are a very confusing time." And she adds, "I think everyone's a little neurotic and insecure and depressed sometimes." You can say that again, especially for anyone growing up in Hollywood. But DuVall already exhibits the survival skills of a seasoned pro, and seems blessed with the ability to enjoy the simple things in an actor's life. Is she bothered by the trials of going on location to God knows where and living in a hotel room? Not a bit. "I like hotels," she says. " I don't care where it is. You can get movies off the TV, and people bring you cake and Coca-Cola, and there's an ice machine." - Gary Socol