She's scrapped in the school yard, traded insults with Buffy and kicked Robert De Niro in the shins - is no-one immune to the devil in Eliza Dushku?

In 1998, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' creator Joss Whedon needed an actress to portray a new character he was developing for his successful TV series - a rogue teenage slayer of the undead called Faith. She needed to be the antithesis of Buffy's blonde, girl-next-door princess - a wildcat, with a cocky swagger and a fuck-you sneer. He found her in Eliza Dushku.

During her run of 15 episodes, Eliza's character revelled in killing - 'It makes me hungry and horny', said Faith - shot Angel with a poisoned dart and ended up incarcerated in an LA prison. It was must-see viewing, and not just for sci-fi fans, as she strutted down Sunnydale High's corridors in cowboy boots, push-up bra and battered leather jacket, trading insults with Buffy's obsequious cronies. Since Faith's last appearance in February 2000, it'll come as no surprise that Whedon has been begging her to make a return. But she's keeping him waiting....

It's this sort of head-turning act that has made Dushku stick out from the androgynous, bland Barbies that over-populate Hollywood. Not content to play the bimbo sex object, she's chosen projects (not always successful, it has to be said) that seem in keeping with her rebellious persona - she's been a reluctant cheerleader in 'Bring It On', a foul-mouthed diamond thief in Kevin Smith's 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back', and a goth party-goer in the risible horror flop 'Soul Survivors'. 'It was a great script, it was a great cast, I don't know what happened. It was tough to watch. I apologised and gave money back to my friends who had paid to come and see it with me.' Despite this particular set-back she's still not prepared to compromise and take on the sort of vacuous part Natasha Henstridge has made her own. Dushku will next play a single mother - who, naturally, is also a recovering junkie - in 'City by the Sea', starring alongside Robert De Niro.

In the flesh Eliza doesn't disappoint. There's the confident step to her walk, the 'what the fuck are you looking at, buddy?' look in her eye, and yet a tangible softer side - she's really pleased with what the stylist has done to her hair today, 'I love it, I'm going to call it my mermaid hair,' and after six years she's decided to quit smoking and drinking. Her self-imposed cold turkey is being assisted by nicotine patches, which she hitches up her skirt to stick to her pale bottom so they don't make an unsightly appearance in our photographs.

'I haven't had a cigarette in two weeks, and I'm on the wagon these days, too. If I have any sort of drink I want to smoke, the two seem to go hand in hand. I just turned 21 and everyone's going 'Come on, we're all going out!' and I'm like 'As a matter of fact, I'm not really into that anymore,'' says Eliza. 'I started smoking for a role in a movie when I was 15 and I had a problem kicking it after the movie. It was just me trying to be a grown-up. I was puffing away thinking I was so cool. But I've decided to clean myself up and get into shape. I'm doing my best not to cheat and have a sly one.'

Born in Boston, Massachusetts on December 30, 1980, Eliza was raised by her mother (her parents were divorced before she was born', a local university professor, and her three brothers, Nate, Ben and Aaron. It was her brothers who strongly influenced her childhood.

'I was a tomboy getting into trouble, wearing hand-me-downs and playing tag football,' she says. 'I'd get my hair cut at the barbers with the rest of them. I wanted a 'wiffle cut', which is like a crew cut. My mum wouldn't let me have one, but allowed me to have this horrible bowl cut. It was around that time people were going 'What four handsome boys you have', and I freaked out. I grew my hair long and started doing more girlie things - I put my transformers and GI Joes away.'

Eliza followed her first movie experience in 'That Night' with a part as Leonardo DiCaprio's stepsister Pearl in the coming-of-age drama 'This Boy's Life'. 'Leo was 15 at the time, and he wasn't the professional either, he was riding his bike around, with people telling him not to because he'd get hurt, and then he'd fall off and get hurt and hold up production. We were these little forces to be reckoned with.'

Then she took a turn as the Austrian Oak's rebellious daughter in the James Cameron action adventure 'True Lies'. 'Arnie took us out in his Hummer and we ended up having a food fight at Planet Hollywood.' However it was after that movie that her acting career was put on hold, because her mother insisted that she needed to finish her education.

'My mom said 'No kid of mine is going to be a dummy, you're not doing well with your tutors on set, so you're going back to school.' I went back to school and got teased terribly, they all called me 'the F-ing movie star' and I just wanted to be like everyone else. I eventually graduated and enrolled for a school were I wanted to do an English major, but that was when I got the 'Buffy' gig.'

Although she might play 'potty-mouthed' characters on screen, Eliza is careful not to swear during our interview, censoring herself when relating stories about roles she's played and lines she's been made to say. This guarded behaviour could well have something to do with her Mormon upbringing and a watchful grandmother, who after seeing Eliza make out with a co-star on an episode of 'Buffy', called up the head honcho of the Artist Management Group (who represent Eliza), Michael Ovitz - a man who can make or break the careers of hundreds of stars - to complain that her granddaughter was 'too naked on TV.' His comments remain unreported.

After a couple of years of non-stop working Eliza is being selective about her next project. 'I've been reading scripts, but it's been slim pickings after September 11, so I'm not in a hurry to take anything just for work. I'd prefer to wait for something that I'm nuts about.'

Unfortunately, she's also being selective about what she reveals of her current love life. 'I'm a very sociable, affable kind of girl. I really enjoy company and I tend to be friends with a number of guys', she says. 'I love having a close friend and somebody who can be a whole world of other things besides being my love.'

When we catch up with her again, Eliza is feeling sleepy. She's recently been suffering from a bout of insomnia, and the current cold snap California is experiencing hasn't helped her in getting some shut-eye. Although it's coming up to noon she's just crept out of bed and her voice has a sexy huskiness to it. She also admits to 'cheating' on her cigarette abstinence, and laughs, 'You know I'm not perfect.'

So you're not feeling too awake this morning?

No, my insomnia kicked in last night. I had a terrible three hours between five and eight am, so I've just been snoozing this morning. I was about to get up and make some tea. I was stir-crazy and it's so cold in LA. I'm wondering why I left Boston because the sunny California weather seems to have deserted us. I put the heating on, bundled up and eventually fell asleep.

Have you found any new projects that you're excited about?

I just did an episode of 'King of the Hill' - I played Bobby's new girlfriend. It was bizarre because they don't do the actual animation until months after the voices so there was nothing to actually look at. From what I hear, my character is a cute blonde with braces.

You starred with Robert De Niro in 'This Boy's Life' and you've recently worked with him again on 'City by the Sea'. Was he amazed by how much you've grown?

The first time I didn't know who he was - my mother is a political science professor from the university of Boston and we were the family who didn't have a television in any of the main rooms, so she didn't know who he was, either. On 'This Boy's Life' I was just this little brat running around kicking De Niro in the shins. The director Michael Caton-Jones (who also directs 'City by the Sea' described me as 'A precious little shit - but she could act so we put up with her.' The ages 11 to 21 are the most developments of a woman's life, so when he saw me this time he was like 'God, I feel so old.' I charged up and went 'Hey Bob, how's it going?' He was like 'Oh no, she's back, and she's bigger.'

Did you go and sit on his lap?

I was a little too big to sit on his lap and too many rumours would have started. But he's such a sweetheart and really shy. It's nice to see that Robert De Niro is shy, too. We just shot the breeze and talked about our families. He and Michael are like my long-lost uncles, the were going 'So who are you seeing? What did he get you for Christmas?' It was sweet, though.

Your mother sounds very strict...

When I was 14 it was coming up to summer, all the kids were going off to camp, but my mother said she had plans for me and my brother Nate, and that it was a surprise. She then gave us two tickets to China, a Lonely Planet guide and $1,000 each and said 'Don't come back until you've visited eight different cities by train.' It wasn't a lot of money to last that amount in time, so we had to stay in flea-infested beds, sharing with four-inch cockroaches. But we learnt a lot. She made us really aware of the world outside of where we lived, and a little bit more world savvy.

Did you find it difficult moving from Boston to Los Angeles to pursue your acting career?

I kind of just went for it full throttle. I was 17 and still wild and fearless. I moved her and stayed with my manager, but she got married and went on her honeymoon and I was left in this amazing apartment in West Hollywood. It was a kids' dream come true - a fully stocked wine rack, which by the time she got back was empty. The first time I went to the grocery mart I had to call my mother - I was crying. I stood in the aisle not knowing what to buy. She said to buy orange juice, cheese, bread and eggs. So that's what I lived off.
You always seem to play the rebellious type on TV and in the movies. I s that what you're really like?
I guess. Since I went back to school and was teased I think I've developed this rock-hard defence mechanism, a hard as nails 'don't mess-with-me' front. I then realised that doing that act could make me money.

On 'Buffy' you seem to be able to handle yourself in the fight scenes.

Well, getting in fights in the school yard helped. I've always been competitive and had the attitude that anything the boys can do, I can do better.

In 'Bring It On' you played a cheerleader. Did you wave the pom-poms in high school?

I remember that it was one of those auditions I didn't want to go to, as I knew I was the farthest thing from a cheerleader you can imagine. I didn't want to sit in a room full of bubbly blonde, blue-eyed cheerleaders. I wasn't one in high school, I was the complete opposite. When I got there, there were girls doing splits and jumping off sofas, I was like 'Oh my God, get me out of here, I want to kill myself.' Then I went in to see the director and he was like this goofy, funny guy and he was messing with me. He was like 'Can you cheer?' and I was like, 'Do I look like I can cheer?' and then I he asked if I could do the splits. So I just got down on the floor and busted one out.

According to your 'Bring It On' co-star, Clare Kramer, you had a bit of a wild night after that movie went to number one at the box office...

Well, we'd never had a number one hit before. We got a little excited. A bunch of us got together, went and feasted on a fabulous meal, ordering everything on the menu. Just being little gluttons. Then we got a little wasted and barged into the Sky Bar on a Sunday night, which was totally dead. But we thought it was like Studio 54, we were bouncing off the walls shouting 'We've got a hit movie!'. I won't say any names, but some of us ended up in the pool.

In 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back', you got to wear an incredibly tight catsuit. Was there any chafing?

I loved the catsuit. Some of the actresses didn't appreciate them, but I was thanking Kevin every night. I was like, 'Do I have to take this off? Can't I wear it home?' It was so freeing it was almost like being naked. We were these bad-arsed diamond thieves, who were not only sexy but smart, too. We had this whole agenda and we were going to be millionaires. It was a funny set. Kevin may be offended, but it was a set that didn't take itself too seriously.

He told us he gave you the nickname 'Duck Shoot'.

I said to him, 'Hi, I'm Eliza Dushku', and he was like, 'Duck Shoot?' Kevin is his own biggest fan, so he thought it was hysterical. He's awesome, such a cool guy. He used to play this game with me, where just before we were about to shoot, right before action, he would go 'Right Duck Shoot, I want you to say f-ing, bleep, bleep, screwing, bleep,' I'd be like 'What?' and he'd be 'Just do it', so I would repeat what he said. Then Kevin would be like 'That was great, let's move on'. I was like 'I can't say that, Kevin, my family will be horrified.' But I have to admit I went along with it and the parts are pretty funny.

In your next film, 'The New Guy', there's a scene with you on a bucking bronco.

When I read the script, it wasn't in the original draft. I was talking to the director and I said how I was obsessed with this new hotspot in LA called Saddle Ranch and that they had a mechanical bull. I'm addicted to the bull, it's such an adrenaline rush and it's so sexy. Shortly after the conversation I got a new draft of the script and my character was now working at a restaurant with a mechanical bull.

Are you pretty adept at staying on?

Yeah, I'm good at it. It's all in the rolling motion - you start with your hips, then it goes up to your belly, to your boobs and you do a hair flick at the end. I think it's easier for women, you need an equal distribution of top weight and bottom weight.

Interview by Richard Galpin