Michelle Pfeiffer in "New Year's Eve"
She's 53 and happily married to 55-year-old television producer/writer David E. Kelley, but that doesn't stop Michelle Pfeiffer from getting a bit of a thrill when she romances a much-younger man on the big screen.
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"I'm the envy of every girl across the planet, I think," Pfeiffer said with a giggle during a press conference for her new romantic comedy "New Year's Eve." "Oh, yeah, I got a kiss in there with Zac Efron!"
In the star-packed film, Pfeiffer plays a self-described "kind of invisible" dark-haired woman who ends up meeting her younger man on New Year's Eve, a story that unspools intertwined with others featuring Halle Berry, Hilary Swank, Robert De Niro, Lea Michele, Ashton Kutcher, Alyssa Milano, Common, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Katherine Heigl and a host of others. But it is the May-December relationship between the 24-year-old Efron and Pfeiffer that is at the heart of the film, a fact that gave the younger actor quite a thrill.
"I met Michelle Pfeiffer a few years ago during 'Hairspray,'" Efron recalled with a wide grin. "And had a huge crush on her, always, from day one. And back then I was very, very young and very bashful. And just around her I tended to put my foot in my mouth a lot. I didn't really know what to say to her and everything just came out wrong. I didn't know what to do. I was very shy.
"But then I got to talk on the phone with her about this part, I remember. And she said, 'I think we should take this to the next level. We should really push it. And let's get a kiss in there.' And I was like, 'I'm in! I'm in this movie. Put me in. sign me up. Let's do it.' And it turned out to be, well, it was awesome! It is lovely working with her. Every single time, every second with her is amazing."
He's right that Michelle Pfeiffer continues to amaze with her youthful beauty and vitality, both on screen and off. So how does the three-time Oscar nominee keep herself together? One way is to rarely go to anything that happens late, for she's one thespian who believes in her beauty sleep.
"I tend to be kind of a hermit," she revealed. "If it weren't for people around me who kind of figuratively sort of grab me by the hand and drag me to certain things I probably wouldn't go out at all!"
In fact, don't look for Michelle Pfeiffer to be promoting "New Year's Eve" on the big night, as 2011 rolls into 2012.
"I never make it to midnight!" she chuckled. "I celebrate New Year's at 9PM West Coast time. I watch the ball drop in my jammies with some champagne, maybe some pie, whatever happens to be around. Then it's bed time!"
Jenny Peters' credits include writing on film, celebrities, restaurants and fashion for publications including "USA Today Weekend," the Los Angeles Daily News," "Buzz" and "Cosmopolitan." She currently pens the "Variety" "VPage" and "Seen and Heard" columns, and is the West Coast Bureau Chief of "Fashion Wire Daily."
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