Interview

CB: Even here in Milan people are very excited. So maybe it doesn't matter where you are.

MKO: I was curious about that when I was watching it. The streets are so quiet here. We went to pick up some coffee this morning and it was dead. The coffee shop that's by my sister's place is usually super-crowded and the guy who works there said that because of the inauguration, nobody's there. Everyone's at home.

CB: I was thinking about you while being in Milan this week. You sit at a fashion show in another country and you watch all of these paparazzi swarm around a celebrity, only they're a local celebrity, maybe a soap opera star, so you don't have any idea who they are, you just know they're famous to a bunch of stunned Italians. It's weird, because when you can't identify who a celebrity is, they can just look like overslicked stand-ins. That might sound awful, but what I mean is, when you think about most actresses, even in Hollywood, they really aren't that fascinating or glamorous in their own right once you strip away the flashbulbs. But you're one of the very few actresses of your generation to cultivate your own style, totally original and authentic. When did that start for you?

MKO: For me, it really started by looking at people. There are just some really beautiful people in the world. When you're walking down the street, or you're at a restaurant, someone catches your eye because they have their own look. It goes way beyond what they're wearing-into their mannerisms, the way they smile, or just the way they hold themselves.

CB: So you're more inspired by the street than you are by Hollywood.

MKO: Some people are natural beauties, some have great style, but sometimes it comes from talent. Take Kate Winslet: I was listening to her speech at the Golden Globes. That woman has so much intensity. She's amazing to watch and to listen to. With some people, it can even be their voice that makes them attractive.

CB: Do you remember the point in your life when you first got interested in fashion? Were you 16 and suddenly tearing through Vogues?

MKO: I didn't look at magazines until a couple of years ago, to be honest. I never really knew anything about fashion. When I was young, clothes were really just about what fit, because Ashley and I were so tiny. So I understood fit before I understood style.

CB: Did you buy your own clothes as a kid?

MKO: I never went shopping. That wasn't my thing. I grew up horseback riding. That was my passion. I didn't start shopping until about 16 or 17, whenI could drive myself to stores and explore on my own.

CB: When you're that age, clothes become a way for you to figure out what kind of adult you're going to be. It's a testing ground for your personality, a way to show up as an individual. Your body is the first thing you stake claim to. Do you think that because you are a twin, interest in dressing your own way was even more amplified?

MKO: Well, until we were 13 or 14, if my sister and I did an appearance, we would be wearing the same outfit. [laughs] It would be the same dress and we'd fight over who would wear it in red and who would wear it in black. That was obviously for work. But ever since I can remember, we dressed completely differently. Ashley would wear really baggy clothes and shoes that were too big for her, and I think my first favorite clothing item was a pair of spandex shorts with fringe on them! Leopard and white spandex. Ashley was more into florals and baggier clothes. So, I guess things don't change that much. [laughs] But I remember the first time we were really able to choose our own clothes for an event was at the Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle [2003] premiere . . .

CB: You were in that, as a future angel.

MKO: Yeah, the second one. But for the premiere I chose to wear this Zandra Rhodes dress-now I've collected a lot of her pieces-and I put a diamond butterfly brooch in my hair. You know, that's still one of my top favorite looks. But I think that started at an age when it was okay for Ashley and me to look different. It was still about pleasing our audiences and making that connection between seeing us out in person, but doing it in a fashionable way . . . Or trying to anyway.

CB: So it wasn't a matter of thinking, Okay, I need to be Mary-Kate now, not Mary-Kate and Ashley?

MKO: We've always been very different. And we've always had the same goals. But yes, that happened. At a certain point, we probably just started to vocalize it. When we decided to go to college, we figured we'd be able to take a break and just figure out what we wanted to do and what we loved . . . just by being able to step away from the work world.

CB: The work world must have been intense. As a kid, were you aware that you were acting on a hit sitcom? Or did you just think you were having fun and there happened to be cameras around?

MKO: I would have to say it was probably a mixture of both. I mean, we basically learned how to talk in front of the cameras by copying somebody else's words or movements.

CB: Is that how you did it?

MKO: Yeah. We would get little gummy bears-like a gummy bear cut into three pieces. And we'd crawl to the gummy bear or reach for it . . . The outtakes of Full House are pretty funny.

CB: You and Ashley played the same character, Michelle, on the show. How did they decide who was going to be Michelle for a scene?

MKO: When we were younger, it was basically who wouldn't cry in front of the camera. As we got older, it would be split up by fun scenes. Like, say there was a cake-eating scene or riding an elephant . . . We'd split it up that way.

CB: Were you pissed that Ashley got to ride the elephant?

MKO: No, because I probably got the cake scene or got to ride on the motorcycle. They always tried to make sure it was fair.

CB: Do you ever watch Full House now? Can you? I feel like I can barely watch a family video of myself as a kid without wincing.

MKO: Full House is on all the time. Really. I see that it's on. But last year, Ashley spent the night at my place and I woke up to the theme song at seven in the morning. I was like, "What are you doing?" [laughs]

CB: How did that song go? I can't remember.

MKO: I don't know the exact words.

CB: I feel like if you give me the first lyric I'll be able to sing the whole thing.

MKO: It starts off like, [sings] "The milkman, the paperboy . . ." [laughs] There you go. That's my singing for the day.

CB: Obviously you've spent your whole life in front of a camera. But now, as you approach acting as an adult, do you rely on the same techniques you've learned? I don't mean candy as rewards. I mean, does the acting you did as a child apply to roles you want to take on as an adult? Or did you have to reassess your skills?