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Linda Fiorentino is, as always, a different breed of cool cat.
The mercurial Philadelphia-born, New York-based, 40-year-old brunette with the slender body and the lascivious smile was just happy "to have a job!"
Raise your eyebrows in astonishment -- this is the woman who half-terrified and half-titillated every male in North America as a man-eater in The Last Seduction -- and Fiorentino explains: "That was the first thing that went through my mind -- and that he was going to make me popcorn (a Newman tradition on movie sets), which he did every day.
"But I wasn't in awe. I guess I was supposed to be in awe, but I think the fact that I wasn't in awe made it easier for him because everyone else was ... To me, he is an actor, he is a man and I think he appreciated (her attitude).
"I think that's why we're still friends, because I didn't bow to him. I couldn't. I had to work with him every day. So we had to be partners. We're not brain surgeons here. It's not that difficult a job so I don't hold anyone in any higher regard."
Fiorentino will save her awe for someone of the calibre of Albert Einstein, an off-the-top-of-the-head choice that tells you all you need to know about this actress' attitude towards fame.
"Not only do I find it strange," she says of people's obsession with celebrity, "I find it dangerous! I've had run-ins with people who are stalkers. So why would you want to perpetuate that?
"And if you become famous, you have to take jobs to keep you rich so you can protect yourself with security. I've lived relatively obscurely. I live in a little house with no big giant wall, so I can give my money to charity -- or my mom."
In Where The Money Is, Fiorentino plays a nurse who helps a bank robber, played by Newman, escape when she discovers he is faking a stroke that gets him transferred to a hospital from jail. Her character becomes intrigued, wants some excitement, some way out of smalltown America. It's a flashy, funny, sexy role, yet Fiorentino takes more pleasure in shooting her own still photographs behind the scenes. Even on set.
"One is capturing a moment instead of living in the moment," she says comparing photography to acting. "What I like about it is me looking at the world instead of the world looking at me. I get to be on the other side of it.
"I know I'm an actor but I don't like attention paid to me all the time. I drive my hair and makeup people crazy saying: 'I look fine. Get away!' I don't like being touched.
"And I don't go to many Hollywood premieres because I don't like having my picture taken by people for no reason. If I'm supporting a film, that's one thing, but I don't understand people who go just to be seen ... But they think you're dead if they haven't seen you in a while."
There's nothing dead or deadbeat about Linda Fiorentino, though. She's just different. "Maybe I would have made more money to date if I had played that game," she says of pursuing celebrity, "but it's just not me. I can't do it."