Hilary
Duff says the role of an eastern European pop star is quite a departure for her.
"She is a little girl inside that never really had a chance to grow up and never had a childhood, that puts on this front of being this like overtly sexual, like in your face, intense get what you want (person) by like using her body and knowing how to work guys," says Duff in a recent interview. "But she?s really not that person at all, and she hates that she is, but doesn?t know how to be any other way."
The character is involved with a group of powerful men, and is set to marry the son of one of them.
"They keep her protected in kind of like this crazy war zone," says Duff. "She does what she wants, and does what they want and is very controlled by them and she is desperate to get to America.
"As serious as I just made that sound, she has very, like, redeeming qualities and you get to see the part of her that makes you kind of pull for her.
"The movie is very funny but it?s also very serious in a way that you?re just like wow, that?s so messed up. It?s very political, very controversial. It?s great. I actually just saw it. It?s a very creative John Cusack movie.
"It was just such a life-changing experience for me. It was such a departure from anything I?ve ever done."
Duff said the War, Inc. role was hard to do at first, "but then it became really fun. I just got to be a totally different girl and John really gave me the confidence to do that.
"It?s scary . . . as I get older, to take roles and to do things that challenge me. I guess I just have to understand that?s not me . . . it?s a character that I?m playing."