When Christina Ricci shows up for her photo shoot, she is blond. This seems surprising somehow: blond is sunny and perky and (with apologies to blonds everywhere) not exactly the colour of eviscerating wit and sarcasm. We think of Ricci as the ultimate brunette, burned into our imagination almost two decades ago from her debut at age nine—doll-eyed and pocket-sized—as Cher’s daughter in Mermaids.

Ricci is 28 now, and when we speak over the phone from her home in the hip Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, she is sur-prisingly earnest. Yes, her voice has that signature Ricci flatness, like every line is throwaway, but what she says in that voice is clear, considered, optimistic.

Things that make her happy: she just got back from a vacation in Sydney, Australia, where she sat on the beach every day. She loved the bruises she earned doing some of her own stunts in the blockbuster-in-waiting Speed Racer. She defends fishnet stockings (“People say fishnets are trashy, but come on, they’re awesome”). She be-lieves she can make the world a better place.

“I’m very invested in being happy and in helping other people.”

For the full interview with Christina, be sure to check out FLARE’s May issue, on newsstands now.

From Flare Magazine