Michelle Monaghan on Made Of Honor

Michelle Monaghan on Made Of Honor

Weddings and 'Made of Honour' Michelle Monaghan

What a lovely feel good movie.

Thank you. I thought so too.You had great chemistry with Patrick. Yeah, come on, if you can’t have chemistry with Patrick Dempsey you’re in a whole lot of trouble! (Laughs) He was on board and I read the script, I really really liked the script. I think the thing that interested me first of all was the idea that I actually have a best friend and he’s a guy and he was my maid of honor at our wedding. So that was cool. Alright finally somebody is getting it! He didn’t break up our wedding at the eleventh hour so that was good. But I hadn’t done a fully fledged romantic comedy so that was something on my list of things I wanted to do and Patrick seemed like the natural choice. I had been a fan of Grey’s Anatomy for a long time and when I sat down to meet with Patrick for the first time and with Paul Weiland (director), he was just so charming. He’s just so down to earth and easy going and self deprecating. He has a really great sense of humor and we really got on very very well. We auditioned and it was great. We just improvised and we had a lot of fun. I think there wasn’t any doubt that we weren’t going to have a good time making the film. We really did.

How was your own wedding, because you married in Australia right?

It was in Port Douglas.

So did they do any Australian traditions like they did in Scotland in this film?

No, there wasn’t any like vegemite appetizers or anything like that. We didn’t have anything strange to eat like in the film. (Laughs) You know what we had for our dessert was Crockinbush. They are like little balls and they are delicious. It might just be a Queensland thing.

How big was your wedding?

Eighty people. So it was fairly small. All of my family and friends came over from the States. It was kind of like a week long full of festivities. It was really nice.

What was your dress like?

The dress was very simple. It was just white and it was a dress that I’d found in a flea market years ago, but it was green, so I had a friend make it in white and that was it. So that’s why I liked this movie, because I never actually went wedding dress shopping for my own wedding dress and I had got to try on a lot of different wedding dresses in this film, so that was fun.

Did your friend who was your maid of honor enjoy the film?

He loved it. I took him the other night actually and he really loved the film. He thought it was really sweet and really cute.

Did he think it was a realistic film?

I mean it wasn’t realistic in the fact that we never had a romantic relationship. But I think the friendship is very similar to ours.

Are you a very romantic person?

I think so. I think I can always be a little bit more romantic I suppose. I don’t know I think I’m fairly romantic I guess.

So would you leave your duke at the altar for your best friend?

The one thing that I do get in this movie is that I sort of relate to the idea of her meeting this guy and six weeks later, she’s marrying him. Who would you ultimately want to marry? Someone you had just met or someone you have a history with?

Do you think you instinctively know who the guy is you’re going to marry after a short time of meeting him?

Sure, I think it has happened for a number of people. Could it have happened for me, I don’t think so.

Were you friends with your husband first?

Yeah, I met him and within five minutes I knew that I wanted to spend a lot of time with him. I didn’t know I was going to marry him for sure. We were together for four years before we got engaged. And we’ve been together for nearly eight now, so he’s getting sick of me! (Laughs)

How did you meet him?

We met in a bar in New York City. I was in there with some girlfriends and he was in there with some guy friends and he came over and asked if he could sit down next to me and I said, please do. And that was it. We hit it off straight away. It was really amazing. That was it.

What’s the most romantic thing you’ve done for him and he’s done for you?

I surprised him once with a little trip, like a little rendezvous that was unexpected and we’ve taken each other places that "just got in the car and we’ve gone somewhere." That’s kind of romantic as there is always an element of surprise involved. But I think probably the most romantic thing he’s done for me is ask me to marry him. I’ll never forget that day. For any woman, that day is unforgettable and beautiful.

Did you know it was coming?

No, that was the thing. I had no idea. I mean, I knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together but I had no idea when that would start. So that was pretty cool.

Where is your favorite place to travel?

Australia for sure. We’re headed there tonight, so I’m pretty excited.

Is your husband Australian?

Yes, he’s from Melbourne.

What was he doing in New York when you met?

He’s a graphic designer, so that’s where he was working.

Do you live in New York?

Yeah.

Are you getting recognized a lot on the street?

No. (Laughs) I really can walk down the street.

A lot of actresses complain about being recognized. So you ride on the subway and walk around Manhattan?

Oh yeah. I’d die without that subway. Honest to God. I always think that I don’t really look like I do in my movies. I think you probably might not recognize me if you saw me walking down the street. Or maybe they do in New York and people just don’t say anything, which is awesome. But yeah, I haven’t run into that problem.

As opposed to Patrick Dempsey who is on every billboard and poster and side of a bus in LA.

Yeah, I mean everybody is just looking for him! (Laughs) Women wake up and they start their day: "I’ll be damned; I will find that Patrick Dempsey today if it’s the last thing I do!" (Laughs)

So are you big on brutal honesty or do you think white lies are okay sometimes?

It depends on the white lies, like if you’re going to save somebody’s feelings you know what I mean? I think you can be a good judge of when it’s a good time to spare somebody’s feelings or not. But in general I think honesty is always the best policy.

Was your hen night as wild as the one in the movie?

I didn’t kiss that many men! (Laughs) No, I had a really fun night with my girlfriends. They threw me a really good party.

Is that a tradition in Scotland where you have to kiss as many men as you can the night before you get married?

Ah no, I just think they’re trying to make an ass out of me (Laughs). I have no idea. There were a lot of kisses. I think it made all of those local boys’ day. There were a lot of kisses going on that day and I didn’t even get to keep the change. (It was a penny for a kiss).

You shot a lot in England and in Scotland, how were you experiences there?

Oh my gosh, we were in Blenheim Palace. That was insane, we shot in the most beautiful castles, which were great, because we worked six day weeks and so we didn’t have a lot of time to sight see. We shot in so many beautiful historical places, so we kind of killed two birds with one stone. We also shot in Woodstock, which is the cutest town both Patrick and I had ever seen. We loved it there. Oh my gosh, it was amazing, it looked like a movie set. We were shooting there and it honestly looked like a movie set. It was a beautiful place. And Scotland was probably one of the most romantic places I had ever been, it was so pretty there.

Did your husband go too?

Yes, he came and Patrick’s family came too. It was really nice.

It must be nice to be able to travel with your husband for work?

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, that’s the thing, I love my job and my favorite hobby is to travel and so this was the ideal job. Certainly any time you get to do that it’s great, but if you can share that with somebody else, it just doesn’t beat that.

Is it hard being home after that kind of excitement?

I would probably lose my mind if I was at home too much. I’ve been traveling since I was seventeen so that’s something that has always been a constant in my life. It’s like a lifestyle.

How did you make that progression from modeling to be considered as a serious actress?

That’s a stigma I honestly haven’t experienced. I know people talk about that a lot, but that didn’t necessarily exist that much for me. I wasn’t a supermodel by any stretch of the imagination, I was doing like catalogue modeling. Maybe a little editorial here and there. I modeled but I wasn’t one of those models that you’re really familiar with. For me I started out doing that and then doing commercials. It was just a random audition that somebody said: "Listen, you should audition, you’d have really good luck doing commercials." And I auditioned and I got the job and from that, I thought well, maybe I’ll get an agent and I got a great agent who I’m still with today and I just started working really hard and one thing led to another. I’m grateful for having that modeling background, because it helped me deal with rejection in a way that had I just jumped into acting at some point - you know, there’s certainly a lot of rejection in modeling...... my hands are blue because of the dye on the denim (her pants are indigo denim) and I look like a Smurf! Oh my God, I have to explain this everybody because they think I have the poorest circulation ever! (Laughs) It’s my jeans, they haven’t been washed and they were given to me this morning - just call me ‘Mama Smurf.’ So....you know this will probably be the one time I get recognized. I will walk out of the hotel covered in blue!

Are you big on fashion?

Yes, I am big on fashion especially if it has blue dye in it! (Laughs)

How would you describe your personal style?

I’m really a jeans and T shirt girl. I really like to be comfortable. I like slim silhouettes. I really love clothes a lot. I like to shop. I love vintage a lot. I live in New York and that has some of the best vintage clothing. But honestly, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that one of the best things about this job is getting to wear pretty dresses and getting dressed up. I mean I’m a total girl.

Who are your favorite designers?

I like Derek Lam and Gilles Mendel.

What is your dream role?

That’s always a good question for me because I never actually really know until I look at it. I never really anticipate what I want to do. I definitely know I want to be on stage. That is a goal of mine that has kind of withstood the test of time. I definitely want to do theater in New York or Jersey - (laughs) way off, off, off Broadway! So that’s what I’d like to do, but I just want to keep exploring different genres. So far, so good. I learn something from each experience and I never really want to repeat myself, because if I’m bored with it, then other people are going to be bored with it.

Is there a director you’d like to work with?

I love David Lynch. Michel Gondry. The Coen brothers of course. I’d love to work with Robert Downey again, that was one of my best experiences.

The character of Tom in the movie - had you met that kind of man before you got married?

For sure. I dated one for four years (laughs).

What non-committal?

Yeah totally, I dated one for four years and it took me four years to figure that out.

So what got you over that?

Just having the last straw and going: "What am I doing? Am I crazy?" And that was it.

(Patrick Dempsey walks into the room and the interview ends).Weddings and 'Made of Honour' Michelle Monaghan

What a lovely feel good movie.

Thank you. I thought so too.You had great chemistry with Patrick. Yeah, come on, if you can’t have chemistry with Patrick Dempsey you’re in a whole lot of trouble! (Laughs) He was on board and I read the script, I really really liked the script. I think the thing that interested me first of all was the idea that I actually have a best friend and he’s a guy and he was my maid of honor at our wedding. So that was cool. Alright finally somebody is getting it! He didn’t break up our wedding at the eleventh hour so that was good. But I hadn’t done a fully fledged romantic comedy so that was something on my list of things I wanted to do and Patrick seemed like the natural choice. I had been a fan of Grey’s Anatomy for a long time and when I sat down to meet with Patrick for the first time and with Paul Weiland (director), he was just so charming. He’s just so down to earth and easy going and self deprecating. He has a really great sense of humor and we really got on very very well. We auditioned and it was great. We just improvised and we had a lot of fun. I think there wasn’t any doubt that we weren’t going to have a good time making the film. We really did.

How was your own wedding, because you married in Australia right?

It was in Port Douglas.

So did they do any Australian traditions like they did in Scotland in this film?

No, there wasn’t any like vegemite appetizers or anything like that. We didn’t have anything strange to eat like in the film. (Laughs) You know what we had for our dessert was Crockinbush. They are like little balls and they are delicious. It might just be a Queensland thing.

How big was your wedding?

Eighty people. So it was fairly small. All of my family and friends came over from the States. It was kind of like a week long full of festivities. It was really nice.

What was your dress like?

The dress was very simple. It was just white and it was a dress that I’d found in a flea market years ago, but it was green, so I had a friend make it in white and that was it. So that’s why I liked this movie, because I never actually went wedding dress shopping for my own wedding dress and I had got to try on a lot of different wedding dresses in this film, so that was fun.

Did your friend who was your maid of honor enjoy the film?

He loved it. I took him the other night actually and he really loved the film. He thought it was really sweet and really cute.

Did he think it was a realistic film?

I mean it wasn’t realistic in the fact that we never had a romantic relationship. But I think the friendship is very similar to ours.

Are you a very romantic person?

I think so. I think I can always be a little bit more romantic I suppose. I don’t know I think I’m fairly romantic I guess.

So would you leave your duke at the altar for your best friend?

The one thing that I do get in this movie is that I sort of relate to the idea of her meeting this guy and six weeks later, she’s marrying him. Who would you ultimately want to marry? Someone you had just met or someone you have a history with?

Do you think you instinctively know who the guy is you’re going to marry after a short time of meeting him?

Sure, I think it has happened for a number of people. Could it have happened for me, I don’t think so.

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