As appeared in 'LOOKS' magazine, January 2000 (actually out in Dec 99).

A few months after filming ends, we meet Johnny and Christina in a dark, wood-panelled suite at the olde-worlde Regency Hotel on Manhattan's Park Avenue. Christina wears a stunning turquoise Versace coat over black pants and high heels. Her nails are bright red and her hair is back to its trademark straight, dark look, no longer blonde and curly as it was for the film. Johnny has gone for a decidedly grungier look, wearing his dark hair down to his shoulders and sporting two gold teeth, the legacy of his role as a gypsy in his next movie, The Man Who Cried, also starring Christina. These two just can't get enough of each other! He wears a brown jacket over a grey shirt, blue jeans and well-worn boots. They are both smoking furiously, even though Johnny, now a new father, insists he doesn't smoke near his baby daughter Lily-Rose.

You first met when Johnny visited the Mermaids set (he was dating Winona), and he was your co-star in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. What do you love about Johnny?

C: When I first met him, I was totally charmed. I was only nine and he was so sweet and nice to me. Working with him is wonderful, because he's one of the kindest people I've ever met, so passionate and sincere. He's such an amazing actor and really caring person as well. I was a bit awkward, though, because I knew him as a little girl and had admired him for so long. To be suddenly romantically linked to him on-screen was strange and uncomfortable at first, but now we laugh and joke about it.

Were you scared shooting the gory murder scenes? What else scares you?

C: Not really, because I saw them making the heads in the make-up trailer, putting eyelashes on and everything. They look real on-screen, but I suppose it was scarier for the actors involved to see a replica of their own head. For me it wasn't that scary. It was more gross to see a decapitated head. I am scared by things on the news, like serial killers, people who commit really heinous crimes. That's scary.

What was it like to work with director Tim Burton?

J: To work with Tim Burton once is a great gift., to work with him a second time you start to think that maybe somebody made a mistake somewhere; it must be a fluke. And when you go to work with him a third time, it's like returning home after a battle. I feel so comfortable with him. I think we share a similar appreciation of all things absurd, a similar outlook and non-understanding of the world. There's a strange connection between us, so I'm honoured and flattered that he chose to work with me again.

C: Tim is amazing. He's so enthusiastic. He seems to love what he does so much, it's contagious. He will sit behind the monitor, mouth along with your dialogue, do the same facial expressions you're doing and get really excited at the climax of the scenes. He also surrounds you with these beautiful sets and clothes, and makes it fun. I was also impressed because you think someone who's been called a genius so often in his career would be a little pretentious, maybe, or take what he does too seriously, but he doesn't at all. He has a great sense of humour about everything. He laughs and sets a great atmosphere on set.

How would you describe your character?

I loved this film because it was such a fantasy. It was like a fairytale really. My character is innocent and pure of heart. She loves romances and is looking for something different beyond her little town, so when Ichabod arrives she immediately falls in love with him. I'm not aware of her ambiguity at all. (some say she is just pretending to fall in love with Ichabod to influence his investigations). I didn't do anything in particular to make that come across. Maybe it's the way I look. My face is extremely blank, so I guess that allows people to choose their perception of me.

How did you approach the character of Ichabod Crane? He seems quite different from the original story, and not as awkward, ugly and hopeless in his romantic pursuit of the girl.

I went with what Washington Irving wrote, which was beautiful. I tried to include as many elements from the book as I could. The studio wouldn't let me put on along fake nose and big ears (he is described as ugly in the original story). He's not your typical romantic lead. He has a lot of nervous ticks and is uptight - it's like he had a fine piano wire running through him that could snap at any second.

What was your inspiration?

I watched a lot of the old hammer horror films, starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. They inspired this character, but there were three important ingredients in Ichabod Crane for me. Number one was Basil Rathbone from early Sherlock Holmes films. Number two was a good friend of mine who recently passed away, Roddy McDowall - a good man and a great actor. This was a chance for me to tip my hat and salute him. Number three was Angela Lansbury, a terrific actress and a great model for the character. I tried to blend these three and out of that came my Ichabod.

How has becoming a father changed your outlook on life?

I am slightly cynical in that I do think money really makes the world go round, at least in the United States. I do love America, the country and the people, ,but I don't always agree with our government's approach to certain things. When I come home to Los Angeles from France, put on the television and see a guy that goes to a Jewish Community Centre in North Hollywood and starts mowing down children with a gun, or see what happened at Columbine High School, I'm afraid. I'm especially scared when I see disasters, murders, rapes, violent attacks, now that I'm the father of a five-month-old little girl. No parents want their children to see that or go through that. I don't get it. I can't deal with it and don't want my daughter raised like that. That's why I want to live somewhere in France where life is simple. You can walk to the store, get butter and milk and don't have to worry about being mugged or approached by some guy selling crack on the street. America has gone mad. It's about to implode and that really scares me.

You have been working for over half your life. Do you still feel childlike in your approach to acting and life?

Yes, probably because I started so young. Acting came really naturally to me as a child. Children have strong imaginations and play-acting is something that kids do all the time anyway. They dress up and pretend to be someone else. Since I've kept doing it throughout the years I haven't lost that feeling. That's why my acting is mainly instinct, as opposed to anything really intellectual. It also happens naturally that as you get older, you become more comfortable with yourself, and I've got used to myself. I've matured and become a full person. I'm certainly not fully mature yet, but I'm definitely more self-confident.

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