Alyson Hannigan

Actress Alyson Hannigan has distinguished herself by using her fresh-faced innocence in devilish ways. As computer nerd Willow on the cult hit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," she became one of TV’s most popular - and sexually naive -geek girls, then caused a stir by falling in love with a woman.

Her place in the pop culture pantheon was sealed with 1999’s "American Pie," when, as band-camp nerd Michelle, her confession to sexual liaisons with a flute produced some of the biggest howls of laughter.

Now, with several more "American Pie" films under her belt, Hannigan is once again a regular presence on screens big and small. Her sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" airs Mondays on CBS, and her new film, the romantic comedy parody "Date Movie," hits theaters Friday.

Q:"Date Movie" makes you the next in a long line of celebrities to wear a fat suit. How did it feel, seeing yourself like that?

A: It was weird. I looked exactly like I do - it’s still my eyes and everything, only drastically different. Having the suit on really affected my whole demeanor. I was lethargic, and things took a lot more effort, like being able to jump up, go over here, go over there. I couldn’t even tie my shoes!

Q: How did your life change once every horny teenage boy in America heard you talk about having sex with a flute?

A: Oh, dear. Well, I avoid the food court at malls now, because they tend to scream at me a lot - they scream "band camp" a lot. So it definitely enhanced the "being yelled at in public" aspect of my life. I didn’t have that so much before the "American Pie" movies.

Q: Did any band camps ask you to be their spokeswoman?

A: No, but I think enrollment probably went up a lot after those films.

Q: Did real band campers tell you their stories?

A: Yes. I actually met one poor women - who I’m sure is in therapy - who plays the flute, goes to band camp and her name is Michelle. She came up to me and said, "You don’t understand what you’ve done to my life."

Q: Did you actually date Marilyn Manson drummer Ginger Fish?

A: Yeaaaaah. I didn’t call him Ginger, though. I was going through some sort of phase. He’s a sweet guy. Totally wrong for me, but, you know, it’s fun.

Q: Geeky nerd girl Willow and black-metal drummer Ginger - what on earth did you have in common?

A: Yeah, I know. There’s a lot of, "What was I thinking?" now that I know what a really good relationship is. But you gotta experience everything, right?

Q: Who’s the better kisser - Jason Biggs or Seth Green?

A: Awww. Seth, because he doesn’t smoke.

Q: They say that redheads are feisty. Are you feisty?

A: I think the better question is, am I actually a redhead?

Q: Are you crushing a million men’s dreams and telling me you’re not really a redhead?

A: I’m just saying I’ve been in the business a long time. You can probably rent movies where I’m not a redhead.

Q: What is your natural hair color?

A: It’s kind of an auburn. So there’s red in it, but it’s mostly brown.

Q: I don’t even think most men would know the difference between red and auburn.

A: OK, good. Then I’m natural all the way.

Q: What does the tattoo on your back say?

A: It’s the Japanese symbol for happiness.

Q: Are you sure that’s what it is?

A: No, I’m not. I did research it beforehand, and I saw it in two different books, but you never know. In fact, a Japanese woman today asked me if she could see it, and I was a little afraid. I’m like, "Hmmmm - no."

Q: So there’s a chance it says something like, "I am a monkey."

A: Yes. "Look how full of s - - - it is that I have this tattoo on."

Q: You did "When Harry Met Sally" on the London stage with Luke Perry. Do you think "90210" fans would be impressed by Luke’s range on stage?

A: (laughs) I don’t know. Yeah, I guess so. He definitely had some Dylan-esque moments. I was like, I am so doing "When Harry met Sally" with Dylan. But I’m sure he was thinking, "I am so doing ’When Harry Met Sally’ with Willow, or the band-camp geek." So I’m sure we both had those associations.

Q: Making romantic comedies, doing "When Harry Met Sally," having this All-American image - are you trying to become the next Meg Ryan?

A: That wasn’t my agenda, but if you wanna go there, you can. I wouldn’t fight that. I’m just trying to do stuff that I love and that hopefully other people respond to. But if people compare me to her, I would not be upset. I’ve heard it in the past, and I’ve always thought it was a compliment.

Q: You learned a lot on "Buffy" about how to kill vampires. Ever have any real application for any of this knowledge?

A: I think there are a lot of emotional vampires out there you have to watch out for. They might not suck your blood, but they certainly can suck your energy dry. So it’s always good to avoid those.

Q: But the question was ...

A: How do I stake them? I don’t know. It just gave me a good eye for recognizing it, so recognition is the first step, I guess. Then, lots of protection - I wear a lot of garlic around my neck, and a lot of holy water.