"It's almost like doing a play that just happened to be filmed," is how actress Carla Gugino describes her experience on the experimental and edgy all-digital feature, The Center of the World, directed by Wayne Wang. The film, in which she plays a down-and-out blackjack dealer cum hooker, explores in painfully graphic detail the power play of sexuality between two very alienated characters. Carla plays female lead Molly Parker's questionable best friend, and she does it with such verve you might forget that just last year she was playing a neurosurgeon on television's Chicago Hope. "I can't help saying that I played a neurosurgeon without laughing a bit," says the down-to-earth actress.

Growing up shuttling between her divorced parents' vastly different worlds probably helped Gugino with her acting chops. "My mother was kind of a hippie, although she doesn't admit it, and my father was a very established orthodontist in Florida. I lived in a tepee and in a suburban home. I think the variation between the two gave me a great perspective on the world." When she was 15, after a brief stint in modeling, Carla began to act in earnest. By 16, she was in her first feature, Troop Beverly Hills, with Shelly Long. The roles have kept coming, including stints on TV's popular Spin City and feature roles opposite the likes of Pauly Shore and Antonio Banderas. Spy Kids, directed by Robert Rodriguez and released by Dimension in March, was an opportunity for Carla to work with Antonio again after they first met on the set of Miami Rhapsody in 1995.

"Antonio is very generous and earthy. And it was great working with Robert Rodriguez. He is so multi-talented and fun," says Gugino of her experience on the set of Spy Kids. In addition, Gugino is proud of the family film because "it's not shot like a kid's movie. It's very cool and sophisticated and doesn't talk down to kids." The timing was a bit crazy for her, since it was immediately after shooting the gritty and dark Wayne Wang piece. Carla had read for the lead in that film, which included vast amounts of nudity and graphic sex scenes. She left feeling connected with Wayne, but not necessarily right for that part. Later, Wang called her and explained that he had written a character into the script just for her. The role of the friend—which by the way, is based on a real woman, a stripper, that Wang met during his "research." Carla explains, "In a sense it was terrifying for me. Wayne saw me in a way I didn't even see myself. It was risky to go there, but I knew I had to take the challenge. The scariest but most rewarding thing for me is to play a character that's out of control, and do it convincingly."

For more on Carla Gugino, pick up Detour's Cherry Issue.