Kristen Bell is known for her bubbly personality, but according to the House of Lies star, it isn’t in her nature to be so positive.

“I love my therapist. When I have an issue that I need to work through, going to therapy gives me a bigger toolbox to do so,” Bell tells the February issue of Self. “Talking with friends helps, too.”

“I can say crazy things to my friends, things I’m embarrassed to admit, like, ‘I feel so ugly or worthless today,’” Bell explains. “They say, ‘What? You’re nuts!’ Having good, real friends builds your self-esteem exponentially.”

Bell believes she’s become a stronger person thanks to her therapist. “If I’m feeling down, I have someone who I trust to help me guide my feelings and help me distinguish the real from the imaginary.”

The Veronica Mars alum admits it took some time for her to lighten up. “I did take myself too seriously in my twenties,” Bell says, “but you have a series of experiences when you grow up and you have mini epiphanies where you realize you’re not the most important person on the planet and life is short. I think that’s really healthy.”

The actress — currently engaged to her When in Rome costar Dax Shepard — says she’s still a work in progress. “I’ve worked really hard to curb my natural impatience by realizing that everyone is doing the best they can.”

“I’m least proud of my ability to be lazy and procrastinate by spending time on my computer or in front of the TV, watching America’s Funniest Home Videos, the greatest show on television,” Bell tells Self. “To anybody who pooh-poohs it, I say, ‘Just give it 30 minutes.’”

Yahoo.com

Kristen Bell has six movies slated for release in 2012, but the 31-year-old actress is still saving for a rainy day.

“I always assume my career’s going to end tomorrow, you know what I mean?” the House of Lies star, who’s been engaged to Dax Shepard since 2009, tells the new issue of Flaunt. “We’re very frugal.”

Bell adds that they’re “hillbillies at heart, and I’m not f-cking ashamed of that.”

Bell — who next appears alongside Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski in Big Miracle — says her life with Shepard, 37, improved once she finally realized it’s OK to make mistakes.

“I think perfection is unrealistic and unattainable, and I felt freed when I let myself be who I am,” Bell tells Flaunt. ” Like, I’m gonna order red velvet pancakes. Life is f-cking short and these are delicious.”

UsMagazine.com

Kristen Bell loves sloths. You might even say she’s obsessed with them. She told Ellen about what happened when her boyfriend, Dax Shepard, introduced her to one for the first time, and if it’s too hard to believe, she brought the footage to prove it.

Watch the full interview on “Ellen” Tuesday January 31st!

From TV star to movie star and back again, Kristen Bell is keeping busy. After breaking out as the beloved TV heroine Veronica Mars, Bell has tackled film roles like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “When In Rome” while continuing to dabble on the small screen now and again. In the past, most actors shifted from TV to features and never looked back, but the landscape is changing and Bell is happy to take advantage. Her new Showtime series opposite Don Cheadle, “House Of Lies,” debuted earlier this month to very positive reviews and her latest film role, as reporter Jill Gerard in Ken Kwapis’ political comedy, “Big Miracle,” is hitting theaters this Friday. She also just finished up Dax Shepherd’s second directorial effort “Outrun,” which she describes as “in the vein of the Burt Reynolds movies of the ‘70s” and plays Supergirl opposite Justin Long’s Robin in one of the comedy shorts from the upcoming “Movie 43.”

Bell was on hand in Santa Monica, California this month to speak with The Playlist about her role in “Big Miracle” and everything else she has on the horizon, including the possibility of a “Veronica Mars” feature.

Stepping into the shoes of a reporter
In “Big Miracle, Bell plays Jill Jerard, a reporter on the rise who views the story of three grey whales trapped in an ice patch in the Arctic Circle as a possible chance to fast track her career. “Miracle” is based on true events, but Bell’s character is an amalgam of the countless press that descended upon Barrow, Alaska in 1988 to cover the international story.

The daughter of a TV news director, Bell has been around press most of her life. She’s also had plenty of press encounters in recent years she could draw from. “I’ve had enough encounters with reporters who I either did or did not want to converse with,” Bell tells us. “I feel like I had a good enough idea of how they are to act when they want to get the story. Sometimes it’s manipulative, sometimes it’s completely genuine. I kind of had Jill ride that line. I wanted her to have a fierce dedication to her work. It wasn’t that she was meant as the villain, it was just that the whales weren’t on her priority list. Getting a news anchor job and getting noticed at work was her one and only priority.”

Director Ken Kwapis also prepped the actress for the part by showing her footage from the actual coverage. “Ken was an unbelievable database. He would send us news clips of journalists reporting on the whales. There were also some circulated videos on the internet, like when Dan Rather got a hold of it and it caught fire,” Bell said.

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Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Dermot Mulroney, Kristen Bell, and Ted Danson dish on their whale rescue adventure flick.

On the new Showtime comedy series House of Lies, actress Kristen Bell plays Jeannie Van Der Hooven, a talented and highly ambitious member of Marty Kaan’s (Don Cheadle) team of management consultants. Crafty, flirtatious and a bit mysterious, Jeannie does everything she can to keep her personal life personal, but she’s not above getting down and dirty with a different guy in every city she visits.

While at the TCA Winter Press Tour, Collider got the opportunity to sit down with Kristen Bell for this exclusive interview to talk about how the head of the network approached her directly about doing the role, the appeal of doing more provocative storylines, how much fun she’s having working with the extremely talented Don Cheadle (who is also an executive producer on the series), how she never would have imagined that she would have her toes sucked on TV, and that she craves diversity in her acting roles, but is also spontaneous when it comes to choosing projects.

Collider: How did this come about for you? Were you approached with the role?
Kristen Bell: I was approached by David Nevins. He just called me up and said, “Would you be interested in this?” I already felt a spark of excitement, after being directly approached by the head of the network. Also, knowing that Don Cheadle was attached, it would have had to have been horrendous for me to not have said yes. Luckily, when I read it, it was brilliant and it was a very easy decision.

How much did they initially tell you about Jeannie Van Der Hooven, and how much have you been able to contribute to her?
Bell: They did not tell me a lot, at all. She wasn’t the main focus of the pilot, and they were trying to make me happy or satisfied by saying, “She’s going to unfold. It’s going to be a big character.” But, in all honesty, I didn’t really care. I liked the people I was working with. I liked the material. I was excited to work with Don Cheadle. Even if I was only in one scene an episode, it didn’t really bother me. I don’t crave being the main character. So, for the pilot, I wasn’t given a lot of info. But then, as we started to shoot the season, you see Jeannie’s hometown and her parents and where she came from, and you understand her more. So, I was given all those details by (show creator) Matt Carnahan, once the season started.

When you do something like this and it’s developed over the course of the season, what sort of backstory did you do for the character?
Bell: Well, I didn’t know a ton about her backstory for the pilot, so any questions I had, or to figure out how she would react to certain situations, I just asked stand-alone questions and asked Matt Carnahan if this is what he pictured, as well as our director, Stephen Hopkins. They kept me on track. But then, as we started the series, we all sat down and talked about our characters. I think it was of paramount importance that we knew who they were prior to meeting them because it’s very difficult to play a believable slick rick type person without knowing what the building blocks are, or how they got there, to be such a shark.

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She curses, she gets lap dances, she makes raunchy sex jokes. For Kristen Bell’s latest role on Showtime’s House of Lies, it’s safe to say her squeaky clean Veronica Mars persona has officially left the building.

“Being in a strip club in the middle of the afternoon with the lights on was a little unnerving. There’s a scene where I have to dance sexily around in my underwear that made me very nervous,” Bell tells TVGuide.com. The part “scared me a little bit.”

In the half-hour comedy, which follows a team of management consultants and stars Don Cheadle, Bell plays whip-smart, cutthroat “schmooze operator” Jeannie Van Der Hooven. House of Lies marks Bell’s first series regular TV project since she played a teen sleuth in cult favorite Veronica Mars, which was axed in 2007. On the big screen, she’s co-starred in films Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Burlesque and still voices the title character of Gossip Girl. “I was excited that Jeannie was very, very different and much more provocative [than Veronica Mars],” Bell says. “It’s important to show that it is a shark tank and it is sink-or-swim and Jeannie would not be able to work there if she didn’t play like a boy and get as dirty as they did.”

Producers liked her for the role at least partly because Jeannie was such a departure. “To see her open up is pretty amazing,” creator and executive producer Matthew Carnahan says.

Bell was first approached about House of Lies after she and fiancé Dax Shepard pitched another project to Showtime President David Nevins. Instead, Nevins called her the next day to gauge her interest in the pilot for a slick, racy comedy starring Cheadle. “Before he finished the ‘le’ in Cheadle, I said yes,” she recalls. “I just flew by the seat of my pants.”

Working with Cheadle, who both stars in and executive-produces the comedy, Bell wouldn’t get top billing — but she says that was part of the appeal. She remembers all too well the pressure and long hours that went with carrying Veronica Mars. “What they initially said was, ‘You’re a small role in the pilot, but don’t worry we’re going to develop your character. It’s going to be great,’ which I can tell is the pitch that everyone gets when you have under 20 lines in a pilot. They always promise you the world. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t,” she says.”Even if they were yanking my chain about developing the character, I said to myself, ‘Its fine. If I have to support Don Cheadle in a series, there are worse jobs you can have.’”

It came as a pleasant surprise when the producers delivered. “I’ve never had a promise carried through like this,” she says. “I love my part.”

Bell has already bonded with the cast, too — a perk that the movie star says will keep her coming back to TV. “The four of us met and immediately fell in love. A four-way love square hasn’t even been done on Jersey Shore,” she says of her castmates, which also include Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) and Josh Lawson (Romantically Challenged). “I’m a creature of habit. I’m a lot like a dog. I like being fed at the same time. I like seeing the same people every day. On TV, it really becomes like a big family. Those relationships, I think on a human level, fuel what you’re able to do as an actor.”

And yes, she’s totally down to get back into Veronica Mars’ shoes should a big-screen continuation go into production. “I’m so thankful for the impact that Veronica Mars has had on my life. It makes me excited that it affected people to the degree that it did. It makes me excited that fans still want a movie because I still want a movie,” she says. “That wasn’t an easy show to shoot or to publicize. I’m proud of it, and I think nothing compares to something you work on that you’re genuinely proud of.”

House of Lies airs Sundays at 10/9c on Showtime.

TVGuide.com

Kristen Bell belongs on TV — and I don’t say that just because I want her in my life, and my living room, on a weekly basis.

What I mean is that the actress simply meshes with the medium so well, her best work always seems to come alive on the small screen: from Veronica Mars to Heroes and Reefer Madness, the pint-sized powerhouse never fails to hit it out of the park when she lives in my DVR.

Kristen is now back where she belongs thanks to Showtime’s sensational House of Lies, where she co-stars as a corporate strategist alongside Don Cheadle. I recently caught up with Kristen backstage at The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to talk all about this dynamic new role, what you can expect from her next big screen projects and why baby sloths rival Lee Press On Nails for title of “Best Thing Ever.”

Insider.com: What attracted you to House of Lies?
Kristen Bell: Everything. I liked the fact it was cable, so there are no limitations on the storylines in terms of how deep or provocative we could go. I like how sleek and sophisticated and dirty it was. I like that it’s relevant since Occupy Wall Street and movements like that are in the zeitgeist. I like this character because she’s so compartmentalized and I’ve never played someone who is not only willing to tell lies to other people but often lies to herself.

Insider: You and Don Cheadle have insane chemistry. Did you know each other before this show?
Kristen: We didn’t. We had lunch prior to doing the show, which I believe was the lunch for him to either yay or nay me. They had invited me on board, but clearly it’s Don’s show – what if he hated me? So we went out to lunch and hit it off. He is a better human being than an actor, and he’s a damn good actor.

Insider: I would have been so nervous. Did you know that this lunch served this dual purpose?
Kristen: Yes, I found out late in the game. Once they reached out, I thought, “This is so exciting!!!” Then they told me, “You just gotta have lunch with Cheadle.” I was a little nervous but if he didn’t like me, then it was probably not meant to be.

Insider: Plus, who wouldn’t like you?
Kristen: Exactly. Who on earth wouldn’t not like me?!?

Insider: I was a huge Veronica Mars fan — does its enduring popularity make it more difficult for you to pick TV projects?
Kristen: Yes and no. It’s like having your first dog or child, nothing will replace that. Veronica Mars was fiercely intelligent and thankfully that’s the kind of material I’m attracted to. I’ve tried to pepper my choices with intelligent ones. I think House of Lies is very, very intelligent. So I hope the fans are satisfied. It’s hard to please the Veronica Mars crowd sometimes because it was such a well-constructed, beautiful show.

Insider: You talked about being able to make the show as dirty as you want. With that said, what was it like filming the pilot episode in that strip club?
Kristen: My strip club experience was interesting because, number one, we were there during daylight, so that’s … yea. But the girls were lovely and beautiful but it’s a weird experience when they raise the lights in between takes.

Insider: Did they give you any tips for that underwear dance you do in an upcoming episode?
Kristen: Oh man .. no. I tried. It was one of, if not, the most embarrassing moment of my life. I don’t do sexy, I do cute – I can do cute till the cows come home. But sexy is a lot harder, do you know what I mean? It’s not what I feel.

Insider: Fans are excited to see that, but what are you excited for fans to see?
Kristen: I’m excited for the episode where we visit Jeannie’s home town. You get to see a bit behind the scenes of what she’s dealt with growing up, specifically with her being from a lower class family. I’m excited for that to be revealed because when you have characters who are so cutthroat and antagonistic, you do need to see what makes them tick. You need to see why they do the things they do, so I’m glad they reveal that because it makes Jeannie a little more sympathetic.

Insider: In addition to House of Lies, you co-star with John Krasinski & Drew Barrymore in Big Miracle. What appealed to you with that movie?
Kristen: I liked that it was an actual event. It was such an inspiring story on so many levels. It’s a comment on cultures clashing, the Americans judging the inupiats and the way they live. It’ll tug on people’s heartstrings because for some reason, we feel that whales are like us. More so than a lot of other animals. There were so many parts of the script that I liked beyond it being a fascinating, inspiring story.

Insider: Like the rockin’ 80s wardrobe you wear in the movie?
Kristen: Oh, you have no idea. You’re not ready. Nobody is. The one thing I really wanted to do was wear Lee Press On nails, which incidentally was the first monologue I ever memorized for a commercial audition. They were baby pink iridescent nails and before shooting, I begged for approval and no one seemed to care. Ken Kwapis, our director, was like, “I don’t care what nail polish you wear. I have a whole movie to make.” Cut to the editors and Ken emailing me, saying, “We love every single shot where we can see your nails! We want more nails!” It’s a comment on the times because that’s what my moms hands looked like.

Insider: You also co-star in the vignette film Movie 43, and play Supergirl?
Kristen: Oh yea, it’s happening. Legit Supergirl costume. It’s me, Justin Long as Robin, Jason Sudeikis as Batman, Uma Thurman as Lois Lane and it’s about Gotham City speed dating. We’re all switching tables and flirting.

Insider: That said, who do you think the most attractive superhero is?
Kristen: I’m not an underpants on the outside kind of girl. You know? Keep it to yourself. Let me get there if I want to get there. It’s too much too soon. Is it cute if I wear the bra on the outside of my shirt? No. I’d look like a lunatic. So I would have to say Clark Kent because his underpants are on the inside. Suit is always a good look. And those glasses? Forget about it. I love those.

Insider: You’ve also supply the voice of Gossip Girl — a show that currently has split fans into two camps: ones that want Blair with Chuck and ones that want her with Dan. Where do you fall?
Kristen: This is just my opinion as Kristen Bell, but I can’t get enough of Blair with Chuck. Obsessed.

Insider: OK, and finally — the million dollar question: What is cuter, a yawning puppy or a sneezing panda?
Kristen: Neither. A baby sloth. Screw your answers. Above anything! Have you ever seen one?

Insider: Apparently not….
Kristen: [To assistant] Do you have an iPhone? YouTube: “It’s Bathtime Too Cute Animal Planet.” Can I explain something to you?

Insider: Please.
Kristen: I Google Baby Sloths maybe 2-3 times a week. I’ve been obsessed with sloths for as long as I can remember. They must be my spirit animal or something. There’s nothing cuter than a baby sloth. It doesn’t exist in my opinion. OK, maybe a slow Loris. Maybe. On a good day. And if it’s a baby slow loris. You’re gonna die. You’re not ready. Watch this video and cry your eyes out.

TheInsider.com