Oscar winner, make up spokeswoman, and now star of a new animated 3D movie; Reese Witherspoon has had to wear many hats during her career. From the drama roles that won her acclaim, such as Walk the Line, to lighter box office hits such as Legally Blonde, Witherspoon has managed to find success whatever she turns her hand to. She looks to have repeated this trick with her latest, Monsters Vs. Aliens, which went to the top of the US charts last weekend. Entertainmentwise caught up with her to talk about family, romance and the importance of make up...

Entertainmentwise: Your character gets into a lot of fights in this movie. Has a career in action movies ever appealed to you?

Reese Witherspoon: ‘I don’t know if I’m cut out to be an action star! The hardest part of the movie, for me, was to get the voice right for an action hero. They (the filmmakers) kept saying to me ‘say this line like Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger’, that big action movie tag line - ‘I-AM-GINORMICA!’ (laughs) and I just couldn’t do it! They kept saying ‘no, that just sounds like a robot’.’

EW: Was it a relief to come to work every day knowing it didn’t matter how you looked?

RW: ‘Yeah, it was a great relief to not have to brush my hair in the morning, but then the discovery that we were being filmed (whilst recording their lines) drove me to put on a little blush just for my own vanity.’

EW: Your career has been quite varied, who are your acting role models?

RW: ‘I don’t know if I have that many role models, I just go for whatever appeals to me. The idea of taking a 50’s movie heroine, they were always so soft and scared, the idea of taking that character and creating a superhero-monster is a fantastic opportunity.’

EW: Your character has a fixation with going to Paris, which city do you think is the most romantic?

RW: ‘Well I am excited about going to Paris, we’re premiering the movie there soon so that’ll be nice. San Francisco I think can be a very romantic city, even though we destroy it in the film!’

EW: Finally, given that it’s such a family-friendly film, did your own kids approve of your efforts?

RW: ‘I took my kids to see it a couple of weeks ago, and they just had such a great time. As I was driving home my theatre I said to my children ‘so, what do you guys think the message is in this movie?’ My daughter thoughtfully replied ‘I think it’s about never letting people underestimate you, and always living up to your true potential’. I then asked my 5 year-old son, and he said ‘I think it’s about when octopus aliens come to your planet, you gotta make sure to kill them!’

Monsters Vs. Aliens is out Friday. Read the review.