As a kid you lived all over the place what was that like?
Growing up in ah, what I was born in Texas, lived there til I was about nine, that was interesting. Moved to Dominican Republic, lived there for three years, learned Spanish, forgot every word of English I knew, um my brother needed a better education, my brother Omar, so we moved out to New Jersey, um and I basically like had to learn English again and became bilingual, and then um you know it was strange, you know I had curse words for the first time and like, you know, eclectic bunches of different types of people, I mean growing up in Jersey City you've got you know, the kid who helps you out in math in grammar school, you know, who like, you know always helps you out as long as you make sure nobody picks on her. And then you've got the kids who hang out in basements and pop Quaaludes all the time and just play Dungeons and Dragons all day.

Which one were you?
I was all of the above, um, you know just, I had a very eclectic group of friends growing up, it was wild. I stayed in Jersey for many years, um, um I used to go to Puerto Rico, lived there for a year too um before I moved to Jersey. That was interesting, my dad's Puerto Rican, so um I had an opportunity to get some salsa up in here, yeah that's where I learned my new Rican um roots. It was interesting, Jersey Rican really….the only way that I manage to like fit in, in these different groups you know, from hanging out with really let's say devious people to hanging out with you know really straight forward follow the law kind of people, the only combining aspect was my comedy. That was the only way that I could blend in, it's just like my theory of life that life's a bitch and then you laugh, and that allowed me to like hang out with so many different types of people, you know? Always hanging out with the older groups, learning from them, learning about survival in the streets even though you know I was pretty comfortable home.

....um it was an interesting upbringing growing up Jehovah Witness…. that was interesting, and then up, and then having religion leave my life when my grandmother like left because she was like the bishop. That was interesting because then when she left I was like party! Everything I wasn't allowed to do now I can do ten times!

She left to Puerto Rico, she's like I can't deal with you kids, too much trouble! I got kicked out of like every school I ever went to.

What was the comedy that helped you blend in?
I was a goof! I was a goof you know, I would just make fun of everything. I remember in fourth grade this um teacher that we had, I think it was Mrs. Hemindinger or something like that, the only way that I can remember her name is because it was such a weird name and she was like, I was goofing off in the cafeteria, and I don't know if I threw food at somebody or just hit them in the head with something you know, joking around, and she would always try to catch me and every time she'd look at me I'd be like you know, seriously not guilty. And uh she just looked at me and she said, you should become an actress. Look at me now.

Thanks Miss Hemindinger.

You grew up with two brothers, what was that like?
It's, it's, it's very hardcore because you, you know they're paternal twins and they're always arguing, or always used to now they get along, but it was like, I mean imagine like full on fights like, like I used to be a very big fan of the WWF growing up and I was really disillusioned when I found out it was all fake….I think that's where a lot of my masculine energy comes from you know, a lot of people are like hey you're such a tom boy and you don't like hanging out with girls. On top of just not wanting to talk about Barbies and who my next husband's going to be all day…..I mean, I remember you know, my brother just sitting on me and farting, you know, stupid things like that that big brothers do just to like gross you out and like I would, I don't even want to embarrass Raul or anything but I learned a lot of habits that boys can have that are really not cute. And it helped me you know to grow up with like an open mind, I was never you know, my mother always taught me to like sit with my like, well you have to sit properly or you're going to you know, curl up into this hunch and she always like corrected my Spanish and made sure I spoke proper Spanish and you know, while she's screaming at me to basically be moral and ethical and follow the laws of God, my dad would screaming at me to like to understand that people have dedicated their lives to information and that you should go out there and research whatever you question in life and that life is a big school and so with that eclectic kind of background of two dualities bumping heads against each other, that dichotomy pretty much created what you see in front of you.

On film you come off as tough, but how much is that really you?
Do you know what's funny? A lot of people give me that, that kind of well I used to be the girl who used to walk down the streets in Jersey City and would have a stranger walk up to me and say hey, smile it's okay, because I'd walk around and I don't even notice, but it's my face, I'm really happy, like I'm not you know some like really tough like you know, hardcore I'll kick your butt kind of chick. I mean I've had my phases believe me, like you know, and you know, training to be a boxer for six months in Girlfight could help out a lot you know when you walk down the street you just want somebody to try to pick on you, you know, so you can have an excuse to kick their ass, I mean yeah, I've, I have like little, the little tough chick thing in me for sure, but I'm a teddy bear when it comes down to it, I'm a little mush ball.

You clean up nice.
Aw thank you, yeah I cleaned up.

You beat out 350 girls [for Girlfight]?
That was such a wild experience, I can't even believe that that happened to me, I mean like, the women at Orpheus Talent who like pretty much fought for me, because I mean imagine you know Karyn, you know, Karyn Kusama, that was her first film, you know? And she had to like, she had to make this decision of whether to trust you know, her heart, or trust her mind, and you know she's a very cerebral kind of woman-if you ever meet her, you'll know. And it's like it's her first film she just got out of N-out of NYU you know, film school, it's like, has her hands on a million dollars, it's like this opportunity to tell this story that she's really passionate about telling, and you know, you've got this girl standing in front of you, you know, in the middle of this casting process who's just looking at you and basically saying look man you know I didn't even graduate high school, I quit business school because it wasn't my thing, I didn't want to be like sun deprived and stuck in an office and here I am I want to be like you know a writer someday and I think acting is going to be what kicks it in. And these girls are just like looking at me in my cargo pants-I rollerbladed there, I'm four hours late, they're like you've got to be kidding me, is this girl for real right now?

Then what happened?
It was dangerous. Karyn just like made that decision. I mean that was, that was brave of her. That was a wild trip for me. She made her decision after I trained for a week at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn after probably like four read through auditions, you know, they wanted to go like the femme way, route with it and Karyn was like no I can't go the femme route with it. And then imagine you got this girl standing in front of you who's like you're not cutting my hair, you know, I don't need this job, I'll go get another one, you're not cutting my hair!

How'd you hear about the audition?
What brought me down to the audition, god if I could only tell the true story. My reality is too much for the American public, and I'll just let you know that right now. There are a lot of things about my life, you know, nothing about being like a slut on forty second street like selling her ass, because I have an ethical code that's beyond that because of my Jehovah Witness upbringing, I fear God! But um, I've done some hardcore things in my life, and um, I was at this pinnacle point in my, this point and time in my life where before looking in Backstage Magazine and seeing the audition for Girlfight, I had been doing extra work for about two years, just trying to feel, put the tentacles out, I had quit business school, my brother's like, get a job! Do something with your life you low life. So you know, after being fired from like Toys R Us for playing with the kids too much, I finally had money to get my headshots and I had given up. I looked around at all my like friends who I thought had talent and never got a gig, you know, who were doing extra work with me, and I looked around, and I was like this is vain, how is somebody going to be able to tell you in ten minutes of knowing you what you're capable of doing in your life? They have no idea what the power of will can do. So I was like, how's somebody going to sit here and tell me what I'm capable of? I was just turned off by it, it made me angry. I was very angry back then, you know. And I don't know what it was about this, I looked at myself in the mirror I was like Michelle, you could do this with your hands tied behind your back, female boxer? How many of these actresses that you see onscreen could actually kick somebody's ass? Go for it. And I did, fuck, that was the best decision I made, ever, I'm like here now you know?

What was your nickname on Blue Crush?
Ah, Titta…yeah, my first job in Hawaii, god that was after nine eleven, I remember being here and after racing in my mind all of these strange questions of like I was, I was like stuck between a rock and a hard place, I didn't know whether I had to like go to the nearest armory and pick myself up you know a gun, get a gun's license and some bow and arrows and like move to the boondocks, or if I should like get out of town and go do a, do a gig. And I decided to go to Hawaii, and I remember, I landed there I fit right in honey. I was like a Titta right away. It's like a, a Hawaiian version of a, a broad you know? Like uh, like a survivor, you know? A tribal-tribal woman, like a Titta, it fits, I was like work, that's hot. Titta with smaller tits but you know.

What did you do to make people call you that?
I didn't do anything, you know, it was just like I walk around and you know, people you attach yourself to call you names, it was that kind of deal.

What was a nickname you had as a kid?
Oh my god, the kind of nicknames that I had as a kid I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. I had everything from butch to Mitchy Mitch, yes Mitchy Mitch. Mitchy Mitch is my favorite, I like that one, Mitchy Mitch yo what you doin? Oh god I've changed so much. I wonder what all those people are doing, all my friends from back there.

Now M Rod?
M Rod now it's M Rod. You know why, because in the business-here's, here's how I differentiate whether somebody is just being friendly with me, whether if somebody is in the business and they have been in the business for too long and they work on the weekends or if somebody is really um high on clout. I listen to see if a person introduces me to another person by using my last name or not. If they use my last name, it could be one of three things. The first impression I could get depending on how or what tone they say it or whether we're, if we're not in a business, this is in a non-business you know surroundings. If they use my last name I'll either think that they you know think of life in this cloudy way-what do you do for a living? This is like the epitome of their life, they like went to college and like you know, it's all about capitalism or business orientation or whatnot, or they're trying to basically insinuate that it's about-there's this like image, you know, this illusion, this cloud of existence that isn't real. I mean, amongst what physics has proven about reality and the duality of it being an illusion or a reality is above me, but there's this one illusion that people have of grandeur, of that, when a human being you know does certain things for a living and they've accomplished certain things for a living, it's all measured by how much money they've made and then that you know, and how many people they know and how many people respect them and it just, it's just fake to me you know so like it's weird when I hear the word M Rod it's a more playful version of that kind of like laughing at the business in a way but then it depends who says it, hey look, M Rod! How you doing? I'm like-hang me now!

So if J Lo says hey M Rod, what's up?
I don't want to add names to anything but, uh, it depends who says it and how in what context, but it's really weird that dynamic of like how a person introduces you to someone else and that's really like a point in time in a casual situation where you can find out what somebody's agenda is. It's interesting. Now I'm weirded out that I said it publicly and now you got my trick and you'll look out for it and probably manipulate the way you introduce me now. It's interesting.

So in Resident Evil and Lost you carry around guns all the time, there's a picture of you on the beach on your breaks and you've got like a water gun-
I can take apart an M Sixteen in less than a minute and I can do a nine millimeter in twenty five seconds, less than twenty five seconds, I think sixteen was my last record.

Do you find it empowering to be in gun-toting roles?
I um actually, I'm starting to like waive it off, now when I see a gun or a cop in a movie I'm kind of like no, that's not my deal, thank you, I outgrew it. Kind of like uh, some clothes that you put on and you know, you fit them on, it was you know, interesting, and now you're ready to like move on kind of deal that's how I feel about these cop roles and military roles and I'm ready to put away the gun. I've also grown a lot spiritually too, it's just like a gun is just completely like-it's, it's working out of the ego realm for me, it's just like an extension of a cock that I don't have you know? There's something really hot about being able to touch something that's so far away with the touch of a finger. Kind of turns me on actually. Um, but I'll pretend I didn't say that, anyway.

Let's say you never picked up the Backstage magazine, where do you think you'd be now?
I would've pursued writing more, um, if I, if I didn't pick up that Backstage Newspaper. I would've pursued writing and I'd probably be a struggling writer in Hollywood right now, yeah. It's interesting you know, the dynamic of things and how it changes-and also I just, I don't even know that that you know, is accurate at all either you know, I'm such a socialite, and I don't mean socialite in the way where I love to go around the world and party, but I need to interact with people you know, one of the reasons why I took Lost for only one season is I can't see myself restricted to one place for too long because I've gotten so used to being this gypsy, to traveling the world and I'm so hungry for more people and I want to learn, you know like, and I need to be there, I can't sit in a freaking office and like consider myself cultured you know, in some like ivy league school while I learn about what everybody else did, it's like I need to be there, I need to feel it I need to touch it, I need to love it, hug it, kiss it, rub it, you know, it's just like that's life you know what I mean? So it's like it's interesting to me, it's like what would I be doing? I would definitely have chosen something that involves traveling for sure, that's like inevitable you know?

So you've done the voice for a bunch of videogames, how did you get into that?
Well here's the thing you know, um, not too many people, well probably now, by now a lot of people know. Not too many people knew that I was a total geek growing up as far as from the age of like twelve to the age of fifteen, sixteen years old I was a total dork. And in a good way, Dungeons and Dragons, DC Comics-

God man, you know to be fucking sitting there working with Stan Lee dude? That's like a fucking dream come true, you don't even understand what that means to me, it's like a fucking dream come true dude. I couldn't think of anything that would make me more happy, anyone that I like respect more like in that realm of science fiction. He's been around since the nineteen twenties, apartments in Brooklyn, like that is unheard of. He's been around since the Depression coming up with these imaginary stories that's like, that's the world that I come from you know? I was reading his stories like Stan Lee stories at like twelve you know? I'm sitting there trying to draw Spiderman and Superman and Wolverine and Cable and, just all of these amazing characters, Dead Pool and I loved it.

How did you get into videogames?
Right. I got into videogames, it all started with Atari, um and then it moved to Kaleikovision, and then from Kaleikovision there was another version of Atari and then from there came Nintendo and then from Nintendo Super Nintendo and then Sega Genesis and then Sega and I was just hooked and then Play Station just took it for everybody and now it's X Box Three Sixty and tomorrow it's going to be you know Play Station Three. I've-it's a world that has enabled me to step into that fantasy realm and control it, you know? It's probably equal to my fixation with guns, it's a power thing, I just love controlling things, I love moving things and you know, it's probably why I want to be a director one day, it's just beautiful because you get to-that's you moving it it's just like-I remember one time a friend of mine you know I was like naïve and twelve years old or like-I was more like thirteen, fourteen years old, and a friend of mine came out and he was like yeah you see this thing on the side of the, of the, of the Nintendo? See, you connect this to your VCR-and I didn't know it was to record your games and you can move Brad Pitt in a movie! Like you could literally take the characters from the movie and move them the way you want to, and I just I was stuck on that. Stuck on it, and yeah I was disillusioned, I found out it was just for recording you know Nintendo games for geeks who like have to finish the game in a week, but um yeah that was the beginning, that was the beginning of it, it, it to me it goes together, I believe you know that that's a package deal, should be movie, video-when it comes to that sci fi action realm that I like to play with so much, that's just I don't know it's something really cool.

How did you find your way to videogame voice overs?
I basically told my agent I was like hey you know what? This is hot like you know, Resident Evil, you know, I told my agent I was like, I found out online I was like they're making a movie, dah dah dah, find out about it, I want to be in it, this is crazy cause I was being you know, my Jersey City you know Mitchy Mitch self. I was like, I get to be in like a videogame movie! To me it was like wow you know. I didn't know any better. Now I'm a little bit more picky about what kind of movies I'm in but it's interesting.

What kind of games do you like?
I like role playing games, they're my favorite. I like the first person shooter, I really loved Resident Evil, love the Halo games, they're amazing, um now I'm into like more military games like Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell and stuff like that. I'm tired of the fighting games, I grew up with them. I loved the fighter games growing up and it's really, really great but after you reach a certain age you're just like tired of pressing buttons and coming up with like the new gimmick, you know? Should I like just keep kicking him and not stop kicking him in the, in the shins and then he'll go down? You know like there's all these tricks you can win, it's really not cerebral enough for me, so I, I'm more like the, the puzzle games I like, I like figuring stuff out.

Is there a game that you've played that if it goes to the big screen you're like I'm in?
Halo. I'm watching what they're doing. Hey I'm watching what you guys are doing, you better keep me in mind, I'm a faithful follower of your stuff! It'd be kinda cool, but then again it'd be Michelle with a gun again, you know, I'm kind of over it.

What do you see as far as like trying to get rid of that stigma?
I'd love to do a comedy with somebody like Vince Vaughn you know? Like a cool cat like that or an ensemble cast comedy something like my Big Fat Greek Wedding but instead my Big Fat Puerto Rican Wedding? I don't know I think it'd be interesting just to do, to have fun, I want to go back to having fun. For some reason in, in the past couple of, of years it hasn't been so much fun for me, I've been doing things that I've had to do because I, you know, I like it's been dry in Hollywood because thirty percent of the, of the filmmaking business in America has downshifted, so that's affected me a lot because you know I'm the kind of girl that doesn't play the girlfriend, I'm the kind of girl that you know, doesn't like the typical roles so it's kind of always hard for me to, to find that one role that empowers the woman and lets her play and be free, so that's another reason why I signed on to doing Lost was because I needed, I needed a little bit of freedom and the only thing that could give me that was coverage all over the world, at a massive level. And I got to go to Hawaii. By the way, I'm so married to that place, do you know I got this ring when I first went there and I haven't taken it off since and now I'm like back there like three years later. Wild, I married myself in Hawaii while I was doing Blue Crush, it's weird, I was undergoing like a lot of bad relationships, and I was just like over it so I was like you know what Michelle, you need to go inside yourself before you find your partner so I was like, I promised myself that I wouldn't give myself to anyone until I found myself so.

Hopefully I won't be like alone at like fifty with a bunch of cats by the time I do. You know one of those socialite old ladies with the thick glasses and the really cool colorful clothes? It would be funny, and the whole mess load of friends? It's great. Yeah, the book club and no way.

When you're not working what do you do for fun?
There are, I go through phases you know, um with, with what I do when I'm not working. I'm now obsessed with reading books. I collect books and now you find me at Borders every other week. I spend like-I must say, I spend most of my paycheck on books, like I've acquired this whole massive collection of books that I browse because I'm like very ADD that way, I'll like sit there and I'll browse a book and it'll inspire something for me, and then I'll start writing and then I'll stop writing and then I'll start painting, and then I'll stop painting and then I'll say okay I need a break and I'm like, my house is surrounded by books, I ran out of shelves, I try-I pick up books in Africa when I've been to Africa, France, uh, Romania, Bulgaria, everywhere that I've been I've just accumulated this stack, Cuba, the most interesting books actually about politics are in Cuba. You'll be amazed by like what the Russians have sent over there that I mean just, people in Cuba knew more about America than I did. That says a lot, um but yeah that's, that's, that's my thing.

I love to travel, so whenever I get a chance I just like I take off, and I'll like go to Germany or France or something and I'll party a little bit and let my hair loose. I love to go to the spa a lot. My new thing now is lining my shakras, not that I'm like, I'm not one of those new age-here's the thing, I'm too ADD to be stuck to anything. So it's like, if I see something beautiful in the Krishna temple, I'll take whatever beautiful thing that I, that I see and I'll apply it to my life. If I see something beautiful in a Buddhist Temple I'll do the same, Jehovah Witness, whatever I'm, I'm exposed to, so at the moment I'm all about like shakras and esoteric energy. It's really, really interesting, you know what's funny is the power of the mind and I'm more intrigued about that than anything so a lot of my research has gone into that. I bought my friend Aeremis a EEG machine and now we're like doing all of this like crazy research and now that I'm back in town I'm kind of excited to see what he's kind of like conjured up, but most, most of the time I'm researching, just life altogether fun stuff, good stuff. I want to go jumping out of a plane with you I think that would be cool because I also like making myself scared. Anything that I'm scared of I will fight it head on so that's heights is a big thing for me. I'll go to the rock in Hawaii, when I was in Hawaii and I'd stand there for about an hour just waiting to jump off and it's like a thirty foot drop you know it's like no big deal you know, it's water.

What book are you reading now?
Right now it's a mixture of books, I'm reading a lot of books on mystery schools cause I'm interested in magic now, for some reason I'm like, well because I've seen so many like What the Bleep Do We Know like started like putting all of these like questions about physics into my head and I know nothing, I'm very uneducated when it comes to like you know algebra and mathematics, but when it comes to the esoteric I feel like I know things, I feel like I know things, so it'd be just interesting to, to see like you know what gets me? When people practice things for thousands of years, not hundreds, thousands of years it intrigues me because that means that there's some truth to it. To me that's what it's saying so my research is mostly science versus the spiritual and the mixture of both, so I've been, I've been doing a lot of strange reading. I can't mention a lot of the books that I'm reading because they're controversial and I don't want people to start thinking that I'm some like religious freak when I'm not, so I'd rather keep that to myself, but there are a lot of like books that are like non-controversial like Young's book on Alchemy is really good, I'm looking at that right now because I'm into symbolism, I'm doing a line of clothes called Ishkidada with this guy called Ana John who I've known since before I became an actress and um I'm doing it so I don't have to do movies that I don't want to do for money cause you know, it's tough you know nowadays like in Hollywood. And I don't want to do things that I don't want to do just cause you know what I mean? And I'm, you know I feel like I'm going to be reborn again, July twelfth when I turn twenty eight. I've been seven years in the business and I feel like the snake is shedding it's skin and it's um, it's time for me to go out there and like start culturing myself.

You know I've always been told myself, oh you know well school isn't the place for Michelle, it just isn't so then I need to do it on my own, so that's my mission right now is like I've had a lot of like important people in my life who love me and who I respect very much you know in the business and out of the business, basically telling me Michelle it's time for you like to become a woman. And they don't mean stop being a tomboy, they don't mean stop being your wild self, they just mean calm down and focus cause life is beautiful and you're going to let it all pass you buy if you just keep playing all the time. So now I've learned to like have fun while I'm culturing myself, so that's my mission now yeah. Wish me luck now, my ADD is….lucky uh can I ever finish anything? Christ's sake.

So when you're not reading books do you watch TiVo?
I don't know the TiVo thing yet. My, I am also a DVD collector, I have-I have about probably one thousand four hundred DVDs that I've accumulated throughout the years, I mean movies are my thing. I really never watch TV you know, I rarely do. If I do it's Discovery Channel or Science Channel or something to have to do with learning something. I missed out on a lot of like high school time, goofing off, and um, acting a lot older than I was when I was what I was. But uh yeah I'm making up for all that lost time now. But I love the Sopranos, Sopranos is awesome. Big Love is cool too, I started to watch some TV while I was in Hawaii. I also love the Simpsons, the Family Guy, I just like sitting there curling up on the couch and just going back to that place where I was when I was like fifteen, because I am a television baby, I am generation Y, and that's one of the things that I'd love to depict in the films that I do personally and the films that I write in the future with my production company is that I want to bring generation Y to the forefront. Nobody, nobody-and they've attempted it, Kids kind of got there, touched on it a little bit, but I feel like nobody's really gone there and I want to focus the majority of the films that I do on that. On generation Y and like the exaggerated craziness of how over exposed to information we are and how it's affected our culture. I was raised by television, I was, and that's scary in many respects, but in another respect it's amazing and the age of information, what it can do for kids now, you just have so much information being thrusted at you, I mean I know so many people that I believe otherwise would've been so eager, energetic, and, and have more, they would've had more drive but for some reason now with all this information coming in you kind of like get disillusioned or you kind of get lazy because you think that you know what it would be like once it's accomplished and people just so many lazy people in the world today and I think it's because of that.

So it's interesting, I would love to like that's my main focus is focus on that. I'd love to travel around the world and visit kids in schools so that you can see the difference between the American culture and what exactly it is that's really attacking our education system, because I know that I really wasn't being educated in public school, you know what I mean? Most I learned was how to socialize and become a chameleon, the chameleon that I am today and I'm very thankful for it, it's been very useful to me, but most kids from you know, Spanish backgrounds and you know who come from troubled backgrounds and whatnot of just being young and, and poor. You know, grow up in this, in these systems and they're just like lost. Like the show I did.

….it's weird you know, you grow up in a place like Jersey City and you're surrounded by so much crime, so many scrubs you know that are like and I only mean scrubs not in a, not in a, I don't want to be judgmental but there are a lot of really mean, slimy people out there and I was blessed to have the beautiful aspects of every culture being thrusted upon me. From the poor little drug dealers that sold drugs on the corner were really nice to me, cool people. Because at the end of the day it's all about eating, shitting, sleeping and loving, and you know growing up with that influence I was just-it's just like I look at it now and I'm like, I would look up at the sky and I'd be looking at those stars and I'd be like I don't belong here, you know? I just don't, do something about it universe, do something about it god, because this isn't my home and I feel it and now I realize that that entropy that I feel that uneasiness is natural, that's life man! You shouldn't feel comfortable anywhere doing anything because life is about constantly experiencing things, constantly becoming scared, constantly you know not knowing what's going to happen the next day. That is to me the epitome of life and to be here today sitting with you guys like-that just says it you know, that says it that you know what? When you do get that feeling inside your stomach that tells you and it's crying and it's saying you don't belong here! Do everything in your human will power to ig, to make that happen to get out. That, that, that's powerful, and I know it has nothing to do with me which is the scariest part, it's like I have absolutely no control. It is my surroundings you know, it's not even I don't even want to call it fate because it's like not written yet. It's on a daily basis that it happens, it's like serendipity and I've been blessed with it, so fucking grateful you don't even know to be here with you right now, it's like, and a lot of people don't get it you know, it's weird, it's like hard, because I don't even know myself, it's funny you know like even when I judge people that I see on screen, you know people that have gone through probably a similar struggle and are now there and I see this like vacant carcass in their eyes, it's like I'm here but I'm not and I just wonder you know like do you even understand how blessed you are right now? Like, where is that human? Like I don't see it, like there's a lot of soullessness, and it makes me sad. But I'm so happy that I like, I'm in my skin now you know? It's, it's, I'm in a cool place in my life right now.

….I'm going to the same place you are, I'm going to the same place that as, as, as the bum in the street, I'm going to the same place as that rich, filthy mogul who won't even let a servant touch his hand. You know it's like ha, ha! You're going to die too you know what I mean it's like-that's why you know when people are mean to me or they're evil to me I just laugh and I'm saddened because it's like you don't love dude it's a shame you know why? Because you're going to die too like that's something we all got in common man, and people forget that shit and I just lay back and I laugh. Ha, ha, ha because it's, it's funny to me. And that is the illusion I think of the icon. You know, but the beautiful part of the icon I think is that you know, people are inspired by moments in time and when moments in time are captured you know and people can reference that, and they can go back to that place and they can find strength in that, that's powerful. I got that from Madonna, I got that from Jennifer Lopez believe it or not, a lot of people are like this and that and this and that. I cried when Selena came on because I was like you know what? Finally! Somebody talking about a voice that, it doesn't have anything to do with a maid, it doesn't have anything to do with such and such or such and such, that's an icon. You know, those are, those are people that, that have the ability to grasp moments and inspire people and that to me is way more important than this illusion, than people snapping my picture, and then me looking hot, to me all of those things are just parts of the business and succeeding with in it, it's part of the infrastructure of the business, but at the end of the day it's just like, I used to look at those Barbie girls growing up and I used to laugh. I used to be like, Louise, why are you wearing lipstick? I don't get it, you're like twelve, like what are you doing like you know? I never understood the sex appeal of it, the, the use of sex. The use of vanity, you know, that's I think the ugly side of it and I just explained the beautiful side of it.

So what is next for you?
Yeah, well I've always wanted to do a clothing line, and now I've wanted to, to come to an understanding of how I can brand um, a style I kinda basically, the idea for the clothing line is to be like the Puff Daddy of the fashion world. You know how he came into the game and basically like renamed what the, what the meaning of the word remix is? By just coming out with all of these amazing remixes? And then also shedding light on the history of, the, the past artists that have really emphasized our culture today like Sting for instance and bringing you know, him into the forefront again? I kinda want to do that but with the fashion world and give credit to all of the people that I feel have influenced me personally, because I look at clothes like skin you know, and, and I feel like it's a beautiful thing, and one thing about being a tomboy growing up in Jersey City is that you never really had an opportunity to let that out, to let that little girl out that wants to play dress up, because it was too dangerous for me to do that, I do that and next thing you know somebody wants to pop a baby in you, you know? So I had to remain the, the tomboy and um, I held that in for a long time, this kind of want and need to be colorful and so I came up with this really good idea and then I said well why I don't I do it for charity? You know, it'll be great. I get to save some animals and I get to, I get to do a clothing line, it'll be amazing, and I've got all these really great connections in Paris and we can do fashion week and I just starting coming up with all of these like really cause one thing that's funny is like, you know, well it's, it's interesting, like somebody will say, oh that's a nice top, or that's a nice belt or you know, it's interesting how you wear your shirts or how you cut that, I like that, I started to put two and two together and I was like wait a minute you know, that person could've paid for you know, some lion's meal, you know, and that's how I came up with the idea.

....and then I ran it, I ran it, I was in Hawaii and I ran the idea recently by Ana John who's a really good friend of mine from before you know I became an actress and he was like let's do it. I was like, you're joking right now, and you want to hear something about fate, I was like I only care about animals and kids and he's like well, guess what? I'm dealing with this animal sanctuary in Florida and you can put ten percent of the proceeds to the animal sanctuary. I was like, what if we go even bigger? I want to raise awareness of mother nature to inner city kids that are troubled. How about we grab some kids from an orphanage and take them to Africa? Because I want to start this program called the Ranger Program where I take kids from inner cities who are living really tough lives and think, because here's the thing, here's the mentality I had growing up in Jersey City, this is the world, the world sucks. And you think that you know the world. You've never been anywhere you know what I mean? You've been in Jersey City and like, Puerto Rico and like Dominican Republic and Texas, like what do you know? You don't know shit kid, you know? And it's basically to like inspire kids, because I know when I, when I did Resident Evil was the first time that I like really got to leave the country and live somewhere else for three months, I lived in Germany, in Berlin, it was the most liberating experience of my life.

Now, imagine taking an inner city kid who's like thirteen years old, has half a chance of ever getting adopted in some foster home, and you teach him how to love animals. He'll grow up, really loving animals because when children are in need, you know, and animals are here to protect people and I don't think people know that, and we're just killing them and locking them up in zoos and I hate that with a passion, and I just love to hook up the two things that I love the most. So this clothing line turned into this passion that I had, and now I'm learning how to like integrate everything that I'm passionate about into the, the everyday life. So it's amazing, I'm really psyched about it and I'm hoping that it's going to work, because I have a really good sensibility of what's hot.

What's the name again?
Ishkidada is the name.

Where does that come from?
Um, Ishkid means desire in many Mediterranean cultures, um and dada is a simplicity movement in uh, I think Russia back in the eighties so I thought it'd be a good-because it's all about, so you'll be wearing a nice, slick fitted European fitted shirt, on the outside it looks clean, then you open it up on the inside and all of a sudden you've revealed symbolism, that's why I've been doing all that alchemy research and all that stuff, because I'm really intrigued by symbolism and how it transcends from one generation to the next and I feel like things that we see and things that we have and subliminal images that are out there really affect us, so I'm trying to find all of these artists, these really cool artists that do subliminal art, so that's, that's pretty much the epitome of Ishkidada is symbolism and subliminal you know yeah.

And Cheshire Cat Productions, is that your-
Cheshire Cat Productions is really cool, and that I, I just love Alice in Wonderland and I've always loved Alice in Wonderland, and the cat I love cats, I'm really passionate about kitties and for some reason that Cheshire Cat, just, it was me, you know, I felt like that conniving, schemy, don't know what the epitome of life is about but I'm still out there like, you know acting like I do. But in the process of having fun, and I feel like the joker card, the fool card, that's me, I throw my whole self into it all the time, and sometimes I come up empty handed but for the most part I come out with so many amazing experiences and that's what Cheshire Cat's pretty much, the name came from anyway, and I have that with my business partner Giancarlo, he's been amazing! You know I lack mathematics in my life and I lack structure. Discipline was never my thing, and I always ask the universe to teach me lessons, and it always does in it's own way, but he has represented mathematics to me, he has represented structure, and without him I think I'd be very lost in many aspects in my life, he basically is the epitome of my success in the um, administrative aspect of the industry which is something that I am absolutely talentless in. Yeah.

So, you were ranked 34 in Maxim…how does it feel to be a sexual icon?
I don't get it you know because I've been avoiding it as much as possible you know, I don't do sex scenes on screen, you know I think the last sex scene I had was like with Sawyer, before that it was like Fast and Furious you know? I am very careful about that because my energy is very warrior princess energy and I don't want it to be confused with Cleopatra cause I'm not ready for that you know?

….well I'm, I'm, I feel like right now, my career you know and even before that in my career, the beginning of my career is just, it reeks of the warrior princess and that's pretty much my essence, my aura is about that and I don't want that to be confused with the Cleopatra, not yet, you know because I'm not, I'm not coming from this place, you know, I'm not using, I don't use that aspect of myself to get around. Um, it's a beautiful, powerful thing to use you know, sex or your sexual energy, it doesn't have to be, you don't have to fuck anyone but you basically using that energy is a talent that comes with womanhood, and I don't think that I've earned that yet, and I don't know if I'm the manipulative type to go there. So it surprises me when somebody says oh you know you're like Maxim top whatever, or People Magazine like sexy whatever.

What's your thought about coming back in flashback sequences [on Lost]?
Anything involving Hawaii, I'm in, I love that place. It's magical. Um, and I love the show, it's, it's a really, really great show and I learned a lot but, I'm ready to go. Mitchy Mitch needs to fly around, I need to like move you know? I can't stay stagnant for too long.

You said that for your role you got into shape…
Oh I didn't stop smoking and get, get um into shape for Lost. No…I stopped smoking and got into shape because I happened to just spiritually awaken while I was working on the show in Hawaii, it's the place that really did it, it's not, it has nothing to do with the show, believe me. If anything it'll make you want to smoke, you're like no water at six o'clock in the morning! No, it's freezing! Mud, the centipedes!

But now you're back on the mainland, like what's the first thing that's being thrown out the window?
Carbon monoxide was my first thought leaving Hawaii. How's my body going to handle it? Being used to this constantly moving wind, clean air, I lived in the boonies in the north shore, I mean it was like-it's the epitome of nature there and it's like, to come back to either New York City, because I came back to New York City immediately after I left and then to go back to LA was just like okay shoot me.

How would you sum up your experience on Lost?
Wow, awakening, I'd sum up my, my experience in Lost by just saying-I freaking woke up, it's like I was, I was asleep for twenty seven years and I kinda knew there was somebody in there screaming to get out but I was like who are you? You know like I felt like that person trying to get wasn't me but it really was-and it's like sometimes I think being good is really corny and I get bored really easily because I'm a person that's, that's turned on by the excitement of change, but it felt good, it, it felt, I felt at home you know, being surrounded by trees and waking up and looking outside and seeing sand, and you know, staring at the sun doing some like meditation, aligning my shakras, like that's not me you know? Like who ever thought that I'd be going to like a Krishna temple or a Buddhist temple or you know, just taking some time out to reflect inside myself ever? I'm growing up you know so that's what pretty much what Hawaii represented to me, you know.

What's the energy of the set?
That was the beauty of it, was that I didn't know um I mean when I first got there, man I didn't know my hand from my ass. I was like this is crazy! So I land in Hawaii, the second day I'm breaking out in hives, cause I'm allergic to cockroaches and dust mites, so I'm injected with steroids on my like third day there so already my whole physical self is altered and I'm you know, I'm in this new environment, I'm, I'm going to be there for six months, I'm meeting all these new people, don't know anybody from a can of paint, and I'm doing this new thing where every, every week I'm shooting a new movie, you know what I mean? I'm used to having three months of preparation to shoot a movie and it, it's pretty damn tough! It was, it was hard, it was hard, but you know I had the support of people like Josh and his, and his wife Yessi and like you know everybody pretty much you know opened their arms to me, you know like for the most part um you know like Adewale, he really spent a lot of time with me, he plays Ecko, Daniel spent a lot of time you know, kind of like patting me in the head, aw cute little kid like she's new to this, let's break her in you know, for the most part that was pretty much the tight little knit right there was Josh, Daniel, and Harold and Adewale, the boys man, you know I'm, I'm always, I'm a tomboy I'm always with the boys.

Did you work with JJ?
I didn't get to work with JJ, but I'll tell you one thing, hanging out with him and meeting him and seeing him out, he's a very classy guy and he's very creative, he's an artist you know? And you can tell by the way he carries himself, the way he gets excited like a little child when he sees something that's interesting and I would really love to work with that guy one day. I, I like that that's my energy you know?

In the internet forums for Lost there's a lot of hatred towards your character, how do you feel about that?
I didn't like her, you know. The only thing I liked about her was that she got with Sawyer.

If I was interviewing Ana Lucia, how would she say that experience with Sawyer was?
Uh, eye opening probably? You know it's, for the most part I'm tired of playing the bitch, I'm over it, it's boring, nobody likes a bitch, I'm over it. Um, and it's like you know for the, for the most part, I like attitude, don't get me wrong but you know when you got attitude and you're anal, it's like there's nothing cool about that, there just isn't. And a lot of people I think like my character just because I was you know, Spanish and had attitude and people like attitude, so for the most part you know I pretty much saved myself and the boys pretty much saved me….the writers by, by incorporating all of that back story about you know the forty eight days and whatnot. That was interesting to shoot I mean-you know I look back at it now and it's just like, it's just etching, etching stuff in stone, I mean what we do for a living is pretty damn amazing, you know you get to like be somebody whether you like them or not and it's, it's, it's, it's intriguing, it's pretty damn cool, and I had to like-I liked her outfit, it was pretty hot.

Lightly touch upon the DUI-what's your take on the situation?
Let's see, at the point when I got stopped for a DUI I already had like two dimples on my ass from all the steroids that I had been injected with for the past three and a half months, every month I'd get two injections, um the equivalent of what a football player gets when he gets injured. I wasn't myself first off, second off, you get your period three times in one month? Yeah I don't care you know I'm human like there's nothing to hide for me, and you don't act the same, and I don't care what anybody says you know, and I was cocky. You know cause that's, that's the part of me that comes out when you know my psyche's altered. So what, I paid for it and that's pretty much the end of that it's just like live and learn.

This isn't your first run in with the law right?
It seems like a jaded past but it's really not, the hit and run I hit that guy going five miles an hour, it was one o'clock in the morning, the light had turned green, he didn't move, I moved, so I bumped him. There was four people in the car, it was in front of a Scientology Center, the guy acts all out of whack, he sees that I'm Michelle Rodriguez, he starts cursing me out, I get freaked out because I'm either going to hit him and get a lawsuit because he's cursing me out and I'm just trying to see if he's okay and everybody in the car's okay, meanwhile I bumped him going five miles an hour, I mean it was retarded. Basically that whole thing was dropped because the guy tried to say I got on his lap, I was drunk, all of this stuff that really, never happened. And at the end of the day there was this really nice girl from Florida who decided that if, if I needed her to testify she would, she would fly out from Florida and testify because it was injustice you know I got four people lying against me, you know and it's like oh Michelle Rodriguez the actress, and it's like no Michelle Rodriguez from fucking Jersey City who just moved to LA and is new to money.

….look, you got to understand, I came from nothing, you know what I mean? I had five dollars in my pocket, I was doing extra work for two years, you know it's like I was ready to quit and like go become a writer for some magazine like I didn't know what I was doing. And then I become an actress and then two years later I do Fast and Furious and everybody and their mother knows who I am. And then how did I learn how to drive? For the movie Fast and Furious! I learned how to drive in car racing school. I've been driving since I was twenty one, I'm twenty seven now, I've been only driving for six years. Your average person who's twenty seven years has been driving for ten, thirteen years, I mean they got some time under their belt, you know some time to learn and hit and miss. Me I was just pretty much, no I know how to drive cars in traffic and I know how to dodge and I will be alright and if a car's coming at me, I know how to pop a one eighty, like I'm, I'm cool I'm alright, and I never thought, you know, just laws were never-sorry.

….I was just new to it all, you know? And it's like a knucklehead learning, and it's like and that's my whole thing is like, you know, people are quick to judge but at the end of the day if like you put yourself in my shoes and you're new to this money and you're new to this environment, your first, your first car you know luxury car is like an M Three it's like, and you, you know the times that I go out, I don't go out during the day when there's little kids out, you know I go out at night when you know the freaks come out and usually you know, somebody pulls up next to you and vroom, vroom, and I'm like vroom, vroom, and the next thing you know we're racing down Hollywood Boulevard and I'm the one to get caught because I've got that kind of luck. You know but whatever, you live and learn I move on.

While you were in jail were you singing show tunes? Can you give us a little of what you were singing?
No I can't, we were, we were singing It's a Hard Knock Life and we were doing show tunes in there because…you're human and it's like you have these desires to enjoy your life, and even if you're learning a lesson you know and somebody's telling you that you-your only way of learning this lesson is by staying in this place, I don't buy that, I don't buy that so my form of rebellion is happiness, joy, and laughter and that's what we were doing in there, we were just cracking up and singing show tunes and it was cool.

Do you think you'd ever see yourself in the Broadway musical?
I don't know about the Broadway musical. I do have a version of Carmen that I've come up with myself which is really awesome, it'd be interesting if it came to fruition one day.

You want to sing a little?
I can't sing right now, listen my voice is gone from like last night man. You're pulling my card out.

You drew a lot in jail, right? So tell me what kind of pictures you were drawing.
I actually gave them a nice poem before I, before I left it was like, and I drew a picture of this like naked woman with wings that her angel wings basically were bleeding from the root where they came out, and, the blood kind of like fell on this globe that I've been drawing since I was a little kid, and the globe has, a quarter of it is made up of the moon, a quarter of it is made up of New York City the twin towers and, and then the other quarter of it is made up of, the other fifty percent I'm sorry is made up of the earth, and the moon has kind of like a face, and it's blowing smoke. Not that I ever smoked any pot ever, ever, ever. You know, anyway, so yeah I drew that picture and then I drew like this guy in chains, naked again. Nudity was like a common thread in my um, because it represents to me, nudity represents freedom, it represents coming back to where you came from and-

What were drawing on?
Oh on tee shirts I was doing actual murals of the girls, you know, I'd take them put them three at a time and then I'd draw them on shirts, and, and then I'd sign them. I mean, it was an interesting experience, and I also had pencils so I got to like, shade and yeah it was fun.

….I remember for this museum once when we kids they were like, we, we went to this museum on a field trip and I got into this argument with the museum like woman because she didn't believe that I came up with this logo on my own and I was like, thirteen you know, and it's like, it's the epitome of my existence, like nobody ever fucking believes anything. So that's when I started to become a bullshit artist, and then I said you know.

Life is not perfect.
Well, one of the first couture pieces that we were going to do, we were going to do this really cool suit for guys and then have the inside of it made out of complete canvas and then draw subliminal painting, because there's actually artists that dedicate their lives to subliminal art, they draw you something and if you look at it from another angle you see something else, so I'd love to play with angels and demons.

Is Jessica Tandy one of your idols?
Jessica Tandy, when you look in her eyes…she knew her place, and there's something to be said about someone who knows their place. When somebody knows their place, nobody can fuck with you. No one, no one can mess with your arena because you have an understanding that you take up a certain space in the world that nobody else is going to take up so jealousy is not existent, and you can see that in Jessica Tandy's eyes and I admire that about her, that and her thrive-she, she, she had this like this ability to just go for it, I mean she won every single award that you could possibly win as an actress, you know from Broadway to television to theater to you know, film, I'm just like blown away by her career and her eyes, she's like a pure spirit like you could tell you know? And I don't think I've seen that again, and that's why I like make it a point to like give her props even though she's like not with us anymore.

And who doesn't like Batteries Not Included right?
I love Cocoon, Batteries Not Included, Driving Miss Daisy!

So you're in the new movie Breed? Tell us about that.
Um, Breed was an interesting experience, my favorite part about doing the movie Breed was living in, in South Africa and being able to go on safari and being able to see like, Capetown's so metropolitan you know, now, but it's filled with this like, just imagine ten years ago people couldn't go to the movie theaters, you know, if, together if one was black and one was white, or if one were Indian and one were, what kind of idiocracy, you know, it's, it's kind of like it's kind of like something that's put there to kill time because you're so bored because you don't, you're not in touch with your soul so you don't know what life is about so you come up with all of these stupid rules so that like you can kill time and create problems. And it's like, I just find it so stupid, it was like, it was amazing because you know I'm there with all of these people who, Africa's amazing, like even though these people got picked on, stepped on, like you talk to a cat who's African American here in New York City, and somebody tries to pull that white shit on him, he going to knock a nigga out. He'll be like what motherfucker, that shit was like old school, that's like, that's some shit that happened in the fifties, you try that shit on me you're going to get popped basically, over there it's just, looks at you, that African man will look at you and be like, I feel sorry for you my brother. I'm going to leave now. I'm like, kill it with love man, and that was the epitome of my experience out there, I was like, I didn't even, I didn't even know what movie I went over there to shoot, it was like my memorable moment was with Africa and, and, and with animals and, I mean you know you're driving down to, to Durban and you have thousands of cardboard shacks, thousands of shacks made with like tin and like and these people living there like, what's up?

What was your character?
What was your name? Oh shit, I forgot my character's name! I play one of, for yeah the movie the Breed I play, I play, I play one of uh about five, six characters, me, Tara Manning, Oliver Hudson, Grant uh, Hill Harper, um Eric Lively and basically you know we play these college students who are like, get some time off and we go to this like little island that, that belongs to one of the, one of the boys' uncles, and it's off the beaten path and we don't see the uncle there, and then all of a sudden there's these savage dogs that start attacking everybody, don't ask it's uh, interesting. It was one of those Wes Craven productions, scary movie type of thing.

Do you know anything about Grapefruit Moon?
Grapefruit Moon, now that's my passion right there, that's something I want to do so bad. That is basically a story, a beautiful story about, about this woman who lives on rooftops in New York City and um it's like a love story between her and this guy, because it's another world up there, and like people only in Soho who you know do up their, their rooftops and actually it is the place to hang out, know what it's like to be on a rooftop for a big portion of your day, but for the most part it's like imagine living there, you know. For years. And that's pretty much the, the story is about these two kind of pure souls. One guy you know has a stuttering problem, he's kind of like a little outcast himself, he doesn't get along with his dad and whatnot, he basically trains pigeons on how to send messages back and forth and you know, that's where he meets this girl you know, that I play, and uh, it's about, it's about them interacting because, and them feeling like they found something together because they found the beauty in, in that solitude up there where it's not really, you're not really alone, you've got like, you know you, it's like you got rats, you've got pigeons, you've got squirrels, I mean it's a world in and of itself, I mean sometimes even possums even make their way to the rooftops.

Would you say that this is a breath of fresh air for you?
I, you know honestly, to be honest with you, I don't, I don't want to pick up a gun anymore, I'm over it, you know, spiritually it's not where I am in life and I don't think I want to portray that on film anymore, I mean unless something that, that my ego says you got to do this, it's too cool! For, for the most part.

Are you excited about this role?
I am super excited about this role, you know between this and being able to like write something with Stan Lee is like a dream come true and it's like-

So tell me about the project you're doing with Stan Lee.
I'm doing this project called Tigress with Stan, me, me, Giancarlo, Trisage, and our production company Cheshire Cat is getting together with Pow Productions, he named his company Pow, isn't that funny? Stan Lee, I mean that guy's been around….I mean you know he was able to hide into this, this world that he created all by himself and, he had a vehicle and it was comic books and you know, I think you know, he's underestimated, you know Stan's a fucking genius….he gets it, you know imagine growing up as this awkward teenager and you know you're goofy, your tits are flat, people say that they could iron clothes on your chest, your friends are alienating you, calling you tomboy or whatever, and you go and you pick up a comic book like X Men and you start reading it, and you see all of these awkward you know characters that are shunned from society for who they are and I mean it, it deals with race, it deals with you know, people and how ignorant and microscopic a lot of people can look at the world as and how to deal with that and it's just like empowering you know? And all of his stories are like that and I just feel like it's an honor to work with that guy you know? He's, he's definitely inspiring and hopefully he'll do that with the character Tigress that we got lined up.

Would you play Tigress?
Yeah, I would play Tigress man that's why I'm so psyched I'm like no way, finally like a Latina seen in a light other than you know, the typical, the seductress or the maid or the you know, whatever, I'm over it, I'm like, not every Spanish girl's name is Maria, you know what I'm saying? I'm so over it.

If you had a super power what would it be?
Should I pull out my Dungeons and Dragons powers? Um if I had power, a superpower what would it be? I would love to have the power of mental manipulation. I would like to be able to go, love and then all of a sudden someone stops being angry and stops wanting to kill you and just wants to hug you. Like to have that ability to manipulate peoples' brains. Because I come from a good place, so if I had that ability, man, I'd just walk around the world and just touch people like, and next thing you know they're like opening their arms instead of wanting to fight you know? Yeah man that's what it's all about.

How do you get pumped for fight scenes?
How do I get pumped for my fight scenes? I basically do a lot of working out, I do a lot of stretching, a lot of pull ups, a lot of crunches, and I psych myself out most, for the most part. Going dancing helps.

What is your favorite book?
What is my favorite book? As of the moment I'm reading Mysteries of All Ages, Secret Mysteries of All Ages.

What are your favorite films/genre:
Favorite movie genre, ah! Sci fi, I'm a dork what can I say?

Favorite movies?
Favorite movies oh schnap, you can't go there, Blade Runner, Natural Born Killers, Cabaret, uh, Midnight Cowboy, Sunset Boulevard, uh, you can't, you can't ask that question because it's too deep I mean you know I can go all the way from the Abyss to Divine's Pink Flamingo I mean, it's like I have so many favorite movies that it's, it's kinda hard to pin down…Rebel Without a Cause was amazing…

What's the last stupid thing you bought?
Uh the last stupid thing I bought, gosh, I think I was at the Mac store and I bought myself a I Pod cover. I'm like what do you need that for? I don't know.

Speaking of I Pods, what music are you listening to right now?
Gosh there you go with those eclectic questions I mean I have everything from Nina Simone to the Verve to you know, gosh Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd uh sheesh, I mean the list goes on, Marlena Dietrich, Ertha Kit, um you know, NWA, Subliminal Sound Sessions, you know, Bach, Chopin, Vivaldi, I mean my, I can't listen to the same kind of music for too long, I go crazy.

Mac or PC?
Mac, yeah, that's because I'm visual and anybody who's visual needs a Macintosh computer or they need some Alienware and it's way too expensive.

What's funnier a monkey in a tuxedo or a monkey in a bell hop uniform?
A monkey in a tuxedo is funnier than a monkey in a bell hop uniform because you see a monkey in a bell hop uniform more often than you would see a monkey in a tuxedo so just the absurdity of it would make you laugh.

Would you rather have a monkey butler or a robot butler?
I'd rather have a monkey butler, I'm down with the organic, I don't like robots I think they're stupid, a waste of natural resources.

What do you think is the secret behind Lost?
What do I think the spirit, the secret meaning of Lost is? You know it could go either way, either the place is, is, is in between and hell and it really is Redemption Island where, where you go before you get sent off to wherever it is you're going if you do believe in that level of spiritual Catholicism? It's ei-you know, it's, it's either Redemption Island or the Island of Doctor Monroe, at the end of the day it can go either way, it really can.

When you're in LA where are your hotspots?
I like to hang around the corner from my house at the Bodhi Tree, like I said I collect books, I'm there a lot. I'm also at the French place around the corner, that's pretty good I like French food, you know, the spa, Beverly Hot Springs it's this really cheap spa with these like amazing like Asian people who understand the body like nobody I've ever met before and they just take care of you, I go there every other week. LA is, is my office, and that's all it is. There's really nothing there for me as far as social life anymore, there's nothing there for me as far as growth, I mean I've grown as much as I can possibly grow in that place so all that's left is work, so I just go, go to LA to work, it's my working place.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I hope to have a house in Maui definitely in ten, be here in ten years, be directing, I want the clothing line to take off, have this animal sanctuary taking off, I'd love to have by then for sure, I'd love to have this Ranger Program already worldwide where kids who are underprivileged can go to different countries and learn how to become rangers and love animals. That's the biggest thing. And I would have done at least three projects involving kids and movies, so that'd be awesome, ten percent of which will go back into making that happen. Like I said you know, it's like kids and animals everything else can go suck a dick.

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