Leslie Bibb on Robert Downey, 'Iron Man' and more

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Comic-book movies tend to attract more males than females, but Leslie Bibb thinks "Iron Man" could bridge the gap."I think this movie is one that's definitely for guys, but ... I was asking people yesterday, and a lot of women were surprised at how much they liked it," says Bibb. "I think they expect not to."I think this could be a date movie. It's, like, riding the line. If you were with your girlfriend, you could still go see this movie."No jokes about fan-boys not having girlfriends, please. Though if they're admirers of Bibb, they may prefer to watch "Iron Man" unencumbered. Gwyneth Paltrow has higher billing, but Bibb is the one who shares a love scene with star Robert Downey Jr. Then again, they played it for laughs."I think that love scene that Robert and I have is really kind of funny," says Bibb by phone from New York. "In the script it's written like the cliched, sexy whatever. We were like, 'We've gotta make it funny.'"And it was funnier where I was smacking Robert in the face, and then I punched him in the side of the head. ... I literally jumped down and I was cradling his head in my lap. I was like, 'I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!' "Bibb plays Christine Everhart, a reporter who chides billionaire weapons manufacturer Tony Stark (Downey) for selling instruments of death but can't help falling into bed with him."She doesn't think highly of him, but then there's something about him that she's crazy about," says Bibb.The actress, 33, says Christine isn't perfect herself."I like flawed characters," says Bibb, who played wayward NASCAR wife Carly Bobby in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." "That's what I loved with Christine because yes, she's a journalist, and yes, she's very black-and-white, and yes, she's very passionate, and yes, she has a sense of right and wrong, and she wants to get the good story."I think there's something dark about her; I don't know to what cost she would do things."At the start of "Iron Man," Tony is willing to profit from others' misery, but along the way he changes."Tony Stark is a drinker and a womanizer, and you start to see this arc of a man who goes from not being accountable to being accountable," says Bibb. "I feel like each of us -- man, woman, child -- has a moment in their life where they have an epiphany and they go, 'Oh, I know what I'm meant to do.' I hope they do."Bibb didn't realize it when she signed on, but she turns out to be a voice of conscience in "Iron Man.""It really evolved to become her role in the movie, being the moral conscience for Tony and for the piece, in a way, where she would say, 'Hey, be accountable. Step up,' " she says.Bibb's not trying to make it sound as though "Iron Man" is heavy drama."I love this movie," she says. "I think it's so fun."Born while her family was living briefly in North Dakota and reared in Virginia, Bibb found herself in front of cameras early, winning a model-search contest on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" when she was 16. After working as a model and spending a semester at the University of Virginia, Bibb trained for three years at the William Esper acting studio in New York.She made her film debut in "Private Parts" and earned a fan base when she played high-schooler Brooke McQueen on the short-lived series "Popular." She has starred or had recurring roles on such series as "ER," "Crossing Jordan" and "Line of Fire."Bibb has been in several films, but it was "Talladega Nights" that called her to the big leagues."When I did 'Talladega,' I felt like, 'Oh, I'll probably never have this experience again to get to work with a lead actor and a director who are this hands-on, this open, this collaborative, this fantastic,'" she says. "And then I did with Robert and (director) Jon (Favreau)."I've got one scene with Gwyneth, but all my other stuff is with Robert. And Robert and I just have a natural sort of chemistry with each other that's really lovely. I love him. ... He is one of the finest actors we have out there. And he is nice ... and he's funny, and he's a goofball."Bibb is about to wrap up "Confessions of a Shopaholic," in which she plays Isla Fisher's nemesis, and she co-stars with Bradley Cooper and Brooke Shields in Clive Barker's "The Midnight Meat Train," due Aug. 1. She's very happy about the direction her career is headed."I got nothing but gratitude right now. I really get into these moments. I'm not cool about it. I'm, like, 'Wow, I'm really lucky.' "(Contact Knoxville News Sentinel film critic Betsy Pickle at pickle(at)knews.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)