Hilary Duff Visits ‘Late Night’

Hilary Duff visited ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ to promote her new film ‘Raise Your Voice’. Hillary talked about being young and famous, her dating life, travelling, disguises, her ’80s fashion style, her kissing scene in ‘Cinderella Story’, and strawberry-flavored Gushers, and she showed off her gymnastic skills. Read on for a transcript.

Conan: All right, everybody. My first guest tonight is a singer and
an actress. You know her as the star of the popular tv show “lizzie mcguire,”
and the film “a cinderella story.” Beginning friday, you can see her in
the film “raise your voice,” please welcome, she’s a phenomenon, hilary
duff.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Conan: Thanks for being here.

Hilary: Thank you for having me. I’m so excited.

Conan: This is —

[ Woman in audience screams ]

Hilary: Thanks.

Conan: Settle down. That woman’s 85.

[ Laughter ] No, this is — I mean, there’s — I haven’t had a guest
like you in a while. Who’s — you’ve conquered so many areas of show business.
And you just — how old are you? You just had a birthday.

Hilary: I just turned 17.

Conan: Just turned 17. I conquered show business — it took me — I
was 59 when I finally did it.

[ Laughter ] Okay, that’s not true. I haven’t conquered show business.
And I’m 68.

[ Light laughter ] But you just turned 17 last week. You’ve gotta be
busy all the time. Do you even have time to go out on a date, or something?
Is that possible? Can you have a personal life?

Hilary: I don’t really have a personal life right now. Like, I don’t
really go on dates. But, I could, you know, if there was someone to date.

Conan: Oh, really? It’s one of those situations. That was my excuse
in high school when I couldn’t find anybody. “I’m too busy!”

[ Laughter ] And then I’d go home and just cry for hours.

[ Hilary awws ] Sad story. I’ll tell you more later.

[ Light laughter ] But you just don’t have the time, right?

Hilary: It’s hard. Like, I’m always traveling, you know, and I’m done
with — I finished high school. So, it’s like, where am I supposed to meet
anybody? You know, and I’ traveling, and also, by the time I meet somebody
in the business, like, everybody’s gets all over it. Yeah, because that’s
another problem, is that you’ve become so famous, that it must be hard
for you to go someplace and just be yourself. Or just — do you disguise
yourself when you go anyplace?

Hilary: I don’t know. I mean, like, if you are at a restaurant, and
you see someone walking in that has, like, a hat and glasses, you’re like,
“who’s hiding under there?” You know? So, that doesn’t really work.

Conan: Right. Right.

Hilary: I’ve never tried, like, a wig, or anything.

Conan: You’ve never tried a mustache, or dressing like charlie chaplin,
or something?

Hilary: No, because then I think if somebody, like, found out that it
was me, and they were like, “hilary!” Then I’d just be embarrassed that
I was wearing a mustache, or something, you know?

Conan: Right. Right. Well, especially a mustache would be really stupid.
Don’t take my advice on these things. You know what’s weird? When I walk
around, sometimes I’ll be like, “I don’t wanna, you know, go unnoticed,”
so I’ll wear a hat, or something. I’m 6’4″, with a giant red pompadour,
and so —

[ Laughter ]

Hilary: Well, you know what? I saw you the other day at the, four seasons
in L.A.

Conan: Oh, yeah. We were out there for the emmys. Out there with my
wife and —

Hilary: And I was doing a press junket.

Conan: Right.

Hilary: So, I didn’t want to bother you.

Conan: Meaning you didn’t know who the hell I was.

[ Laughter ]

Hilary: I did! I did!

Conan: Very nice.

Hilary: You’re very tall.

Conan: You’re like, “hey, ted koppel!”

[ Laughter ] Now, you did not — you didn’t go to high school. You’ve
been tutored. ‘Cause you’ve been working constantly. Are you sad that you
didn’t get to go to a high school prom and have that experience like everybody
else?

Hilary: I don’t know if I’m sad. Like, I feel really luck like, to do
everything that I’m doing right now. But my friend and I, actually, we
threw an ’80s prom night in my friend’s house, and nobody could come unless
they were all dressed up. So, that was very fun.

Conan: So, everyone came dressed up as what? In ’80s style?

Hilary: ’80s. Everyone had to go to, like, vintage stores. And you should’ve
seen, like, we had crazy hair, and like, big bows, and sequins, and it
was very fun.

Conan: Well, I’m sure it was — if you’re 17, and you’re, for fun, dressing
up in the ’80s style, it must be really fun and funny. For those of us
who had to live through that time —

[ Laughter ] — That’s not funny. I still have the acid-washed, big
shoulder-padded thing in my closet that I wore when I was going to a flock
of seagulls concert.

[ Laughter ] With the big hair, and I was like, “whoo!”

[ Laughter ] It was a bad, bad time. So throw those clothes away.

Hilary: Okay.

Conan: Now, there’s a coincidence. Yesterday, on the show, we had mr.
Chad michael murray on the program. And he was talking about how he had
a kissing scene with you in “cinderella story,” and that you guys — he
just — he never got specific, but he said there was a little trouble with
the kissing scene, and you guys had to work on it. And I thought, “well,
I know nothing about the movie business, how does that even work?”

Hilary: Well, what happened was, like, we had been working together
for three days. It was, like, the very beginning shoot of the movie. We
had never met each other —

Conan: You meet each other and you just start to work with each other.

Hilary: Right. And we have, like, this really big kissing scene, and
it’s in front of, like, a bleacher full of, like, 300 people, a crew, everything.
And it’s, like, really specific, since it’s, like, supposed to rain and
everything, and there are all these problems, and the director wasn’t happy.
So, he’s like, “well, let’s go into the trailer and practice.” The director
says. And I’m like, “uh, okay.” And we go into the trailer, and he’s sitting
there, and he’s like, “hmm. Hmm.” I’m, like, mad. It was, like, a little
creepy and a little weird.

Conan: Who is this guy?

[ Laughter ] That’s the thing I’m wondering. How old is this guy?

Hilary: I’m not sure. He’s a really — he’s a really nice guy.

Conan: Oh, I’m sure he’s a really nice guy. “Uhhh, I want to see you
two teenagers kiss! Oh, yeah!”

[ Laughter ] “Yeah! Do that again! Yeah!”

[ Applause ] What would you have done if, at some point, t real director
came in and was like, “who’s this guy? Get out of here!”

[ Laughter ] “I’ll be back!” And ran way.

Hilary: Funny.

Conan: Now, you’re on tour?

Hilary: Yes.

Conan: And like a lot of people who are in the music business, you probably
have — it’s called having a rider in your contract, and it’s famous, where
you can have, they’re famous, like, “I want jack daniels.”

Hilary: All the green m & ms picked out, or something?

Conan: Yeah, “I want all the green m & ms gone.” What do you have
in your —

Hilary: I don’t — I think I have, like, the smallest rider out of everyone.
Like, I’ve heard some really crazy things, but, we have, like, just food,
you know, so everyone isn’t hungry, and actually, I really like these candies.
It’s really bad for you, they’re called “gushers,” and they’re, like, filled
with this liquid stuff, and they’re really, like —

Conan: Is it a gum, or just a candy?

Hilary: No, it’s — it’s like, it comes in a package, and it’s got,
like, little, it’s not like candy, but it’s definitely not good for you.
It’s like, gummy-type —

Conan: Something that’s not good for you ’cause you won’t get sent free
boxes of it by mentioning it on the show.

Hilary: Well, I do love that everywhere I am —

Conan: I hear gushers are amazing. Gushers.

[ Laughter ] Strawberry-flavored gusher. They’re hilary duff’s favorite.

Hilary: That’s right.

[ Laughter ]

Conan: So. Maserati. The finest machine on earth.

[ Laughter ] That’s not gonna work.

Hilary: I don’t think so, either.

Conan: It never would. No, so, that’s your big request? Other people
are saying, “the room has to be blue.” “There have to be scented candles.”
You’re just asking for some —

Hilary: No, but, you know what? Tish, she’s our wardrobe lady, and she’s
really great, and sometimes, the venues that you play in are, like, not
the nicest. So, she’ll, like, hang up, kind of, like, sheet-looking things
that are, like, bohemian, or, just, like, themes that are pretty.

Conan: Sure, sure.

Hilary: And she’ll put candles, but it’s not like I request it. Like,
she does it ’cause she’s a nice lady, you know?

Conan: That’s cool. Now, you do a version of the song “my generation,”
the favorite — one of my favorite bands of all time is the who. And they
do this great song, “my generation,” but there’s this famous line in that
song, “i hope I die before I get old.” And you’ve changed it for your version.

Hilary: Are you mad at me?

Conan: No, let’s hear what — your version is what? Your version is
—

Hilary: It’s, “I hope I don’t die before I get old.”

[ Laughter ] So, we’ve changed it to be a little more positive.

Conan: Right. You’ve changed the punk message a little bit. From, like
—

[ Light laughter ] And then the second line is, “drink milk, get nine
hours of sleep a night.”

[ Laughter ] “Rock on! Whoo!”

[ Laughter ] No, I don’t know. You’re allowed to change it. Just so
— are you gonna through a lot of punk songs now? Like —

Hilary: I don’t, no, you know —

Conan: “God save the queen. Seriously, save her. She’s a nice woman.”

[ Laughter ]

Hilary: C’mon, keep them coming.

Conan: All right, I’ve got a million of them. I’m shecky over here.

Hilary: Well, you know, since tonight’s show is such a punk show, I
just figure I’ve got more to cover.

Conan: Sure, sure. Now, you also do — I don’t know if you’ve worked
this in, but you work gymnastics, I know you’re very good at gymnastics,
do you work it into your stage show at all?

Hilary: I don’T. I haven’t yet. I could here. I can do —

Conan: You could do some gymnastics?

Hilary: Yeah.

Conan: Yeah, I wanna see something.

[ Cheers and applause ] I don’t want you to get hurt, though.

Hilary: If I do it, will you do it?

Conan: Yeah, okay. If you could do it, I’ll try and do it. You go first.
Yeah, I’ll be killed. I’m the least coordinated and whitest man on tv.

[ Laughter ] Let’s see you — what are you gonna do for us?

Hilary: I can do a roundup back handspring.

Conan: I don’t even know what that is.

Hilary: Do you want me to show you?

Conan: Yeah, let’s see it right now. Could we have a little drum roll,
max? A little something?

[ Drum roll ]

Hilary: I have to take my shoes off.

Conan: Take your shoes off. Go for it.

Hilary: I’m a little nervous. What if I mess up in front of all these
people?

Conan: All right. You can do it, don’t worry.

Hilary: Okay. Here we go. Let’s find my microphone.

Conan: Tempting. Don’t think — okay.

[ Light laughter ] Geez. What’s happening here? Okay, I’ll hold your
microphone.

Hilary: Okay.

Conan: All right.

[ Cheers and applause ] Oh, my god! That was good!

[ Musical flourish ]

[ Cheers and applause ]

Hilary: Thank you.

Conan: That was — that was really good, actually. I wasn’t —

[ Conan stammers ] I wasn’t expecting — I just thought you were gonna
do one of those things that I always see kids in the playground do. That’s
just kind of like, you know — whoo!

[ Laughter ]

[ Cheers and applause ] You know, I thought it was gonna be one of those.

Hilary: I think you need some lessons.

Conan: You know, one of those kind of things. I didn’t think you were
gonna go back. That was — that was actually — that was — that was cool.

Hilary: Thanks.

Conan: Wow. All right. Very nice. I forgot what I was gonna talk about.

Hilary: You feeling a little intimidated?

Conan: Yeah, I was! I — you were like — you — “I’ll do it and then
you do it.” I’m like, “okay,” and then I watched you do that, my body would
fall apart if I started to do that.

[ Laughter ] My head and legs would fly off in different directions.
People in the audience would get hit by body parts.

[ Light laughter ] We have a clip here from your movie “raise your voice.”

Hilary: Yeah.

Conan: What can you tell us about what’s going on here?

Hilary: Basically, it’s just, like, a little more dramatic than some
of the movies that I’ve done before, and it has a really interesting cast.
Like, rita wilson plays my mom. And john corbett’s kind of, like, the mentor.
And —

Conan: He’s the music teacher.

Hilary: Yes. And jason ritter plays my brother, and it’s just, like,
very, you know, a big tragedy happens to this girl, and it’s all about,
like, perseverance, and she goes off to this school to be, like, a singer
and a songwriter. And it’s very interesting.

Conan: All right. Let’s take a look at this clip from “raise your voice.”

Hilary: I mean, I like you. A lot.

Hilary: Yeah, I like you, too. I was thinking about that song we were
working on the other day. I think we should do it for our final performance
piece. You sing up there, you could spread this collection, and we could
write something very meaningful. Okay?

Hilary: Yeah. Do you wanna try that again?

[ Cheers and applause ]

Conan: Wow, very good voice. Now, is the camera turning, or are they
turning you?

Hilary: You know, we actually had, like, five minutes to shoot that
scene. And there was, like, a camera track that was going around.

Conan: That’s the weird thing —

Hilary: Oh, no, we were dancing. So, we were, like, having to —

Conan: Do they have you on a lazy susan for that scene?

[ Laughter ] Where someone’s going —

[ Conan makes squeaky noises ]

[ Laughter ] I just wanted to do the sound effect. “Raise your voice”
opens this friday. And hilary duff, thanks so much for making time for
us.

Hilary: Thanks so much for having me here.

Conan: It was nice to have you on the show.