I’ve added 571 caps from Kat’s appearance on Conan last night, here in the gallery! Enjoy. :)

She talks about:

Having a boner for Conan.
Buying a Ukulele.
Thor ringtones.
Mashed potatoes.

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Kat Dennings is quietly making quite a name for herself. The star of Thor is coming off her stellar performances in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Dennings’ first foray into the big summer blockbuster season in Thor has the actress beyond thrilled.
Kat Dennings met us for an exclusive video chat recently and talked about why the Kenneth Branagh-directed Thor was the perfect next step for her in her career as well as what it meant to work with her longtime friend, Oscar winner Natalie Portman.

Audiences also remember Dennings from her scene-stealing turn in House Bunny starring Anna Faris. But, that is exactly what Kat Dennings does. She is always unforgettable in roles that could be easily forgettable.

Thus is her charge in Thor.

Dennings plays Darcy, who serves as Natalie Portman’s physicist’s assistant. Darcy and Portman’s crew are out in the New Mexican desert searching for answers to unexplained supernatural phenomena when they find the titular character Thor (Chris Hemsworth) stranded in the desolate desert.

Dennings provides comic relief from the suspense while embodying the everyday girl in a story filled with the supernatural.

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(Natalie Portman) assistant and the comic relief in the new action adventure “Thor.” She is sweet and funny in person. In this interview, we talked about:

What attracted her to making the film?
Working with director Kenneth Branagh
Her character Darcy
How will the audience identify with her?
Her favorite superhero
Was she a fan of Thor growing up?

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As a break from all the Thor material clogging up the website right now, let’s have some Daydream Nation Blu-ray disc stats.

Format: Widescreen
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 – 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1
Run Time: 98 minutes
Bonus material: Making of Daydream Nation

Not a lot of bonus material to be sure, but there are 14 Blu-ray caps/stills in the gallery right here! Kat looks supercute. The Blu-ray and DVD are both released May 17th.

Should you happen to live in either city Daydream Nation has screenings at Village East Cinema in NYC and at Laemmle Sunset 5 in LA.

Kat Dennings may be a surprising casting choice for a movie like Thor given her work in films like Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist on The 40-Year-Old Virgin, where she played decidedly down-to-earth characters who were celebrated for their smarts at least as much as their sex appeal. But it’s precisely that sense of self-awareness that made her essential to Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero, where she serves as a wonderfully grounding influence that balances out all of the film’s celestial set pieces. Boxoffice recently sat down with Dennings at the Los Angeles press day for Thor, where the young actress talked about finding a balance between big action and her character’s disbelief, as well as the ongoing process of picking roles that not only challenge her creatively, but offer her greater commercial opportunities for the future.

Because this character didn’t exist in the comics, did you just use the script as a reference, or did you research the comics or the mythology of Thor at all?

I was familiar, but the thing about Darcy is that because she has no idea what’s going on ever, and she kind of is in her own little space-cadet world, I on-purpose didn’t do much preparation, because I wanted to feel like I didn’t know what was going on, just like she doesn’t know what’s going on. And because I’m lazy (laughs).

Many of your characters have that ability to cut to the quick of what’s happening in a scene. How much of your reactions were scripted and how much were you able to step outside scenes to find your own reaction to what was happening?

Well, that’s all Ken. Ken was the one that if you had a question, he’ll stop and come to you and talk to you for 15 minutes. But we took care of that in rehearsals, really, because we had a lot of rehearsals, and Darcy’s character was sort of there, but she wasn’t fleshed out. So that all came from rehearsing and his just unbelievable attention to detail. He wants every character to be completely filled out, and I think they got a lot of that from just watching me and Natalie interact, because we’ve been friends for years. They kind of saw what they liked and used it—which I think is really nice, because it’s sort of an unusual female relationship to see in a movie. Especially in a movie like this, because we’re not all hot and we’re not wearing anything tight; we’re just like cool bitches who are really passionate, and really love each other. There’s no cattiness, there’s no nothing. And Jane especially, Jane’s character is more interested in being smart and informed than she is in doing her make-up, which I think is really important—I think girls will really like that. And dudes, too, because she’s gorgeous.

As Tom Hiddleston said in the press conference, Loki saw himself as the hero of the story. Do you think that way as an actor—do you consider your character the hero of her story, or is it better to just do the scenes you’re in and not worry about the overall picture?

That’s interesting—it’s a good question. I think it’s interesting because just being a person, you’re the hero of your story, everybody is; you’re the hero of yours, I’m the hero of mine, everybody is our own protagonist. But with Darcy I didn’t think too hard, because there are so many questions, like where did she come from, who are her parents, why is she there, and we talked about that with Ken. We came up with a brief sketch of how she got there and stuff, but I very much stayed in the moment with her, because she doesn’t really think—she just says random shit that comes to her or she says something before she can think about it. So I didn’t want to get too deep into that for this. But maybe in the future there will be time for that.

How difficult was it to acclimate yourself to the machinery of a production of this size?

What’s interesting and very unusual for this movie is that most of it was practical. I mean, the Frost Giant stuff, obviously the endlessness was fake, but they took me on a tour and the sets were all built. The Destroyer in our sequences was built—they had a destroyer for us to look at, a 20-foot metal dude, all built for us and standing there so when we were reacting to it, it was really there, which is crazy. I mean, that’s amazing! And I think one of the hardest things for an actor is to be scared of nothing, to be scared of something that isn’t there, so Ken would have the first A.D. fire a gun with blanks into the air to scare us, or they would have an explosion rigged up, or if we were looking at Sif jumping into a burning building or something, for instance, they would have Jamie [Alexander's] stunt double on a wire flying into a building off-camera for us so that we would be reacting to something that was really in front of us—which was crazy! And I’m sure it comes from Ken’s earlier experiences where directors just tell you to do something, and don’t really help you. He does everything he can to make sure that you’re comfortable and you have something to really look at—which is part of why he’s so amazing.

How much do you have to think about which project you want to take on next, to take on roles that show people different sides of yourself?

I try to vary it. It’s less about showing people and more about my own boredom. If I do the same type of thing, I just get angry at myself, so I have to keep it interesting. And this is a tough act to follow. I feel bad for other directors, because it’s going to be really hard for them to impress me after Kenneth (laughs). But I don’t think is really have a plan for my career; I just get things sent to me or read something that I really love, and then I try to get it—and if I can’t, then I don’t. But I know it seems like this, but we really don’t have that much control, unless you’re like Brad Pitt; you just take what you can get, basically. And then every once in a while something incredible comes across, and if you’re lucky enough to get it, then you do it. And this was one of those things where I really wanted it and I got it, and I really fought to get it, so I’m still just reeling and excited about it.

Are you finding the things you get sent interesting, or is it your responsibility to make each of those potential roles interesting for yourself?

Unfortunately it’s usually the latter I think about ‘what can I do to make it interesting?’ Because most of the time, if it’s a good script, there’s got to be something wrong with it; like if there’s a really good story, and your role is kind of meh, you think, okay, what can I do to make this interesting for me. Because I don’t like coasting through stuff; it’s just not rewarding for me, and it’s not why I work. But sometimes you get both, and that’s incredible. It’s really lucky.

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Kat Dennings is proof positive that not all starlets are built the same. Providing a welcome dose of comic incredulity in the new film “Thor,” Dennings repeatedly manages to cut right to the quick in her scenes, serving as the audience’s eyes as the title character elevates superhero conventions to literally godlike proportions. But this isn’t the first time she’s served as a grounding influence in films that operate on a decidedly elevated dramatic level; not only did she hold her own against Michael Cera in the sweetly twee romantic comedy “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” but even managed to steal scenes from Steve Carell in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” Her own indie, “Daydream Nation,” will be released this Friday. Speakeasy sat down with Dennings in Los Angeles, where she talked about the challenges of being the requisite comic relief in a film that otherwise operates on an epic level.

The Wall Street Journal: You said that you got the role before you even knew what it was. Is that typical at all?

Kat Dennings: It’s not typical but it sort of is for a movie like this that’s very top-secret and anticipated, because they don’t want anything to leak or get out. So I didn’t really know what I was walking into because there was no Darcy in the comics. So after I got it, I was like, “oh! That’s what it is. Okay.”

How did they describe the character to you? Did they say “you might have to wear a catsuit,” or anything like that?

No, they said you’re the assistant to a scientist, basically. They gave me a rough outline, and then like a two-page scene, maybe, that’s not in the movie, that’s just a scene written for the audition.

Your character provides a very necessary element of comic relief. What sort of pressure does that put on you when you’re preparing her?

Having seen the film and looking back, I probably should have felt more pressure, because I didn’t realize that it was such an important component. But at the time, it just felt easy and natural because they filmed the Asgard scenes before Santa Fe, before the Earth scenes, so Nat [Portman] and Stellan [Skarsgard] and I were basically our own little movie with Chris, so we weren’t really aware of the other world. So it just felt very easy and natural. But yeah, when I saw it all put together, I was like, oh wow – holy s—! Maybe I should have been more nervous.

Once you got the script, was she pretty well-defined, or was there a lot of room for you to develop her background?

There just wasn’t that much of her, which I anticipated. I mean, when I auditioned, I went, oh, she’s an assistant, maybe she’ll be in one or two scenes – and that’s enough. I was totally excited about that; just being in Thor and working with Kenneth Branagh and everyone, I didn’t care how many scenes I was in. And then we had the table read, and for some reason Darcy was really well-received, and I think because everyone responded so well, they were like, there’s got to be more Darcy, and all of a sudden I’m in a lot of scenes. I’m like, “are you sure Darcy’s in this scene? Wow!” So I think Darcy just got bigger and bigger, and then she was very well fleshed-out, and the improvising we did in rehearsal is what ended up in the film. But it was definitely based on reality once we got to the shooting script.

It sounds like Kenneth made this a very collaborative experience, but does a film like this have a different kind of atmosphere than these other projects?

Completely different. Because on a smaller movie, it’s like, I wish we had a crane right now – that would be such a great shot if we had a crane. And on Thor, we had like ten cranes. You just have people who are passionate, and you also have the resources to make that come to life, and that’s incredible. So it just serves the people behind it, and it serves the film, so when you’re watching it you can feel that passion and dedication from everybody. And also, people who are passionate, and with a deep love of what they’re doing with the money and resources to make it as good as it can possibly be – which is just mind-blowing to watch. So imagine artists with unlimited amounts of resources.

How calculated do you have to be about your choices? Was the appeal of this in doing something you hadn’t done before, or id there value in doing a film like this because of the visibility it gives you?

I didn’t really have a bigger plan, but I always wanted to be in a Marvel movie. It was kind of something I hoped I would get to do one day, because I’m a big Marvel fan, a big comic book fan. And a big mythology fan, so Thor is just “it.” Thor is the end. You don’t get bigger than Thor. He’s a god. So Thor and Kenneth Branagh – say no more. I would have been a camera guy, I would have done anything on that movie just to be around that kind of talent.

You mentioned you’re a big Marvel fan. Are you just a fan of the movies, or do you collect the comics too?

I’m a fan of the films and also the comic books, but I don’t collect them. My brother did growing up, so I was always peeking over his shoulder and looking through them.

Were there particular titles you would steal from him?

I liked anything that had a girl on the cover, because I was pretty little at that time. But I vividly remember Sif, which is weird. I remember her stuff from the comic books.

What’s coming up for you?

I did a movie tentatively called “Renee,” which is about To Write Love On Her Arms, which is an organization, and it was started for Renee Yohe, who is battling with being bipolar and drug addiction and suicide and depression and all of that crap. That is something I just did, and then I did a pilot for CBS called “Two Broke Girls,” which is written by Whitney Cummings and Michael Patrick King, and that was really fun – I wrapped that yesterday.

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Alicia here…. with Kat Dennings. Who, you ask? Well let’s just say give it twelve months and you’ll turn cerise upon being reminded you ever did. Dennings has rapidly emerged as one of today’s most in-demand and most popular young actresses and this year she’ll be seen in no less than three major movies. Following small but showy roles in “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” and “Raise Your Voice”, the vivacious brunette was promoted to bonafide co-star in films like “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” and “Defendor” with Woody Harrelson.

Now, Dennings joins Aussie Chris Hemsworth and Oscar Winner Natalie Portman in “Thor” but as I mentioned before, the Marvel blockbuster is but only one of the actresses’ bravura additions to the arts – she’s also the star of the buzzworthy indy “Daydream Nation” and the challenging drama “Renee”, in which she plays the title role of Renee Yohe, a young woman who, after a battle with drugs and depression, started charity group To Write Love on Her Arms. I had the pleasure of talking to Ms Dennings on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

So one thing surprised me about ”Thor”, was how funny it is.

Yeah.

I never expected that it would be quite funny. Is it that… When you read the script, did you notice that on the page or is it something that came out during the performance?

Some of it was on the page but I think during the table read and we all heard each other say it, everything. I was very… I was stunned by how funny it was.

Yeah.

I really wasn’t expecting that. So I think you really need it in an epic like this and there’s all the costumes and the effects. Everybody has a sense of humor which is really important.

Well, some of those situation are just comical in themselves, aren’t they? Dream. [chuckle] A good couple of dreams to explore. I might flip in and discover that.

Oh, wow, beautiful.

So with your character, specially was a comic release, did you enjoy playing Darcy?

I loved playing Darcy. Darcy is so much fun because she’s sort of… Yeah, like I didn’t have to wear a cape or anything. I just had to chill out. I didn’t have to train. I didn’t have to learn any ninja moves and she’s got to get the audience’s point of view. So that’s really fun to play.

She has a bit of a weapon, right? She’s got a taser.

She’s got a taser.

And is it right that you accidentally tasered yourself?

Yep.

On set?.

Yes, I did.

How did that happen?

Well, I was filming… And it’s not the movie I mean, but I was filming it and sort of just my hands firing. And I was leaning on a metal kind of like that chair, just like a metal thing. And I hit the target where I was suppose to hit and it bounced back and hit the metal which traveled the current through to my body.

Oh my God. What did that feel like?

It felt horrible! Horrible! I just don’t do it. Horrible! Actually, it was terrible.

It’s amazing they used a real taser on set.

Yeah well, this is Thor. We had a big budget.

What was it like being on such a big budget film? You guys had that big action scene towards the end.

Fantastic. And the good thing about that is that they built the destroyer for us.

Oh really.

So we weren’t looking at a…

A tennis ball.

Right, now we were looking at the destroyer. Which is crazy. I mean crazy. That never happens. And if we needed to looked shocked… Luke, our first AD had a gun with blanks in it. And he would fire into the sky. We would react and he wouldn’t tell us that he was doing it. I mean, it was terrifying. But they did that… I mean, they did all that amazing stuff for us.

Did a lot of that come from Kenneth Branagh?

I think so, yeah. There is nothing harder than trying to look scared at nothing. I say that might be one of the hardest things to do, is being scared at…

Reacting to a blue screen…

I’m like a guy eating a sandwich. Like there’s just nothing to react to. So he gave us like explosions. He gave us giant robots. It was awesome.

Do you think a lot of that comes from him being an actor, himself?

Absolutely. I can always tell that… Like, oh someone’s getting married down there (looks out window).

Yeah.

But yeah. I think the frustration of having those moments and having to do that yourself and then changing it and remembering that and making it easier for people later. I mean, awesome. That’s so cool of him.

I always think of him as in ”Much Ado About Nothing”. He seems like a really funny guy. What was he like to work with?

He is. He is like that. And just generous and giving and has all the time in the world for you. That’s how it feels. So if you have a question before you shoot, he’ll just stop and come over to you and talk to you for ten minutes.

Oh, that’s great.

Yeah. And I cannot say that about most people.

Yeah. The cast is fantastic as well.

Yeah.

I know you didn’t get to share any things with Hopkins. You hope you can…

I know.

But just to have people like that involved and…

I can feel them around. I can feel that I was in a movie he was in. It’s just crazy to me.

It seems like a lot of these big actors are coming on board with these superhero films. What do you think that is? Is it just because they’re getting better and better and better with the scripts and story?

They’re better and better and I think Kenneth is so special that everyone wants to work with him. I mean, there’s certain directors that everyone dreams of working with and he’s up there with, like Tony was saying, with Spielberg and Scorsese and all of the greats, Hemsworth and Kenneth. They’re all out there. I don’t know who wouldn’t want to be one of these.

And Chris Hemsworth, of course I should talk about him being an Aussie. We know him from ”Home and Away”, just a daggy soap opera.

Of course yeah and with Dancing with the Stars.

Yeah, ”Dancing with the Stars”. How was it seeing him transform into Thor? He looks pretty good.

He was amazing. I’m so proud of him. He’s working so hard. And he is still getting beefed up for Avengers because they’re staring the movies. Yeah just so proud. And I knew cause we were acting together but seeing it all put together and edited and put the 3D and stuff, I just… Yeah you guys should be proud home town boy. He’s so talented.

And watching it, I can’t really imagine any other actor doing Thor.

There is no one else who could do it.

Cause he brings that comedic set as well as being good to look at and that…

He’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. So that really comes through, I think.

Pretty amazing for him to have starring role, as well. It’s a big film.

Yeah, I’m really happy for him. He’s headed for beautiful things.

So with this film, are you going to any comic book conventions or have you done that already?

We did Comic Con already.

How was that?

Crazy.

Did you prepare for all the fan boys?

I was sort of prepared, but not fully prepared. Someone got stabbed at our panel…

Oh, my gosh!

Over a seat.

Was that with a pen? I think I heard about that.

Yeah. It was a mechanical pencil.

A mechanical pencil?

Terrifying. So that scared me to death. That scared all of us. We were like, “Okay. Now, they’re dangerous.” So, yeah. That speaks to the terrifying passion of fans.

Did you do research in to the comic books to know a lot about the characters or you just stuck with the script?

I went with the script. And I also, on purpose, didn’t prepare too much because Darcy is completely clueless. So I wanted to be sort of clueless, too.

When I was telling people I was going to be interviewing you, a lot of people were so excited, girls and boys, pretty excited that I’m going to talk to you. When fans come up to you, what is the main role they like to talk to you about?

It’s funny. I get a lot of… I get, I think, “Nick & Norah.” And then, I get “Sex in the City” a lot, which is really good. I did that when I was like 13. That’s the thing that I get the most.

You had some attitude back then. I mean, that character.

Yeah. And I just worked with Michael Patrick King again. So that’s interesting.

And what’s next for you? You working on anything so far?

I’ve sort of been working non-stop. And so, I’m finally getting a break. But I… The thing that I worked with Michael Patrick King that I worked on is a pilot for CBS, that he wrote with Whitney Cummings.

Oh, cool.

So it’s called “Two Broke Girls.” And it’s really funny. So hopefully, it’ll go.

It seems like TV as well is giving a lot of opportunities…

Yeah.

To good actors, good meaty roles.

Yeah, it’s pretty exciting. Yeah, I’m looking forward to having a little bit of a break.

”Thor” has already being released in Australia. And it’s done really well.

Awesome.

What have you heard from fans who’ve seen the film?

I was trying to kind of staying away from stuff outside of my personal thing. But my friends are like, “Oh, my god!” Everyone’s flipping out. This movie’s incredible.

Mm-hmm.

And I am reading reviews. I mean… Because I’m so proud of this film. And it’s so good, and people are really loving it. So I’m happy.

Any talk of more ”Thor”? Did you have to sign a contract for a sequel.

I did. But you never know what’s going to happen. But I think there’ll be a Thor 2. There has to be.

And there’s a lot of superhero films coming out this summer.

Yeah.

Why do you think people love to watch these superhero movies?

I don’t think it gets old. I think it’s something that we all sort of fantasize about, having powers, and doing good, and getting the girl, and making things blow up, and fighting enemies. We all fantasize about that stuff. So I think it’s just really fun and entertaining for guys, and chicks, and families, and older people. Just everyone loves them.

Do you enjoy watching this kind of film?

I love them. I love them. I absolutely love them.

I can’t wait for ”Avengers”.

Me, neither. I know I’m so excited.

That’s simply amazing [laughter]

I’m so excited.

And with Thor, we should point out that people need to stay right to the end.

Because it’s a surprise. Yeah.

What was it like with Natalie Portman, working with her and Stellan…

Awesome.

You guys are like a little trio?

Yeah, we were a little family. Natalie and I, we’re already friends. So that was easy. And then, with Stellan he’s just like a big soft teddy bear. And he has lots of kids. So he’s just like the best to be around. I’m like a child. So, yeah, he’s so patient with us. Because Natalie and I mostly just gab constantly about boys, and like clothes, and like silly stuff. So he would just look back. And he’d be just so bored…

Yeah.

Listening to us.

He’s a great character actor.

He’s brilliant. Brilliant. I wish he were here. I’m really sad he’s not here, actually.

What was the most fun day, would you say, on the set. Or the most interesting scene that you got to shoot? Would it be the destroyer?

That was more technical, to be honest. That took about 2 weeks to finish completely, that sequence. I would say the stuff with the pins with the car because I went through a lot of stunt driving training for that. And so my favorite… Actually, one of my favorite run was from was when I was driving that through the dessert on my lunch break. It was the most fun. I loved that. Thing I wanted to buy one after we were done.

Did you actually get to hit Chris with practice?

No. But the rig was… We were literally hitting him. So that’s real.

Wow.

Yeah. We were both on track so that we kind of hit each other at a slow pace. But we still hit him.

The 3D looks amazing, as well.

It does. And then… Yeah.

Did the… Shooting that way, did that slow down the process at all?

We didn’t shoot it for 3D.

Convert after…

They added it.

Because it looks better than a lot of those conversions.

Yeah. It does. Well, I mean, they are the masters. Yeah. And the 3D’s great because it’s exciting, but it doesn’t distract you from it being good a good film.

Do you think that’s the way for it for movies now, when we say making films in 3D?

Looking like it, right? It’s looking like it. And I think there are like 3D video games coming out, and stuff.

3D Porn, that’s the one that’s going to be interesting. [chuckle]

Wow! I heard that they’re doing that in Asia.

Oh, God. We don’t want to do that.

We’re already on that. Be careful. I’m scared.

But the 3D in this film definitely adds to it.

It adds to it.

There’s no gimmicks, or anything.

But it doesn’t scare you. Yeah.

It has nothing coming straight at your face.

Yeah.

So what do you think audiences will take away from watching ”Thor”? Or what do you think they might enjoy most about it? The humor, do you say?

I think it’s the humor will surprise them because it’s… It’s sort of an unexpected twist. But it really… It really makes your so comfortable and excited. And the action just pumps you up. It’s just so thrilling. And the performances are brilliant. It really has all… Everything I can… I don’t know. I’m still… I’m still processing it. It’s just so good. I just saw it.

Have you seen it just once?

Yeah, just once. And I really want to see it again. So I guess I’ll see it tomorrow again.

At the premiere?

Yeah.

And how do you go with these press days? Do you get so… You’re repeating yourself over and over?

Yeah, I do. To be honest, I completely… I hate myself.

I don’t know how you guys do it.

Yeah. But at the end of the day, I hate myself. And I can’t talk on the phone became I can’t hear my voice anymore. But it’s interesting because as annoying as like hearing myself is I… I… I legitimately am in love with this movie. And it’s so good that I could talk about how good it is all day. And I want people to see it so much because it’s so brilliant. And I’m so proud to be in it at all. I can’t believe I’m in this movie. It’s such a good movie. I’m so proud.

Well, it’s fantastic. So, congratulations.

Thank you very much.

Nice to talk to you.

Nice to talk to you.

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