In 1992, at the tender age of 10, Eliza Dushku won a nationwide talent search to star in a coming-of-age drama entitled That Night with Juliette Lewis and C. Thomas Howell. Suffering the trials and tribulations of a young girl named Alice, Eliza received a frog in her mouth when expecting her first kiss, danced the night away under the boardwalk of a local beach and rubbed "Grobust" on her chest with a handful of other girls a month before the birthday party of a local boy. (Though the prop advisor assured us that Grobust was a harmless skin cream, we're not so sure). The movie was a modest success, along the lines of other youth films like Stand By Me. But, like the talent search that landed Michelle Pfeiffer the starring role in Grease 2 and slowly transformed her into one of the most popular actresses of the '90s, it was only a start for Eliza. Have you seen her lately? It's amazing what another 10 years will do for a young girl's, um, career.

A few months later, Eliza appeared in another adolescent biopic called This Boy's Life. It starred Leonardo DiCaprio (pre-Titanic, when he was cast for his remarkable acting skills instead of his ability to draw scores of screaming adolescent girls), Ellen Barkin and Robert De Niro as a sadistic stepfather bent on crushing the life out of his new familial obligation. Eliza's role was minimal (she played De Niro's neglected daughter), but the part gave her valuable experience working with Hollywood's A-list. Daily Radar caught up with Eliza recently, and we were allowed to ask her a few questions before getting the boot. We've since come up with our own questions and answers for Eliza's publicist in a future interview:

Daily Radar: How did you feel about growing up on movie sets?

Eliza: It was fun. I learned a lot at a very young age. Great opportunities and great traveling. I'm glad I finished high school with all of my friends. Overall, I am very thankful but missed [living at home].

In 1994 she was cast in a short film called Fishing With George, a small work that nobody saw. Undaunted, she appeared in another film released that year, a minor action thriller with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton and Tia Carrera called True Lies. In the James Cameron-directed film, Eliza played Dana Tasker, Arnie's wallet-reaving, atomic bomb key-stealing badass brunette daughter who led him to the top of a construction site and a climatic fight scene on top of a Harrier jet. Naturally, True Lies came up in our questions to Eliza almost right away.

Daily Radar: What are your thoughts on having worked with James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies?

Eliza: I loved it! True Lies is one of my favorite projects. It was a long shoot, so everyone became very close. Everyone was awesome! James is a genius. He even sent me a birthday and Christmas gift... he's always great to my family and friends. Same with Arnold. Arnold has always given me great tips about fans and other things.

After True Lies, Eliza's vocation faltered slightly as she played Emma in Bye Bye, Love, a dull dramatic comedy with Matthew Modine, Randy Quaid, Janeane Garofalo and Paul Reiser. Bye Bye, Love was Eliza's second major role playing a badass teenaged babe, but the best was yet to come (who can relate to Paul Reiser anyway?)

In 1996, Eliza once again proved she could act just as well as Hollywood's other rising stars alongside Halle Berry, James Belushi and Casey Affleck (Ben's younger brother) in Race The Sun, a fictionalized account of a group of Hawaiian teenagers who develop a solar-powered car and compete in a cross-country race in Australia. Race the Sun is a heartwarming family flick that, despite the many gross improbabilities (like an obese teen's weight providing extra speed on the downhill stretch to the finish line) saw Eliza's Cindy Johnson reforming her immoral behaviors in time to be a worthy contributor to the team (after all, everyone knows that smoking and drinking are just wrong. Right? Guys?). Like Bye Bye, Love, Race the Sun enjoyed a limited release and is best known for gathering dust on rental shelves around the world. Down, but not out, Eliza had another card to play. And it was an ace.

In 1992 Joss Whedon's idea for a movie about a teenage hero with superpowers hit the big screen. Unfortunately, the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer was nowhere near what he wanted. Joss had lost creative control and the bigwigs at Twentieth Century Fox basically drove a stake through his efforts. The movie turned out to be horribly campy and bombed appropriately. Then, in 1997, Buffy was reborn. Suffice it to say that Warner Bros. knew the potential for a cult hit when they saw it. A few short months later Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendan, Anthony Stewart Head, Charisma Carpenter and David Boreanaz were thrust into living rooms and plastered onto bedroom walls all over the world. But a piece was still missing.

In the show's third season, Joss wanted to create a female character from the wrong side of town. Someone who had the potential for good, but whose love of power and control made her fall from grace (think "Darth Buffy"). As Faith, Eliza was propelled from her bit-part status into a major player on a show that had a legion of hardcore fans and both public and critical acclaim. Faith remains the ultimate degenerate in Eliza's career. She smirkingly stole from stores, killed innocent humans, poisoned Buffy's boyfriend, "raped" one of her old buddies, and signed on with the town's corrupt mayor as he tried to slaughter the entire high-school population. Driven by the show's cult following and the refreshing breeze of the best antihero since Han Solo, shrines to Faith and Eliza started appearing on the Net.

Daily Radar: How do you feel about your role as Faith?

Eliza Dushku: Faith is a really good role to come back into the Hollywood scene. She has her own background and is very challenging.

DR: What do you think of the many Faith shrines on the Internet?

ED: I'm flattered that so many people want to spend this much time on Buffy. I don't spend that much time on the net because I'm busy working, but my friends say it's pretty accurate.

DR: How has your life changed since Buffy?

ED: This is the first thing that's aired since I've gotten back into the scene, so it's given back my recognition on the streets. It's been a lot of fun working with a variety of people and sets.

Rumors on the net and in Hollywood have it that 2000 could be quite the year for Eliza. So far she is tentatively scheduled to appear in Cheer Fever with Kirsten Dunst, a drama that captures the brutal competition inherent in high school cheerleading, and in Soul Survivors, a thriller about teens who don't know when to stop messing around with the supernatural, co-starring Casey Affleck and Wes Bentley (of American Beauty fame).

DR: How do you choose your scripts?

ED: I want to be an actress that is recognized by all ages. Basically, I want to make an impression on all ages. It depends on the theme of the script.

After her triumphant return to Buffy this season, interest in Eliza Dushku has increased. We at Daily Radar feel it's only a matter of time before she wipes the silver screen with her younger co-stars and becomes a movie star in the truest sense of the word.

Reprinted from Daily Radar - By Doug Trueman - March 30, 2000