Interview with Josie Maran

in its long list of women appearing in the Need For Speed series. Actress and model Josie Maran is a face you've seen in commercials and films such as The Aviator and Van Helsing.

When we met Josie, she immediately walked past us like the girl next door... a truly beautiful girl next door. Naturally, she was a pretty specimen to become part of the Need For Speed story, despite not being a gamer. However, she admits that Need For Speed Most Wanted could turn her into a player.

A California native (raised close enough to EA headquarters) has had quite an enterprising life, and this is only the beginning. We had the opportunity to catch Josie in New York to ask her about her views on life, her character in Need For Speed Most Wanted and how she gets out of tickets.

Micheal Mullen: So you were a fairly negative heroine in Van Helsing, and again in Need For Speed Most Wanted, will you keep playing negative characters, or does it just happen naturally, is it part of you?

Josie Maran: (with a smile) It's all part of me, and I hope it will be present in every character I play.

MM: How well can you describe the game to someone who isn't familiar with it?

JM: It's an amazing game. The goal of the game: to become the most famous street racer and the most elusive lawbreaker.

MM: What can you say about your character in the game?

JM: My character in the game is called Mia, and Mia is a glamorous girl, a street racer, a bad girl who is excited by the arrival of a great racer capable of tearing through the entire Blacklist and rising to first place on this list, a list of the 15 best and most dangerous racers, and she helps him achieve his intended goal.

MM: What types of roles would you like to play in the future?

JM: I'd like to play femme fatales, like Trinity in The Matrix or something like that. Well, you know, roles with frequent image changes.

MM: You're no stranger to shooting against a green screen. At a time when the world of film and games is rapidly moving toward exactly that, were there any things that were radically different from that and affected NFSMW?

JM: For this game we shot everything as usual, as if it were a film, so there weren't many differences from filming a movie, except for some technical things for the costume that had to convey length in feet, so that the image could later be made lifelike. Aside from that, everything was exactly the same as when filming a Hollywood movie.

MM: Now that you've appeared in a game, you must have gamer friends or family who can't wait to see you in Need For Speed Most Wanted?

JM: I have many cousins whom I talk to on the phone, and who want "more games". I have many friends who play video games, and they're all pretty excited about it.

MM: Need For Speed Most Wanted is a game about resisting the police. Do you have any stories about your car or about dodging tickets?

JM: I have a Volvo S60 and it's a fairly fast car, the R says a lot (laughs). It has pretty good handling and it's very fun to take a drive on the roads in the Hollywood Hills, where I live. I like to drive fast, since I used to drive very slowly, and I use my abilities to get out of tickets.

MM: And how do you get out of tickets?

JM: Well, I think thanking a police officer for stopping you will cool his ardor. And then he goes "Oh, that's my job..." and lets me go without a ticket. (In a sweet voice) Oh, thank you, officer, thank you!

MM: You weren't a gamer before. Do you think Need For Speed Most Wanted will make you start playing?

JM: I think it's a pretty good way to get someone to start playing. Seeing yourself in a video game is pretty cool.

MM: Would you consider appearing in another game?

JM: Definitely, if that game was from EA.