Chloe in the Afternoon

Though the die-hard New Yorker prefers to hang in the funky Los Feliz neighborhood when she has to be in L.A., she’s come to Beverly Hills today on a fashion errand that’s a world away from the thrift shops of her youth. “I had to return my jewelry from the Golden Globes to Bulgari,” she explains over lunch at the L’Ermitage hotel a few days after Big Love lost out on the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series to Grey’s Anatomy. Wait, doesn’t she have a stylist to run those errands for her? “No, I don’t really like the whole stylist thing,” says Sevigny, who chose a yellow gold vintage bracelet in the form of a snake to wear with her vintage Yves Saint Laurent gown. “People who have no style suddenly look incredible because they have handlers that make them that way. That’s kind of frustrating. It bugs me that people play it so safe these days. Even that dress I wore the other night to the Globes, it was patterned and everyone was like, ‘Ooh, nobody wears patterns!’”

Chloe Sevigny does. And we like it that way.

DENNIS HENSLEY: Does dressing for a big event stress you out?

CHLOE SEVIGNY: Oh my God, yes. I have anxiety dreams leading up to it.

Q: You’re known for your modern, hip sense of style, so it’s odd to see you in the simple, dowdy get-ups Nicki wears on Big Love. Do you hate her clothes?

A: No. When you put on the outfit and do the hair, it’s easier to fall into the character and I love that. I’m kind of jealous, though, that Margene [Ginnifer Goodwin] gets to wear sexy outfits. Not that I think I have the hottest bod, but why can’t I show off my legs? Why do I always have to have skirts to the ankle?

Q: I find your character maddening sometimes but she’s also the most compelling character on the show. How do people on the street talk to you about her?

A: People see her in such a simplistic view, like, “She’s such a bitch,” which is disappointing. At the end of the second season they’re going to release some information about her upbringing that’s going to make everybody more sympathetic. I hope so because I’m sick of people saying, “She’s such a bitch.”

Q: Can you give us sneak preview of season two?

A: I get into a lot of [financial] trouble again with bingo. The scenes are really hilarious.

Q: What would happen in your fantasy episode of Big Love?

A: The three of us wives would gang up on Bill. They’d never do it but I’d like that a lot.

Q: Are you a jealous person in real life?

A: Yeah. It’s not that I’m bitter, but sometimes I think, “Why her?”

Q: Professionally or romantically?

A: Both. In romance, forget it. I’m extremely jealous in my relationships. I’m trying to get over that. I’ve been in a relationship for six years [with musician Matt McAuley] and I used to be really bad but I’ve gotten better.

Q: Do you feel competitive with other actors?

A: There are careers that I aspire to have, like Cate Blanchett’s or Kate Winslet’s. I think Hollywood is a little too much enamored with British [actors] or people with accents. I think they think they are more “master thespian” than their American counterparts and give them a lot more leeway in taking more complicated parts. I find that very frustrating.

Q: Tom Hanks is one of Big Love’s executive producers. Does he come around a lot?

A: Sometimes. When he comes to set we all get nervous and a little bit crazy and it’s hard to act but he’s really supportive. At the Golden Globes, he was presenting to Warren Beatty and they asked him to sit with Warren Beatty, but he said, “I want to sit with my pals at Big Love.”

Q: In season one, Nicki indulged in a good deal of retail therapy. Do you ever try to shop your troubles away?

A: I do that constantly. In New York, I have a route that I take in the East Village where there’s shops that I always hit.

Q: Do you have an L.A. shopping route?

A: Not really, but there’s so much good vintage here. I’ll go to Resurrection or Decades and be like, “Oh, I’m going to buy everything,” but a lot of it is extremely expensive so I’ll go to Wasteland and satisfy that urge and it’s not too hard on the pocketbook. Then there’s this place called Studio Wardrobe Department where everything is like three dollars.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about L.A.?

A: Radio. I love Indie 103, KXLU, NPR. We don’t have good radio in New York.

Excerpted from the March/April 2007 issue of Hollywood Life.