INTERVIEW WITH THE COURIER JOURNAL

"I did the Q&A for 'Welcome' at Sundance," Lexi said in a telephone interview from her Los Angeles home. "When I got called up on stage, everybody got scared."

Lexi plays Winona Ryder's daughter in the film and reportedly charmed the Sundance crowd with kid-simple anecdotes about working with two of Hollywood's most powerful women.

"There was a medic there," Lexi said over the phone, "and while we were shooting, I scraped my little pinky toe on one of the mirrors, and I went to the medic and had it taped, which was fun, but I think that was one of the scenes they used."

"Welcome" involves a family that moves into a haunted house but learns to live with the resident ghost. It's one of 14 short films in the Glamour magazine promotion, Glamour Reel Moments, based on real-life experiences of Glamour readers.

In addition to Dunst, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson and other female stars have directed films for the project.

"Lexi had a big week that week," said her father, Tom Jourden, an actor and producer from Louisville. "Before we went to Sundance, they premiered the movie at a big event in Los Angeles. It was like going to the Oscars with all the stars. And she shot the sitcom 'Two and a Half Men' with Charlie Sheen. Tough life at 7 years old."

That episode aired in November, with Sheen playing children's singer Charlie Waffles and Lexi, in a cameo role, as one of his fans.

A way-meatier assignment was guest-starring in a December episode of "CSI," helping investigator Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) reconstruct the crime scene of a suspected serial killer.

"She was 6 when she did that," her father said. "That's a difficult age for kids to play strong roles. They clam up, but Lexi's just so free."

Must be the family genes. Lexi's mother, Claudia Gold, spent years doing voiceover for Fox's "King of the Hill" and now acts in commercials and does casting work.

Her father, who changed his name from Tom Grossman when he became an actor, has appeared on "The Practice," "JAG," "The X-Files" and was longtime host of the Travel Channel's "Amazing Vacation Homes."

Neither parent planned on Lexi going into show business, but as a toddler, she accompanied them to auditions and appeared to be a natural.

She made her debut in a national TV commercial at age 3 for Life cereal and has since pitched an array of products on television, including State Farm Insurance, Juicy Juice (in which she's dressed as an orange in a school pageant), and perhaps most impressively, the American Airlines spot as the daughter who accompanies her globetrotting dad on a business trip.

She was also the voice of the baby hippo in the animated Disney film "The Wild" in 2006, as well as the recurring character Little Lulu in the Cartoon Network show "Squirrel Boy."

In an interview, she talks about the first time she saw snow, acting with Charlie Sheen, and what a girl who seemingly has everything wants really bad.

Q.: I saw you in the film "Welcome." You laughed the whole time the ghost dragged you around that house. Was it that much fun, or just good acting?

A.: Good acting.

Q.:Describe your scene with Charlie Sheen.

A.:I was going to the library for him to sign my CD. He said, "What's your name?" And I said, "Dakota," but they cut that out. And I had to say, "Thank you, Mr. Waffles."

Q.:Last time I talked to you, your fish had died and you were asking your parents for a new pet. Did you get one?

A.:Nope. But I want one really badly. I want a Yorkie.

Q.:I heard you had never seen real snow before you went to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

A.:It was so much fun. I was just standing up with my arms out, and then I'd fall back to the ground and make snow angels. I threw a lot of snow at my daddy too.

Q.:Skiing had to be fun.

A.:I did it without the poles my first time, and then a couple of other times with the poles and it was much easier.

Q.:So you're a Brownie in the Girl Scouts. What's that like?

A.:Exciting. You want to buy cookies?

Back • Main