Eliza Dushku

Despite new film, TV show renewal, the Hub is No. 1 in Dushku’s heart Boston’s favorite Doll

Eliza Dushku wastes no time when she gets a chance to return to Boston.

On a recent weeklong trip, she filmed her part in the movie “Valediction,” went to a Red Sox [team stats] game, spent time with friends and made the rounds to see all her relatives. On the day of this interview, she was in the car driving to visit her uncle before heading back to Los Angeles.

“I love this city,” she said. “I will be back and living in Boston at some point.”

Dushku described “Valediction,” which also stars Ben Barnes, Brenda Fricker and Sarah Roemer, as a contemporary psychological thriller.

“First and foremost, it is just a beautiful script,” she said. “It centers around this young couple in a horrible car crash with their 6-year-old daughter. I sort of play the other woman.” The film is due in theaters next year.

On July 22, Dushku returns to the set of “Dollhouse” to begin shooting the second season of the Fox drama. Dushku is delighted the show, from executive producer Joss Whedon, was renewed. She was returning from a trip to Uganda when she got the word.

“When I landed in Boston, I turned on my phone. The first message that popped up was from Joss and it said, ‘We’re back, kid.’ It was really kind of sweet to touch down and get the news.”

“Dollhouse” struggled in its Friday night time slot but did well in DVR and online viewing.

“It’s alive because of the fans and because people found the show. This show is back because it’s a new era. It’s not just a Nielsen world any more. We really feel like the show was starting to find itself. If we hadn’t gone back, it would have been such a mean little tease. We found our rhythm, and we know what worked, we know what didn’t work and now we get to really get dirty.”

Her company, Boston Diva Productions, is about to begin production on “Mapplethorpe,” a movie about the famous photographer that will star her brother, actor Nate Dushku. Director Ondi Timoner (“We Live in Public”) is attached to the project. Dollhouse trailer (Story continues below)

“We have the support of the Mapplethorpe estate first and foremost, which is just unbelievably valuable, and we really want to do this right,” Dushku said. “This has been in our life for eight years now. We’re about four weeks away from starting to bring in cast members. We’re definitely on the fast track.”

Dushku spent some of her time off from “Dollhouse” traveling to Uganda on a socioeconomic tour with the group Global Exchange. While there, she saw firsthand the plight of former child soldiers.

“It’s just remarkable, especially after living in Hollywood land,” she said.

She and boyfriend Rick Fox are putting together a video of their time there that they hope to post soon on MySpace [website].

“We want to give people a better understanding of what we were doing there,” she said. “I don’t think people realize how much they can contribute.”