Michelle Trachtenberg

Icy Hot - The star of ’Ice Princess’ toe loops through questions about teeny costumes and acting her age

March 11 - The road from child star to professional young-adult actor is littered with broken spirits, substance abuse and bruised egos. Not so for Michelle Trachtenberg. At just 19, Trachtenberg is probably best known as the kid sister on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but she’s been center stage for more than 10 years, starring in movies like 1996’s "Harriet the Spy" and, three years later, "Inspector Gadget." Her big break as Buffy’s little sister, Dawn, came in 2000. Next up: her new movie, Disney’s “Ice Princess,” which opens March 18. Trachtenberg recently spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Nicki Gostin about double axels, bathroom hang-ups and whether she owes Sarah Michelle Gellar a kidney.

Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Did you know how to ice-skate before this movie?

Michelle Trachtenberg: No, not at all. I started from scratch. It was incredibly hard. I trained for eight months, five hours a day. I was on skates from morning till night.

Did you fall on your bottom a lot?

Oh, you always fall when you’re training, that’s sort of part of the process. If you’re not falling, you’re not training hard enough.

How good are you now? Can you do a double axel?

I do toe loops, spirals. You would have had to train since you were 5 to do a double axel.

Those outfits are pretty small.

Yeah, they are. It was very embarrassing knowing you have very little fabric covering your butt. I was very cautious bending down.

What do you think of those kids who started skating when they were kids and get up at 5 a.m. to train?

I think they absolutely really love doing it, or I hope they do. That’s the only reason to get up that early.

You started acting when you were 3. Did you want to do it?

Yes, actually I did although I know it’s hard for people to believe. I was a very outspoken child, and one day I was watching a commercial and I thought I could do that. I could brush Barbie’s hair. My first commercial was for Whisk. I spilled cranberry juice on my Dad. I ended up doing over 100 commercials. I was really lucky enough to not be pushed into anything. I never had a stage mother, which is probably one of the reasons why I’m still doing this.

Kim Cattrall is in the movie.

Yeah, I was a huge "Sex and the City" fan. She gave me a copy of her book ["Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm" (Warner)]. I think she’s all about female empowerment. I think she gave a copy to a lot of the ladies on the set.

Sarah Michelle Gellar recommended you for “Buffy.” You sort of owe her a kidney.

I think that story is way overexposed. I know she suggested me for the role, but I had to go in there and audition. No one handed me the role. She’s my friend, but I’m not giving anyone a kidney anytime soon.

Your character on “Six Feet Under” freaks out when someone uses her toilet. Can you relate?

I actually don’t like it when people use my bathroom. That’s specifically why I have a guest bathroom. I leave my makeup all around, and I hate to clean it up and then have to take it all out the next day.

Any other diva things?

Is that a diva thing?

I have to say you don’t sound like a girl your age. You sound very mature and self-possessed. I’m not sure if that is a compliment. Sometimes people say that you should act your age more because I did grow up in the business. But I’ve always felt that kids are really smart. I was in a cafe the other day, and “Ice Princess” hasn’t even come out, and this little 5-year-old came up to me and said, ‘You’re the ice princess.’ It’s amazing how perceptive kids are at a young age.

I think that’s the power of advertising. Yeah, well it’s a strong market, huh? But I was always wanting to learn and be one of those actresses who can actually hold a conversation as opposed to standing there looking pretty.