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Although the daughter of Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson had to beg director Cameron Crowe for the part of groupie Penny Lane in "Almost Famous". Now she can pick and choose with recent roles in "The Four Feathers" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". For her next trick: Merchant-Ivory's comedy-of-manners "Le Divorce".

Did it make you look at your own country differently?
Absolutely. I think that one of the beauties of being human, and being able to experience different places in the world, is that you take something from every single one of them. One thing I did experience there that I hadn't yet experienced in the States was young people protesting for what they believed in. I loved seeing people that passionate about a subject. There's so much going on in the world that I felt so far away from in the United States. But in Paris, I felt like I was in the absolute centre of everything. I didn't feel like I wasn't being told the truth.

You've been called anti-American for things you said about your countrymen. Do you feel like you have to be careful about what you say?
Absolutely, I do. But it wasn't really an anti-American comment. I was doing press for this film and I was talking about the differences of culture, and about how America is a fast-food culture. What I believe I said is that when living in Paris, I could see why there is disdain towards Americans wanting things [rapidly clicks her fingers] when they want it. I'm very proud to come from where I come from, but the really sad thing is you can't say something like that without people taking it like you're anti-American. That, to me, is absurd.

Do you think Americans are really as innocent and naΓ―ve as your character in the film?
I'd hate to think I did a movie where I represented all American girls and I was just this innocent, naΓ―ve girl, who's just having sex with all these French guys. That's not what it felt like to me. But I do think that there is an innocence to people who are searching for things. It's a beautiful thing when you leave yourself vulnerable to discover anything and everything.