There are a few actresses that Hollywood relies on time and again to play the late-teens/early-20s ingénue in film after film. Claire Danes, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, and Mena Suvari are all on that list. So is Jennifer Love Hewitt.

She began her career while still a teenager on television’s Kids Incorporated. Bit parts in such movies as Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit were all that Hewitt could manage to land until she returned to television in 1995 as Sarah Reeves Merrin on Party of Five, the role that made her famous.

As Hewitt’s fame rose with Party’s popularity, she once again tried her luck with feature films, scoring big with such movies as I Know What You Did Last Summer and the teen comedy Can’t Hardly Wait. Love also produced and starred in the ill-fated Time of Your Life, a Party of Five spin-off that didn't make it to its fifth episode. If that weren’t bad enough, critics harped on her for her audacity in attempting to fill the shoes of a legend in the ABC biopic The Audrey Hepburn Story.

Now Hewitt makes a return to the small screen in Ghost Whisperer where she plays Melinda Gordon who is a young newlywed with the unique ability to communicate with the earthbound spirits of people who have died - and who seek her help. Melinda uses her gift to relay significant messages and important information to the living, but sometimes the messages she receives are intense and confusing. As a result, she is often met with questions and skepticism by the survivors. But when Melinda is able to help both the lost souls who contact her and those who are still alive, she knows that her unique talent is an asset and not a liability. The stories are based in part on the work of medium James Van Praagh.

Even though her busy schedule had her working on the Ghost Whisperer promotional tour, she still took time out to talk about her life and her career.

DCM: How would you describe your new show, Ghost Whisperer?

Jennifer Love Hewitt: The show is very scary and spooky at times, but it’s light fare, too. It has an X-Files feel to it but has a bit of Touched By An Angel as well which I like.

DCM: Were there any things in life that really scared you? Do you believe in ghosts?

Hewitt: I’m a very spiritual person, and I’m open to the idea of there being other things and other people that are “out there.” There are so many possibilites. I’ve never had any personal ghost experiences. [Laughter] Although I’m “scared of everything” in real life. It’s kinda weird but my friends know not to knock on my door after dark.

DCM: Is it more fun playing characters with an edge to them than someone who is sweet all the time?

Hewitt: Yeah, it’s really fun, it was definitely a departure from anything else I’ve done. I’m having a good time.

DCM: Do you get a lot of scripts that call for you to play characters a lot like the ones you played in the past? Or do you get a lot of scripts to play more edgy kinds of characters?

Hewitt: I got a lot of the same things, but not so much anymore, I think that the movie I did called Heartbreakers has helped a lot with the kind of scripts that I get.

DCM: Did the Audrey Hepburn project help?

Hewitt: It did a little bit, yeah. I’ve definitely gotten a lot more adult things since then. But I still always get the horror movie stuff and the teen comedies.

DCM: Is there still a soft spot in your heart for those kinds of films?

Hewitt: Oh, absolutely. Those are great movies to do. I just don’t want to get stuck in them so that I can’t get out. This is what I want to do for a long time, so I just kind of have to move forward so that people know that I’m not just that.

DCM: Did you see those movies, even though you don’t like scary ones?

Hewitt: The I Know What You Did Last Summer ones? I saw them, but I still screamed, like, really, really loud. People around me were so annoyed. [Laughter]

DCM: You didn’t do the Summer sequel either.

Hewitt: I didn’t want to do another one. Sequels are hard to match the energy of the original. The script would have to be good. Which is why I’m doing Garfield 2. It was funny to me and I liked it. I would love to do another action movie like The Tuxedo though.

DCM: So would you say that Heartbreakers is sort of a conscious decision to move away from the teen genre flicks?

Hewitt: Definitely. Yeah, like I said, this is something I would like to do for a while, and I would like to do My Best Friend’s Wedding kind of movies one day, and I think the only way to do that is to sort of move myself away from just teen movies.

DCM: How hard is it to bridge that gap? Because a lot of people get stuck in it.

Hewitt: It’s weird...I’m in a weird age in the entertainment industry. I can remember the last time that I felt this kind of weird place. It was when I was 13. Because, at 13, I could kind of look old enough to maybe play an 18-year-old, but they would hire the 18-year-olds to play the 13-year-old parts because they could work longer. And they would hire the 18-year-olds to play the 18-year-old parts, because they could still work longer. So you have a hard time finding your place. So I’m in that now. It’s like the audience has to decide if I’m going to be an older version of myself, or if they would rather just have me stay in teen movies.

DCM: What would you do if they prefer the latter?

Hewitt: I want to work, so I’ll do teen movies! There’s no question about that, I just hope they’ll laugh at them, too.

DCM: When you look at actresses that are going into their 40s and 50s, which career would you like to have one like?

Hewitt: Wow...umm...they’re not in their 40s, but I admire two people, Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts. I think that they have always made very, very smart choices. They’ve stuck to...they’ve grown and they’ve been creative in their choices and done different things. But they have never gone too far out from what audiences want to see them do.

DCM: If you ever came across a script that you liked that called for nudity, would you do it? Or would that be something you would draw the line at?

Hewitt: You know, I don't really want to see myself naked, so I’m not really going to push that on other people. I don't like to say “absolutely not,” because if a great part came along where I was playing someone who was ill and they needed a shot of a frail frame, or if there was a love scene that I thought was really tastefully done, like what was done with my scene in The Devil and Daniel Webster where you see my back, you see all of my back right to, you know, the crack or whatever. And that was fine. But I’m completely covered everywhere else. So, as far as that goes, like my back and my legs or stomach, I’ll show that. Also, there is so much of me that people get, that what I look like naked, I would like to keep for me, you know what I mean? Me, and maybe one other person and that’s about it. I would like that to be sacred.

DCM: How important is it for actors in your age group to have a sexy image? With all the men’s magazines, it seems like everybody has to have a sexy image to make it.

Hewitt: I think that in life, in general, people like attractive people. Do you know what I mean? People want eye candy and that’s kind of what you do. I think that it’s really cool that people can find you sexy or attractive but also see beyond that as well. I don’t think it makes you everything you are. I don’t think it’s the most important thing, but I think it’s part of it.

DCM: Is it frustrating to think that people are just going to see your movies or TV shows because they think you’re a pretty actress as opposed to thinking you’re a good actress?

Hewitt: Yeah, I think that would be kind of annoying. But with me, that’s not a problem. I’m glad to be able to keep working at what I love doing.

DCM: You like to poke fun at yourself.

Hewitt: Yeah, because there’s a lot to poke fun at. [Laughter]