Neve Campbell

What can you tell me about the Alan Rudolph film you've done, "Investigating Sex"?

"Investigating Sex" was an actual book written by the surrealists in 1929. Alan thought this premise was very funny, which it is. So the movie is set in the '20s among these surrealists who are having conversations about sex for this book. Alan made up two characters, these female stenographers who are in the room among all these crazy men who are talking about sex, which at that time was really risqué. I play one of them, a virgin, sitting in this room of men talking about sex in very crude and crass terms. For my character, it's more like a blossoming. She feels insecure because she's the only virgin in a whole bunch of people who're not. She gets to hear all of these frank, open discussions of carnality, even before she actually does the deed.

We shot it in Berlin with Nick Nolte, Julie Delpy and Alan Cumming. Great cast. It's an Alan Rudolph film. Who knows what's gonna happen with it? People either know Alan and love every single one of his films or they don't know him at all. I've seen it, and it's hilarious. It's not like any movie you'll ever see. It's like watching an experience.

Did Nolte produce it?

Yeah, he basically developed it with the writer and Alan Rudolph. It was pretty much his baby. He wanted this movie to get made. So he became obsessed with sexuality, and investigating pornography through the centuries. He'd sit us all down with pictures of succubi and stuff like. He really gets into making a movie.

But that's Nick. He's off his rocker! He carries a medicine bag with him on set, and he was basically our first-aid guy. He had some ointment for everything. And, you know, being rich and famous, he's got access to tons of doctors with very strange equipment. He buys it from them so he can experiment on himself. Really strange. But I love him. He's very funny, and a big improviser. It's very unpredictable working with him and a lot of fun.

What do you do in your free time, when you're not working on films?

Oh, regular stuff. Hang out with friends, go out to Malibu, play with my dog, see my family, go to movies ... or write.

What do you write?

I'm writing a long script -- a romantic drama, but I don't want to give too much of it away. I'm also writing a long story for a dance movie that I'm doing. Barbara Turner, who wrote "Pollock," is writing the script for me. It'll be about classical ballet dance, and I'm in training right now for that. It'll be a year before I make it. I'm going to dance and act in it. It's about being a dancer and what that life is and the athleticism and discipline that's involved.

You were a ballet dancer in Canada before you became a professional actor. Why did you leave dance behind?

I had injuries and so had I wanted to stay in it, the competition would have been really hard for me, because I would have been dealing with my injuries and fighting with that along with the competitiveness. It is a very competitve world. There are very few dance companies in the world and you have to be phenomenal and you have to not be injured and you have to have a really strong mind to deal with the dance world. People who can do it are amazing to me. You cannot have a life outside of dance. If you're in a company, you're dancing from 9 a.m. till 7 in the evening, and then you go home and get in a hot tub and get some Epsom salts and try to get your body goin' again. There's no social life, no anything.

How would you compare the competition in the worlds of professional dance and acting?

It's hard for me to answer that question because I've done well in acting. But I guess when you look at the numbers and the odds of actually doing well, it's virtually impossible to get to the place that I'm at. But I don't find this as competitive because you're being cast for your acting ability and it's not necessarily based on the way your body functions -- like the way your body looks perfect next to the other dancer. If you're playing a lead in a movie, it's for that character and they'll tailor it to you. Whereas in a dance company, you have to fit in a definite mold.

How do you feel about the looming threat of an actors' strike?

I'm lucky. Financially, I'm OK. And my career's OK. I'm working on other projects, so I'll be developing those as we go on. And I want to get in and do some theater. During the strike we're allowed to do plays. I'm worried about the strike for other people. I don't think people will forget who I am, but that could happen to new faces.

• View blog reactions