LOVE HEWITT IS READY FOR ACTION

So, the family picked up and moved to the land of dreams and things started happening pretty fast. Hewitt quickly found commercial work and a role on Disney's Kids Incorporated where she met future Party of Five co-star Scott Wolf.

"Party of Five was generally my big break," recalls Hewitt. "I absolutely loved working on that show." While working on Party of Five, Hewitt found time to star in a number of films during her hiatus that virtually launched her big screen career. She hit it big in the teen-scream flick, I Know What You Did Last Summer, then in 1998 she had two more hits with Can't Hardly Wait and the sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

It was no wonder that when Party of Five wrapped, she was offered her own TV series, Time of Your Life in which her character Sarah Reeves moves to New York City. The series only lasted one season, but that didn't deter Hewitt from pursuing other projects including playing a sexy con artist in Heartbreakers.

Hewitt is pumped about her first real action type role in the comedy, The Tuxedo opposite none other than Jackie Chan. In the film, Chan plays Jimmy Tong, a chauffeur for millionaire Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs), until Devlin has an accident that puts him in the hospital. Tong is sent back to get a few things for Devlin and unknowingly tries on Devlin's tuxedo and finds that it gives extraordinary powers to anyone who dons the suit. This discovery thrusts Tong into a world of international intrigue and espionage and pairs him with an inexperienced partner, played by Hewitt.

Catching up with the busy star on the Toronto set of The Tuxedo, Hewitt is gracious, courteous and happy to talk about anything.

"I play agent Del Blaine, I work at CSA Headquarters and I am a water expert," explains Hewitt. "I am kind of a tough chick with a bad attitude but it's only because I haven't been exposed to a lot of social situations. So, this is Del's first time out and about in social situations. She's learning how to be nicer to people." Naturally one of the people she spends a lot of her time trying to be nicer to is, Jackie Chan.

"It was awesome having the chance to work with Jackie," she says with a huge smile. "I have to say that I am a major martial arts fan and a huge action movie fan…I have seen almost every Jackie Chan movie and the ones that I haven't seen he has given me tapes of now, so I can catch up and see them. So, meeting him was kind of weird. I felt like a kid who was meeting a super hero. It was really cool."

While Hewitt couldn't believe that she was working with her idol, she admits that it was sometimes difficult understanding the action star. "I often got his jokes hours after hearing them," she says laughing. "He talks so fast and his accent was often incomprehensible. We would have conversations, and then I would go back to my trailer, and about four hours later, I'd break out in laughter when I realized what he had actually said."

Chan, who also sat down to talk on the set of The Tuxedo said that he was just as enamoured with Hewitt. "She is so sweet and has really helped me a lot," he says. "Working on this film has made me more nervous because of the dialogue. She always comes to practice with me. When there are times that I can't pronounce something, she helps me. Also, she is a little bit crazy! She is always smiling, even when I am playing very serious I look at her and she is just giggling. I just love her."

In addition to her film projects, Hewitt has been very busy writing songs and working on her new album for Zomba Jive Records called, BareNaked which will be released on October 8th. Although Hewitt is one of Hollywood's hottest young actors, making music is her life long passion.

"Hey, I am the original J.Lo you know", she says with a smile. BareNaked, her fourth album, is a personal and artistic high point for Hewitt. She wrote the lyrics and co-wrote all of the music. Hewitt spent a year collaborating with producer and singer Meredith Brooks on the project. "I am so excited about this new album," says Hewitt. "It leaves you feeling very naked and exposed, and frankly it's a very truthful record for me. Anybody who listens to it will know a lot more about what I am feeling in my heart. I really put a lot about myself into this record."

Speaking of music, Love even found some time last year to help out her 'pal' Enrique Iglesias, co-starring in his video for "Hero." "The hottie-tottie video," Hewitt says laughing. "Enrique and I had been friends for a while and I used to always kid him about his music videos because he always has these scantily clad girls fawning all over him. So I told him, next time he makes a video he should call me. So he did and how could I refuse?"

As much as Hewitt "loves" her music, she is far from giving up her day job. Besides The Tuxedo, she has several other film projects to be released. In The Devil and Daniel Webster directed by Alec Baldwin, Hewitt stars opposite one of her favourite actors, Anthony Hopkins.

"I actually cried the first time I had to work with him," says Hewitt. "I was like, 'I can't do it!' I told him, 'I'm terrified I'm going to absolutely suck next to you,' and he said, 'You'll be great.' Later, someone told me he had said he'd learned a lot from me. Can you believe that?" In the movie Hewitt plays Satan, which she says is her most "delicious" role to date. "I get to seduce people, then I smash their souls, how cool is that?"

Also in the works, Hewitt will star in a movie about her film idol Audrey Hepburn, called Why Can't I Be Audrey Hepburn. Ironically, Hewitt played Hepburn in another TV movie two years ago, that she also co-produced. And as if all of this is not enough, Hewitt still finds time in her busy schedule to be the spokesperson for Neutrogena skin and hair care products.

For a girl who is constantly on the go, it is truly amazing that throughout it all she maintains a calm and level headed composure. So who helps her keep it all in check? "I have a great mom, a great family and really great friends. They are loving, caring and supportive but most important they are really honest. So when I am done being "actress" or "singer" for the day. I am very much a person who needs to go home and go back down to earth."

As an added thought, Hewitt has a great outlook on her success and doesn't take anything for granted.

"I look at my job the way kids look at toys. It's something that I have always wanted to do and if you're not careful with it, it can be taken away. In this business it is so easy to be replaced so I just keep telling myself how lucky I am to be here and just enjoy every moment for as long as it lasts."