'LOST' Girl

Michelle Rodriguez loves dancing. She grinds her hips, bangs her heels in a staccato thump and then suddenly kicks out like a ninja, flying into the air. Outside in leafy West Hollywood it’s a sedate, peaceful afternoon. Inside the studio where Michelle is being photographed for Cosmo, there’s enough energy (not to mention noise) to launch a jumbo jet.

“What can I tell you? I’m a very energetic person”, laughs the 28-year-old, who, despite her stature, has a reputation as a powerhouse; the sort of girl who overcomes enormous odds to get what she wants.

Five years ago she beat 250 other wannabes at her first-ever audition for the lead role o Diana Guzman, a street-fighting boxer in Girlfight. She was an unknown from New Jersey who quit school at 15 (she later went back and graduated) and had to train for five months to get the part, but the director liked her gutsy attitude. The part brought her awards and acclaim, and movie roles aplenty followed in high-octane The Fast And The Furious, surfer-girl flick Blue Crush, horror-thriller Resident Evil, to name a few, where she always played the feisty, independent chick. But you’ll know Michelle’s face most recently from those make-a-date-with-the-TV Tuesday nights, glued to the second season of Lost. Michelle intriguingly popped up in a Jack flashback in the first season and is now properly ensconced in the cast as one of the ‘Tallies’, Ana-Lucia Cortez – a rival to Evangeline Lilly’s Kate-Jack-Sawyer lust triangle. Insiders say Ana-Lucia is the star of this season; she also happens to be an ex-cop – another feisty role for Michelle.

But, up close, Michelle is far softer, sexier and more feminine than any of her screen personas. When she’s not dancing but relaxing on the sofa, she’s practically demure. As she brushes back a stand of hair to reveal olive skin and dark soulful eyes, she looks like a young J.Lo or Salma Hayek.

Dressed simply in pale grey skinny jeans and a flowing top, Michelle has the effortless style of someone not yet affected by fame. And just to confirm it, she frequently throws back her head and breaks into a loud, couldn’t-give-a-damn laugh. But Lost’s newest recruit has a definite vulnerability, as you’ll discover when the ‘about to be the hottest thing on the planet’ drops her boxing gloves and reveals her softer side to Cosmo…

In Lost you play Ana-Lucia, a tough, unpopular ex-cop. Is there anything you admire about your character?
“The one thing I do like about her is she’s strong. I like strong women. She stands on her own two feet and she has conviction. I admire a person with their own voice and opinions. Other than that, I don’t really like her. I think she meddles too much.”

You come across as fairly tough yourself – are there similarities between you?
“Me, tough? [Laughs] Ana-Lucia is a more structured person than I am. I’m very free spirited. I’m not good at doing as I’m told. I could never be part of the military or anything where I was ordered around.”

What was it like being the new girl for the second season of Lost?
“I was scared. I was wondering, ‘What if these people don’t like me?’ Everybody’s married or in a relationship and here I am alone. But then the rest of the actors playing the tail section of the plane arrived and I became friends with Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje [Mr. Eko] and Cynthia Watros [Libby].”

Ana-Lucia disrupts the love triangle between Kate, Jack and Sawyer. That must have been interesting…
“Incredibly interesting. But I’m not telling you what happens. You gotta watch the show!”

When you’re filming In Hawaii, you live away from the cast. Why?
“Because I live by the beach on the North Shore. I don’t want to live in the city; I get tired of cars and buildings. It’s so great to be near nature. You go to Honolulu where everyone else lives and it’s like, ‘Aargh!’ I just want to look at the ocean.”

You’ve said before that you’re not prepared to take your clothes off for a role. Are you still sticking by that?
“I might take a little something off before this season of Lost ends, but just a little bit. Generally, I don’t. There’s a certain formula that anyone who’s slightly good-looking and talented can follow to make it, but I’d have to sacrifice a lot of things I believe in to follow that path. I don’t believe in taking my clothes off for the sake of it. It would make me uncomfy.”

We heard you turned down a role on Desperate Houswives as a woman whose partner is unfaithful, saying, “Do I look like the kind of woman who gets cheated on?”…
“[Laughs] OK. I was caught in a cocky moment. I’m usually very humble – but yes, I did turn down that role.”

Any regrets?
“Not at all. I turn down a lot of roles, which makes my agent freak out. I turned down the role of the girl in Crash [eventually played by Thandie Newton], which got an Oscar.”

What sort of roles do you want to play?
“Strong, rebellious, wild [ones], I want roles that are about the girl who’s feminine and masculine; the girl who’s not the girlfriend, the girl who has the boyfriend.”

Do you worry about being typecast?
“I do and it’s a predicament, I admit, I put myself in. Now I have to show I have a strong feminine side, too; that I can step outside the realm of tough chick.”

So would you say you’re a girly girl?
“Well, I spend a huge amount of time in the bathroom, grooming – does that count?! And I absolutely love clothes. I have a whole closet filled with expensive dresses, most of which I’ve only worn once. Isn’t that pathetic? I’m waiting until I become extraordinarily famous so I can sell them for charity.”

When was the last time you cried?
“During King Kong. I was bawling.”

Do you have a boyfriend right now?
“I met a really amazing Brazilian guy in Mexico. I was there doing press for Lost. He was hot but I never saw him again. I guess you could call it a dalliance.”

You wear a ring that signifies marriage to yourself. Why?
“I got out of an incredibly bad relationship while filming Blue Crush and, at the time, I swore to myself that I’d care more about me. Too often, love is measured by sacrifice – you know, ‘What are you willing to do for me?’ I just got tired of giving myself in every way. After that relationship I was drained and said, ‘That’s never going to happen again.’ The ring is to remind me.”

Do you fall in love easily?
“I do fall in love, but not easily.”

What do you look for in a partner?
“It’s all about the yes. If somebody can look at me with purity and love, then we’ll be friends and lovers forever. The kind of people I fall for are free spirits – people who’ll run naked on the beach with me and won’t care if anyone’s looking at them!”

Do you think of marriage and children?
“I do look at kids and think, ‘What would it be like?’ But it’s not a high priority right now.”

Are you a sexual person?
“I’m very non-sexual when you first meet me. That doesn’t happen until something’s ignited. I’m not the sort of person who goes looking for a man, either. It’s sad because I’d feel more complete. I need to stop procrastinating. Perhaps there is a gap in my life.”

What was your upbringing like?
“Colourful. I was born in Texas, then my parents separated when I was nine, so my twin brothers and I moved to the Dominican Republic, where my Mom was from, then Puerto Rico, where Dad was from, and then New Jersey. My mother is very religious, so it was a repressed childhood. Growing up was frustrating. There are holes in the walls of my old apartment. And I got kicked out of every school I went to.”

Is that why you quit school at 15?
“I rebelled. But the anger faded.”

When did you know that you wanted to act?
“After school I did a lot of different jobs. I can remember working at UPS [United Parcel Service], lifting boxes all day. I asked for a lunch break and the supervisor said, ‘You don’t get a lunch break’. I was like, ‘fuck you! I don’t belong here. I’m going to be famous one day.’ I knew I was going to be famous. Not for the sake of fame, but for the power to make a difference.”

And did you imagine your career would take you this far?
“Yes. But I’ve still got a long ay to go as an actress. My real goal is to make movies myself. I want to write and direct, but it’s not easy with ADD [attention deficit disorder].”

You’ve been diagnosed with ADD?
“I have a hard time focusing when I’m alone. I’m a scatterbrain, but I’m nervous of taking the medication. I don’t really want to depend on anything to control my brain.”

Are you still close to your family?
“Sure. One of my brothers is living with me right now. My mom doesn’t really approve of my career, but we speak on the phone. My dad passed away when I was 20. He was an alcoholic.”

What’s the hardest thing about fame?
“I’m a really social person and love partying, but I can’t be myself if people are watching all the time. I have to tone myself down. I haven’t given up partying; my solution is to find an apartment somewhere and throw big parties so I’m secluded from people who try and nail me for…[Laughs] having fun.”

Is there pressure to look a certain way?
“Of course. I don’t work out, because I don’t like the gym. But I walk – maybe four miles a day when I’m in Hawaii. And I always watch what I eat. I’m not rigid, just careful. I stay away from too many carbs or sweets and I’m still working on cutting out coffee. I’ve given up cigarettes, though. It was time. I’ve been smoking since I was 14 and must have done some serious damage.”

You were recently found guilty of a second drink-driving offence. Was that a result of the partying?
“I’m not excusing myself, but I’m a girl who never had money before, who moved to LA three years ago, was exposed to money and a vehicle – I learnt to drive on a race track for The Fast And The Furious. I’m just a human being and I screw up sometimes.

EXTRA (from the author of this article): “I love Lost, so interviewing Michelle Rodriguez, the new star of the series, was thrilling,” says Lucy Broadbent, author of 'Lost Girl' (pg 78). “There was something about her that suggested to me she might be gay. I was hesitant about asking, but she was so easy to talk to that I took the plunge. She said she wasn’t, but that she’d experimented with both sexes. I found it admiriable that she was so open about it.”

(Source: UK Cosmopolitan)