She has won an Oscar for her acting, but Reese Witherspoon says producing films gives her as much satisfaction as appearing before the camera.

The 32-year-old actress said she was also keen to direct, adding that 2006's Penelope, her first project as the leading producer as well as an actress, was a natural progression after 15 years in the movie industry.

Witherspoon, who won best actress for her role in 2005's Walk the Line, opens up during a visit to Japan to promote women's health on behalf of cosmetics firm Avon.

How different an experience was Penelope for you?

It was a project I was interested in for a long time. It had a central character really interesting to me in that she had to discover her own inner beauty in order to be free herself.

I thought it was such a beautiful message, and it was a script that had been floating around Hollywood for a long time, so I was just happy to be able to make that movie come to life.

It was very different for me as a producer. I actually had great pride in going to the premieres and working with the writers, trying to find the director and casting the film.

It was a great educational experience, having been just an actor.

What other projects do you have in the pipeline?

I have a film that I have just produced with Vince Vaughn called Four Christmases.

It's going to be coming out at the end of this year. I also have a film I'm just doing a voice in, for DreamWorks Animation studio, called Monsters vs. Aliens, which will be a real achievement for myself in that it's the first female lead of an animated film from a major animation studio in quite a while.

I just work with studios in trying to find very rich characters, who have a rich background, who are complex, like all women are.

Do you get as much a buzz from producing as from appearing in front of the camera?

I do. I've learned a lot from over 15 years in the business, being on sets and working with really talented people.

I try to really ask a lot of questions, observe what people are doing, and feel like I've learnt a lot, so using those observations to make my own films has been very satisfying.

Do you find that you are just as attentive to how a film is perceived critically as you are to the box office?

You have to take everything sort of in stride. Every film isn't made to make critical success, every film isn't made to make money.

I try to vary the goals that I have within the film-making world. There's a lot of different reasons that you make films, but I love the art of it, just collaborating with different artists, it can be a very beautiful art form. I definitely enjoy my job. It's nice.

Having your own production company, does that give you more creative ownership?

Certainly. People come to me and interest me with their ideas, their scripts, and I take that responsibility very seriously.

It's a lot of hard work, but it's also very fun - it's nice to make those collaborations work.

You've won an Oscar as an actress and produced a number of films. Have you ever thought about directing?

Maybe when I don't have two small children running around the house. Yes, I think about it - definitely in the future.

Reuters Life

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