If you take a chance and see Mandy Moore in Dedication this weekend in New York or LA (qne everywhere on September 14th), you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see a young actress who’s branching out and maturing as she takes on a more challenging role. In this wide-ranging interview, Mandy talks candidly about the Justin Theroux-directed edgy romantic comedy, about New York City, about her recent depression and her latest CD, Wild Hope (which, because it’s stripped down, passionate and not teen pop, is a small triumph in itself).

HG: You’ve mentioned that a lot of the scripts you get are, well, crap. What made you want to do Dedication?

MM: I gravitate toward things that are really character-driven. And the script in general is very, very well-written. The ability to work with Billy (Crudup) and Tom (Wilkinson) and Diane (Wiest) I knew would be a great learning experience. I knew I’d come out of it a better actress. Plus, doing a little indie movie here in New York for three or four weeks was a challenge. But I was up for it and I really wanted to push myself.

Hit the jump for much more Mandy.

HG: What scenes in particular in the script really resonated with you?

MM: When Billy’s character berates me the first time in the diner, I thought Good Gracious. This girl has to sit there and hear this and take it. And then she has to come back and work with the guy in spite of everything. To do that scene with an actor of Billy’s caliber just was so tempting to me.

HG: Since this was a tight shooting schedule, did you get a chance to hang at all?

MM: New York City is my favorite city in the whole world and all my best friends live here. I felt like I actually lived like a New Yorker for a while. I did a little bit of shopping and good eating, seeing theater. It was a thrill.

HG: You were very comfortable with Justin as an actor turned director. Why’s that?

MM: Obviously, movies don’t shoot in sequential order. So being able to have someone in your support system like Justin, who knows what it’s like to be in an actor’s shoes on such a tight shoot with no time and no money, was really helpful. We had a rapport that made me feel comfortable. He would pull me aside and advise me with two words. And I got it. We were done. Cool. It just made perfect sense. I really felt like he was there for me and knew what I was going through.

HG: So where did you want to take your character?

MM: I wanted to make sure that she was never meek, that she was always sort of strong and steadfast and had this sense of self and did things for the right reasons and really was just this solid, stable girl. I think I relate to certain aspects of that character, (whispers) but I’m super, super shy as a person so I didn’t want any of that to inform the character’s choices.

HG: I could see some of the shyness in the press conference, and I could see that you wanted to please the journalists by trying to find a balance between what they asked and what you felt.

MM: Yeah! I’m definitely a people pleaser and I hate to say ‘No,” and I want to give people what they want. 

HG: What was Justin’s vision of your character? 

MM: He was really adamant about her look and what she wore and the overall style. He had a pitch perfect idea of what he wanted all of these characters to be. I mean, Billy’s character dresses like Justin because he’s kind of like Justin. He was very prepared. I mean, I’ve never come out of a rehearsal before feeling that it really helped me prepare for the shooting of the movie.

HG: What did you learn that you’ll be able to take with you to your next movie?

MM: I think I learned to, like, settle into myself and feel comfortable there. With this movie, I’ve learned to trust the quieter, stiller part of myself and not be afraid of that. I really found a way to tap into it and feel secure enough to go there and stay there.

HG: I liked your latest CD, Wild Hope, a lot because it was stripped down. And your earlier stuff, while your voice was good, felt like you were fighting with the strings and overall production.

MM: This is the first album that I actually tracked with a band. There is such a difference when you’re not fighting the instrumentation and the arrangement. I can’t wait to get on the road and play the new songs. There’s something about being on a bus and being with the band and playing music night after night that’s so good. I love making films and don’t mind doing intervivews. But there’s something great about going up there at the end of the day and being able to let off that steam and have the ability to get it out onstage.

HG: What people excerpted or quoted from your interview with Jane was…

MM: They only talked about me being depressed. I don’t regret saying that. But I think it was taken out of context. If you’re just excerpting and taking away the fact that I’m depressed in a quote, (it's not the whole story.) That bummed me out. Depression is a very real thing. But it’s not something I’ve been diagnosed with. And I felt, like, I don’t want to be the poster child for depression because it’s not really fair for anybody. I think people took away from that quote that I was debilitated and couldn’t get out of bed. It wasn’t that heavy. It was kind of like this cloud was over my head that had never been there before. But I went through a period that was very low for me. It was very weird and out of the blue and just not the norm for me. I had to find my own means for dealing with it. And that came from writing. It worked itself out more or less.

HG: Finally, what would you say to entice people to come to Dedication?

MM: If you want a real New York slice of life movie, one that makes you feel good, this is it. It’s hard to say what you’ll take away from this movie, but maybe it’s just trusting the unexpected connection you have with a person and just going for it.