Zooey Deschanel, whose character provides the catalyst and the closure of Cameron Crowe's autobiographical new film, Almost Famous, is a straightforward, unbratty new star. She is 20 years old. As Anita, a teenage rebel without cause, Deschanel uses her 15 minutes of screen time to provide a juicy and memorable performance - one that is alternately furious and loving. As herself, Deschanel is ingenuous and funny and seems entirely secure; she talks more like an experienced actor than a starlet negotiating her way around a break. "Cameron has the knack for getting the subtle hilarity of reality," she says.
Deschanel's seductive informality, on screen and off, is at least partly due to her upbringing. She is the daughter of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Patriot), and she grew up around the movies. Her heroes are Carole Lombard and Claudette Colbert - women with brains and balls who didn't have any truck with pretension - and indeed Deschanel just might be their long-time-coming heir. Speaking from the set of her next project (Barry Sonnenfeld's Big Trouble), Deschanel says simply, "I love being in situations where I'm constantly at risk of making a fool of myself. I guess it's an aquired taste."