Philipps flows into 'Dawson's Creek'

After several years in the entertainment industry, Busy Philipps has become a familiar face to young audiences. Her big break came in 1999, when she was cast as high school outcast Kim Kelly on the short-lived but critically acclaimed NBC series "Freaks and Geeks." After the show's cancellation, the 22-year-old Philipps won roles in the independent film "The Smokers" and the MTV television movie "Anatomy of a Hate Crime."\nSince the beginning of the current television season, she has been riding a wave of success playing Audrey, the snobby college roommate of Joey Potter (played by Katie Holmes) on the popular WB series "Dawson's Creek." In addition to being a regular on "Dawson's Creek," Philipps can be seen in the upcoming independent film "Home Room," which focuses on the repercussions of a school shooting.\nRecently, Weekend asked Philipps, who attended Loyola Marymount University and whose father is a Purdue University alumnus, to analyze Audrey, discuss why audiences enjoyed "Freaks and Geeks" and relay some of her experiences working with her "Dawson's Creek" co-stars.\nQ: Your birth name is Elizabeth. How did you earn the nickname "Busy"?\nA: It started when I was a baby, before I was even cognizant, really. My parents thought I was a crazy little kid, and they started calling me Busy Liz, and then it turned into Busy. I was a wild baby.\nQ: "Freaks and Geeks" was only on the air for one season, but it developed a cult following. Why do you think it struck a chord with teenage audiences?\nA: The people I've met who were fans of the show were not really teenagers or high school students. Viewers who were college-age or older really clung to the show. I think the show appealed to people who had some distance from high school and could laugh at it. The show took place in 1980, so people who grew up in that era could relate to the music and styles and what we were talking about. I think we did a really good job of being a realistic high school where everyone's not attractive and the guy doesn't always get the girl, and if he does, it's not what he expected. I think the people related to the weirdness of the show. It's not what they were used to seeing in a high school dramedy. It's interesting to be on "Dawson's Creek" now because it is the opposite of what "Freaks and Geeks" was.\nQ: How is Audrey different from Kim?\nA: I think they're worlds apart. Kim was this burnt-out girl from the wrong side of the tracks in 1980 who was sort of a bully and didn't have any friends. She smoked a lot of pot and cigarettes, she didn't have a lot of money and she didn't do very well in school. She was the "bad girl," but there was so much underneath; she really wanted to be accepted by the other freaks. Audrey is this rich girl from Beverly Hills who has always gotten what she wants. She has some bitchy qualities, but she's not unintelligent because she's at this fictitious Ivy League East Coast university. She always has the best clothes and is very fashion-forward, outgoing and crazy.\nQ: What dynamic do you feel Audrey brings to "Dawson's Creek"?\nA: I don't pause because I think a lot of the show's talent is very quiet and pensive, and I made the decision that Audrey talks really fast and gets it all out there. It's really interesting because they have written her so that she doesn't really talk like the other members of the cast.\nQ: Do you feel "Dawson's Creek" realistically portrays the lives of college students?\nA: Yes and no. I think topically it does, but I went to college, and my dorm room was about the size of Audrey and Joey's bathroom on the show. It's the glamorized television version of what college is like.\nQ: Do you enjoy working with Katie Holmes and the other cast members?\nA: Everyone's really great and very professional, and it's a great environment. Katie is really sweet, Josh (Jackson) is really funny, James (Van Der Beek) is very sweet and quiet, but Michelle (Williams) is my best friend on the set. She's not just a work friend; we're going to continue our friendship after "Dawson's Creek" ends. I think Michelle is going to have a great career for the rest of her life.\nQ: Have you have any interesting behind-the-scenes experiences that you wish to share?\nA: Josh brings his dog to work every day, but his dog smells really bad and will follow you around if you're eating food. I love dogs so much, and I'm the biggest animal lover, but that dog is gross. Michelle and I hang out in my trailer and listen to music, and when we're not working, Katie and I go out for dessert. Katie introduced me to bananas foster, which is bananas cooked with rum and caramel.\nQ: Tell us about your upcoming movie "Home Room."\nA: I worked with Erika Christensen from "Traffic," and it focuses on these girls in high school who are victims of a school shooting and their forced friendship because of it. They forcibly come together, and through the course of the movie, forge a friendship to survive.\nQ: What are your long-term career aspirations?\nA: I've always said since the beginning of my career that my ultimate goal is to just work as much as I can for the rest of my life in projects that are interesting to me and to take parts that are different than other parts that I've played. Kim Kelly is so different than Audrey on "Dawson's Creek" and both of them are different than the part I play in "Home Room." I've gotten a chance to play all sorts of different roles, and that's what I hope I can do for the rest of my life.\nQ: Do you have any advice for aspiring actors in Bloomington?\nA: My biggest advice is that if this is what you want more than anything else in the world, then you owe it to yourself to try. I never doubted that I would work, and every time I went to an audition, I went into the room with the knowledge that I was going to get the part. Ninety-nine times out of 100 I didn't, but I think you have to have confidence in yourself, because people are going to tell you tens of thousands of reasons why you're not going to work and why you're not going to get parts. If you don't really want it with everything that you've got, you may as well not even try. Also, if you want to do theater, move to New York. If you want to do films and TV, move to Los Angeles.