COURTNEY LOVE always wanted to be an actress, but it took her rock star fame to get the filmmakers' attention. We've got her inside story on her latest role as Lucy in the comedy '200 Cigarettes.'

Entertainment Tonight Online: This is a great movie!

Courtney Love: Thank you!

ETO: Did you have fun with this character?

Courtney: Yeah, I had a great time. It was really fun.

ETO: Do you relate to the character at all?

Courtney: Yeah, I had crushes on my friends, and never told them.

ETO: Do you like the time period the movie was shot in?

Courtney: I was in New York, but a New York of about 10 years ago - 1988. I was actually really young -- too young to be out in 1981. But the time period is still with us, and KEITH HARING, ANDY WARHOL, CBGB's. You know what I mean.

ETO: Did you like the music from that era?

Courtney: Yeah. And the soundtrack for the movie came out really well.

ETO: Yeah, it's a great soundtrack. So, how was it working with PAUL [RUDD]?

Courtney: I loved it! We begged, borrowed and stole to get him to do it. Me and RISA [BRAMON GARCIA] just sent him flowers and bombarded him.

ETO: How did you first hook up with Risa?

Courtney: In 1987, when I lived in NY, I was an actress. I was in some really loser B movies that they show on the Independent Channel just to bug me. (to camera) No one else cares, you guys should just knock it off, okay. But Risa was this amazing casting director - she still is - but now she's a director. She and her partner would call me in. And one day I noticed that I'd never get parts - too edgy. Boy, times have changed! Edgy is okay now. But in the '80s, edgy was not okay. But I played guitar and I loved being in a band anyway, and I was just like splitsville. Why can't I be SEAN PENN, too? But music seemed like I could be Sean Penn too - it was more fair. But one day in their office, I noticed a clipboard and on the clipboard they had a casting list and there were people like BELINDA CARLISLE and JANE WEIDLIN [from THE GO-GO's]. And I said - I don't know if it was to Risa or her partner then - "So, if I go away and become a rock star, can I come back?" And someone said, "The world will be your oyster." So it was sort of this karmic thing, on top of the script being really clever and good, it was Risa, New York.

ETO: So you had to become a rock star to make movies?

Courtney: I wanted to become a musician and the other stuff comes with it. But I also acted before I did that. I've been acting since I was eight.

ETO: Do you have a preference?

Courtney: I think that acting makes me happier, and certainly with the parts I've been choosing lately, I've been choosing happier parts that aren't doom. And I'll do some doom, if it's presented right, but my day job has a lot of doom in it -- lot of songs are doom. You're dealing with a lot of adolescent angst and teenage pain. I just came back from Australia -- 40,000 kids a night! Teenage pain. It's a heavy energy to deal with, whereas in acting, you can deal with all teenage pain and doom and everything else, but you can also go home at night. That is survival. So they're both very precious. Neither one has interfered with the other. I just had to turn something down to tour with MARILYN MANSON. When I asked my daughter, "Well, I could be really pretty and wear really pretty dresses, or I could tour with the monster people. What would you like me to do?" And she said, "Go wear pretty dresses, mommy." I was like, no, I have to do this. It's rock - I've got to go rock. But I have another pretty good one film when I come back from tour.

ETO: Great! And thank you very much.