Post by Carina on Jan 13, 2006 22:35:17 GMT -5
Never mind the rock-star boyfriend, there's obviously something going on between Hilary Duff and Canada. Touring extensively in January two years in a row, the Texas-born star of stage and screen seems to be at home in the frozen north. Duff's aptly titled latest album, Most Wanted, sold 32,000 in its first week in Canada -- a personal best for the actor-singer -- before going on to double platinum status of 200,000. Duff is rewarding that support with 19 concerts in 28 days from Victoria to St. John's. Only hours before a sold-out Alberta show this week, Duff was cooking what turned out to be an ill-fated grilled cheese sandwich while chatting with The SP's Cam Fuller about fame, bathroom sneak attacks and even the war in Iraq.
CF: Your concert in Saskatoon takes place on Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious?
HD: (Laughs). You just kind of reminded me of that. I guess I like to play into it, you know? It's fun. But I don't know how much I actually believe goes on, you know? I mean, if there's a ladder I'm not going to walk under it, but I don't know if anything freaky is going to happen. I hope not.
CF: You've seen more of Canada in two tours than I have in 40 years. What do you like about it?
HD: You know what, I do like Canada and I really like the fans. It's crazy how much people support me here, you know? I like that it's a big change from California. I'm also from Houston and it's pretty much hot in both places all the time. Even now in L.A. where I live mostly it's like 85 degrees. So I like the change of weather for a little while. I think it's really nice. And it's absolutely beautiful up here and the people are really nice. Other than that, I don't know too much about the history and stuff like that.
CF: Are you amazed how dark it gets, so early in the day?
HD: I can't believe how long it takes to get bright outside. It's crazy 'cause my mom, she comes for the tour but just every couple of weeks or so -- I'm sorry, I'm making a grilled cheese sandwich -- she comes every couple of weeks or so and today she was leaving. We got up at 7:30 and went downstairs to have breakfast and it was dark outside until we stopped having breakfast. It was like nine o'clock. It's crazy. I was like, man, I'm never going to feel like getting up or doing anything.
CF: Is it true that you've been asked for your autograph in the bathroom?
HD: Oh, many times.
CF: Is nothing sacred?
HD: No, it's not, actually. I'm not trying to sound bitter but it's very not.
CF: Is that the worst place you've been asked?
HD: The other thing is inside my hotel room. If someone is delivering room service, it's so inappropriate. When I'm in the privacy of my own hotel room I'm mostly in my pajamas or something. I guess that's another place that really kind of bothers me.
CF: Is fame a burden?
HD: To be honest with you? I would say it's not quite half and half because there's so much of it that's good and so much of it that I have to thank for that. It's really nice to hear how much people love you, you know, and how they just get so shocked when they see you because you might really inspire them somehow or they might think that you're really pretty or whatever it is about you. It's really nice to feel accepted like that but also people get no sense that I'm human just like they are. And it makes me feel so weird, you know. I'm only 18. Or if I decide not to sign an autograph when I sit down to have dinner with my family and I haven't seen them in three months? People will say things to me like, "I'm sorry you're famous." It doesn't bother me. You can't blame people.
CF: If your career ended tomorrow what would you miss the most?
HD: I would miss doing shows. I would miss being able to film movies. I would miss being able to travel. People that aren't in my job can't just get up and go see the world like I can, you know? And part of it I think is a challenge for myself -- I love seeing how far we can go, how much we can do. It's a really big self-challenge and it's really rewarding, as tiring as it can get sometimes.
CF: Is there one particular thing you would like to be remembered for the most?
HD: I guess positivity, you know? I think that's a really big thing. It's really cool because I do a lot of charity work and the UN has just started to, like, recognize that and stuff and ask me to do more philanthropic things with them like trips to India and doing things outside of everyday life that we don't even think about on an everyday basis because we're so busy with our lives. And that stuff is so cool to me, you know? You see Angelina Jolie or all these other people going around the world and getting to hold children and do this and do that and it's, like, oh my gosh, I would love to get to do that some day.
CF: With everything going on in the world like pollution and terrorist attacks, how do you remain optimistic? It's like my generation has already ruined things for yours.
HD: Do you think people my age take any more better care of the environment? You know, we don't, and that's the problem. There's not too many people out there that probably think of helping, you know, because maybe they think it's just too big of a problem, that one person won't matter so let's just keep on living and destroying and whatever, you know? And I do it, too. We pollute. We do this, we do that, we don't turn off our lights, whatever it is. There's not enough awareness I think for people to really know how to. . . . Um, I burned my grilled cheese. Man! (laughs).
CF: No, did you?
HD: Sorry, I did (laughs). I think in the future it's important to raise the awareness of people to be able to know what's going on, to be enlightened. Especially with the war and stuff like that. Before, I was never too interested in our history or the safe places to be or the reasons why people are doing things to us like terrorist attacks or whatever it might be. It's not a good thing that we have this war at all but at least people want to know about it now. They're not just shut up to it because everything is at a peaceful place. There's always something that's going to be happening.
CF: Well, that's a very good point because it does kind of wake you up and make you more aware of the whole world, not just around your block.
HD: And I think that kids get -- especially teenagers, you know, that maybe feel like they don't belong or they feel like they don't know who they are yet or something -- you know they get confused and they don't want to talk to anybody and they don't want to face anything, you know? And I think that hopefully a lot of people can help them through music, you know, what they see on TV, or just letting other people know that other people do care and are interested, and it's not dorky to, you know, be enlightened.
CF: Your concert in Saskatoon takes place on Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious?
HD: (Laughs). You just kind of reminded me of that. I guess I like to play into it, you know? It's fun. But I don't know how much I actually believe goes on, you know? I mean, if there's a ladder I'm not going to walk under it, but I don't know if anything freaky is going to happen. I hope not.
CF: You've seen more of Canada in two tours than I have in 40 years. What do you like about it?
HD: You know what, I do like Canada and I really like the fans. It's crazy how much people support me here, you know? I like that it's a big change from California. I'm also from Houston and it's pretty much hot in both places all the time. Even now in L.A. where I live mostly it's like 85 degrees. So I like the change of weather for a little while. I think it's really nice. And it's absolutely beautiful up here and the people are really nice. Other than that, I don't know too much about the history and stuff like that.
CF: Are you amazed how dark it gets, so early in the day?
HD: I can't believe how long it takes to get bright outside. It's crazy 'cause my mom, she comes for the tour but just every couple of weeks or so -- I'm sorry, I'm making a grilled cheese sandwich -- she comes every couple of weeks or so and today she was leaving. We got up at 7:30 and went downstairs to have breakfast and it was dark outside until we stopped having breakfast. It was like nine o'clock. It's crazy. I was like, man, I'm never going to feel like getting up or doing anything.
CF: Is it true that you've been asked for your autograph in the bathroom?
HD: Oh, many times.
CF: Is nothing sacred?
HD: No, it's not, actually. I'm not trying to sound bitter but it's very not.
CF: Is that the worst place you've been asked?
HD: The other thing is inside my hotel room. If someone is delivering room service, it's so inappropriate. When I'm in the privacy of my own hotel room I'm mostly in my pajamas or something. I guess that's another place that really kind of bothers me.
CF: Is fame a burden?
HD: To be honest with you? I would say it's not quite half and half because there's so much of it that's good and so much of it that I have to thank for that. It's really nice to hear how much people love you, you know, and how they just get so shocked when they see you because you might really inspire them somehow or they might think that you're really pretty or whatever it is about you. It's really nice to feel accepted like that but also people get no sense that I'm human just like they are. And it makes me feel so weird, you know. I'm only 18. Or if I decide not to sign an autograph when I sit down to have dinner with my family and I haven't seen them in three months? People will say things to me like, "I'm sorry you're famous." It doesn't bother me. You can't blame people.
CF: If your career ended tomorrow what would you miss the most?
HD: I would miss doing shows. I would miss being able to film movies. I would miss being able to travel. People that aren't in my job can't just get up and go see the world like I can, you know? And part of it I think is a challenge for myself -- I love seeing how far we can go, how much we can do. It's a really big self-challenge and it's really rewarding, as tiring as it can get sometimes.
CF: Is there one particular thing you would like to be remembered for the most?
HD: I guess positivity, you know? I think that's a really big thing. It's really cool because I do a lot of charity work and the UN has just started to, like, recognize that and stuff and ask me to do more philanthropic things with them like trips to India and doing things outside of everyday life that we don't even think about on an everyday basis because we're so busy with our lives. And that stuff is so cool to me, you know? You see Angelina Jolie or all these other people going around the world and getting to hold children and do this and do that and it's, like, oh my gosh, I would love to get to do that some day.
CF: With everything going on in the world like pollution and terrorist attacks, how do you remain optimistic? It's like my generation has already ruined things for yours.
HD: Do you think people my age take any more better care of the environment? You know, we don't, and that's the problem. There's not too many people out there that probably think of helping, you know, because maybe they think it's just too big of a problem, that one person won't matter so let's just keep on living and destroying and whatever, you know? And I do it, too. We pollute. We do this, we do that, we don't turn off our lights, whatever it is. There's not enough awareness I think for people to really know how to. . . . Um, I burned my grilled cheese. Man! (laughs).
CF: No, did you?
HD: Sorry, I did (laughs). I think in the future it's important to raise the awareness of people to be able to know what's going on, to be enlightened. Especially with the war and stuff like that. Before, I was never too interested in our history or the safe places to be or the reasons why people are doing things to us like terrorist attacks or whatever it might be. It's not a good thing that we have this war at all but at least people want to know about it now. They're not just shut up to it because everything is at a peaceful place. There's always something that's going to be happening.
CF: Well, that's a very good point because it does kind of wake you up and make you more aware of the whole world, not just around your block.
HD: And I think that kids get -- especially teenagers, you know, that maybe feel like they don't belong or they feel like they don't know who they are yet or something -- you know they get confused and they don't want to talk to anybody and they don't want to face anything, you know? And I think that hopefully a lot of people can help them through music, you know, what they see on TV, or just letting other people know that other people do care and are interested, and it's not dorky to, you know, be enlightened.