Ask American Profile 4/19/2009

Drew Barrymore, Johnny Knoxville, Sasha Alexander

Q I heard that Drew Barrymore went into seclusion. Will she continue to make movies?
-Gene Golden, Lompoc, Calif.

You only heard half the story. Barrymore, 34, refused to talk on a cell phone, watch TV or read newspapers, but it was only for the three months she was playing "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale in the HBO movie Grey Gardens, based on the life of two charming eccentrics who were relatives of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Barrymore, the great-niece of actors Lionel and Ethel Barrymore and the granddaughter of actor John Barrymore, went to great lengths to prove that she has the acting chops of her Hollywood ancestors. "I put the horsey blinders on and shut out the world," she says.


Q I recently saw the movie Walking Tall, co-starring Johnny Knoxville.  I've never seen him before. Who is he?
-C.K. Janis, Springfield, Mo.

Born Philip John Clap in Knoxville, Tenn., the actor-daredevil gained attention performing imbecilic stunts on his MTV series Jackass. That jump-started him to a career in films, including Grand Theft Parsons, Lords of Dogtown, The Ringer and The Dukes of Hazzard. Next up is The Drop-Out, as he portrays a college slacker who moves in with his 60-something neighbor. "I don't think anything will ever eclipse the fun of Jackass for me," says Knoxville, 38. "But making movies is a whole different type of fun."


Q I'm a big fan of NCIS. Can you tell me why Sasha Alexander left the show?
-Bob Davis, Taylor, Pa.

Alexander, 35, left to pursue a career in film because the production schedule for the TV series was so time-intensive. NCIS executive producer/creator Donald Bellisario agreed to release her from her contract if he could make her departure a big, cliffhanger event, which her character's death provided. Alexander has since appeared in the movies Mission: Impossible III and The Last Lullaby, and she starred in He's Just Not That Into You with Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore.

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