Liv Tyler falls for the Hulk

Liv Tyler's taken maybe the strangest decision of her life recently. After walking out on husband Royston Langdon after five years of marriage and with her three-year-old son Milo in tow Tyler's taken a u-turn and is heading back to the British musician/drain on her finances. A chat to Gwyneth Paltrow (also a member of the Brit rocker wives club) apparently lead to the change of heart.

So is it an act of bravery (she says she wants to work it out with Langdon for the sake of her son)? Or a choice based on the same misguided logic that lead her to the Hulk role, where she plays YET another insipid female sidekick (see Armageddon)?

What fascinates you about The Hulk?

I think there is something so human about him. He's this person that wants to do good. He's unlucky in that he's the misunderstood hero. Something goes wrong, there is an experiment, and he's plagued with this power or this thing that in many ways destroys his life and helps the world at the same time. He always has to sacrifice his own happiness, his own wants and needs for the greater good of mankind.

How do you deal with your anger?

I don't get angry that much. I probably need to go to a class to let anger out. I'm not a very angry person. I usually feel sadness or empathy. I'm always fascinated with the psychology with how people work, so generally if someone p****s me off I try to understand why they'd do that. And how could I be a little bit more understanding about it, but it takes a lot to p*** me off.

Do you prefer to portray damsels in distress or strong women?

Of course the strong woman with her sword, but it's nice to be able to do both.

Did you have to conquer your fears in this movie or are you completely fearless?

I'm not totally fearless. I have a lot of fears, but I'm quite brave. I'm not afraid to express my fear I always announce to everyone that I'm afraid. And I love a challenge. Sometimes things would be a little bit too scary and I would say, “Wait a minute guys, it's the middle of the night and we've all been working for too many hours and I don't feel safe about this." But you don't always have a choice on a movie. It's a little bit scary sometimes.

Can you give an example of a scary situation in this movie?

There are moments where people are tackling you to the ground or throwing you across the room. You really have to be focused and calm and you just have to sort of risk it. On this movie I kept throwing myself in front of a tank. I'd run in front of a moving tank. It was really fun. I got to be really brave in this film; a woman facing a monster all the time. She always knows when it's Bruce inside of the Hulk and that's what sets Betty apart from everyone else in the Hulk's life.

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

For sure growing a human being inside of your stomach is amazing [laughs]. Being a parent, but that's a process. Having a baby was the first time in my life that I really felt proud of myself. I have been acting or having people take pretty pictures of me my whole life. I look at those things and think, oh wow, but maybe I watch the movie once. It's the experience that I enjoy, but having a child was a whole other level of feeling that you really accomplished something.

Has your creativity changed since you had your son?

Yes, of course. I'm confused because I can't tell if it's because I'm a mother, or because I'm a woman now. I started working when I was a child. It happened so quickly. “I want to be an actress when I grow up," and suddenly I wasn't a grown up, but I was an actress [laughs].

A lot changed for me in the past year when I turned 30, and a lot of it had to do with being a mother. I'm discovering myself more. For once, I was making the decision to work, it wasn't just happening. Whereas when I was younger, I worked hard, I auditioned, and I fought hard for the parts I wanted, and I of course made the films, but it was all sort of “happening" to me.

Having stepped outside of that for a couple of years where I made a choice not to pursue them. When I then went back to work I made the choice what I wanted to work and I picked the things I wanted to work on. There was a feeling where I was like, “Well sure," because I was an adult choosing a profession as opposed to when I was a child. It was sort of a dream, and it happened.

Why did you want to act when you were a kid?

Honesty, I have no idea. I moved from Maine to New York. I was chubby, had a perm, and braces [laughs]. Within a year I shot up like a gazillion feet and I was suddenly 5'10" and scrawny. I didn't have a perm anymore. My mother was really good friends with Paulina Porizkova and Rick Ocasek, and she was taking photographs at the time. She wanted to use those pictures in a magazine, and people started to ask, “Who's that girl?"

Then I did one picture for Interview magazine, and they asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up. “An actress," I said. I was 13, I think. Then I started modelling for a year after school. I would go with my backpack. Then I was asked to audition for a couple of movies, and I just went in and tried it. Then I met Bernardo Bertolucci. I went to his hotel room, and read for his movie with a casting director.

What did you like about it?

I loved it. I couldn't define it other than it just felt like home. It felt right.

It felt good to express myself, my emotions. Even Edward always said that I was born in the wrong time, that I should have been a silent film star. I guess because I was always trying to cut the lines all the time. “I don't really want to say this, I want to show this." It's true. It's not necessarily the words, it's conveying the emotion.

Do you like to do these kinds of fantasy films with lots of CGI as opposed to different kinds of films?

I've made a lot of movies since I started acting at 16 and I don't feel that way at all. I feel like I'm still learning about them. This is only the second time I've ever worked with any kind of special effects or CGI in any way. It's kind of the first time I've ever really done stunts. I actually loved it and thought I'd like to do more of that because it's such a physical challenge. It's really wonderful.

Do you like to watch yourself on the screen?

Not really, no. I like to see the movie. I get so excited to see every one, but it's difficult to watch yourself. You kind of cringe.

The good, the bad and the green- Who's who in the Hulk's world

Betty Ross

Constantly in distress and torn between the men in her life — Betty is no feminist icon. But with her smile and gentle ways, she provides the sweetness missing from Banner's life. She might just tame the beast.

Samuel Sterns

While Banner hides out in South America, scientist Samuel Sterns is his only hope of finding a cure for the gamma sickness that turns him green and growling. But can Sterns's motives be trusted? And what will he do with the blood samples Banner sends him through the mail?

Emil Blonsky

Born in Russia and trained by the British Secret Service, Emil Blonsky was a killing machine even before he had Hulk blood injected into his veins. With the Hulk formula pulsing through his body, he becomes the only force that can battle the green monster, but it seems his monster might even be worse.

Bruce Banner

Stuck with the worst alter-ego imaginable, Bruce Banner is an otherwise amiable and soft-spoken scientist. Now the main focus of his life is his attempts to keep his inner green monster in check. It's not going that well.

Dr Leonard Sampson

These days it seems every superhero has to worry about a guy trying to steal his girl. In the Hulk's case, it's the mild mannered psychologist Leonard Sampson who kept Betty Ross company while Banner was battling his demons in South America. Leonard seems to genuinely care for Betty and will do anything to protect her. Anything.

General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross

Creator and nemesis of the Hulk, General Ross wants to kidnap Banner so he can use him as a specimen for his biological weapons research. And he has tanks, helicopters and fighter jets at his disposal.

The green monster

Rumours are flying around Hollywood that the air might not be too clear between Edward Norton, star of The Incredible Hulk, and the film's producers. Apparently Norton, who rewrote most of the script after he joined the production team, is unhappy that he was not credited among the writers.

Both Norton and Marvel deny this, but the final proof will be whether Norton shows up in the sequel of The Incredible Hulk, the release date of which is yet to be announced.