The sun-kissed actress revels in her chance to finally get in on some action, even if she can't quite put her finger on what exactly her 'chemistry' with Matthew McConaughey is all about.

In romantic-comedy-adventure film Fool's Gold, Kate Hudson plays Tess, a woman trying to get her life on track after years spent following her irresponsible treasure-hunting husband (an oft-shirtless Matthew McConaughey) from sea to shining sea. But wouldn't you know it? Just when she's about to high-tail it out of Dodge, his roguish charm pulls her back in.


Since their first onscreen pairing in 2003's How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, there's been no denying that Hudson and McConaughey certainly have that rom-com "it" factor — even if Hudson is at a loss to explain what, exactly, "it" is.


So what was it like getting to reteam with Matthew?
Fun. I think we were both in very different places in our life [during How to Lose a Guy], but what I think was the best part of that was that really nothing had changed, you know what I mean? We had an absolute blast together. It was really fun.


What is it about your styles that click so well?
I don't know. I don't know the answer to it other than I feel like maybe…I feel like we just kind of…I don't feel like there's any…[laughs] I really don't know the answer. Because I work the same way with him that I work with anybody — you work just as hard on the scenes, and you work just as intimately. So it's the same way with Matthew as anybody else, but it just translates differently than most, I think. At least according to what everyone else says. When I see [the movie], I see Matthew and me, and it's very difficult for me to be objective about our chemistry, you know what I mean? I remember seeing How to Lose a Guy and people were like, "Wow, your chemistry…" Really? Are you sure? And I kind of feel the same about this movie. People say we have chemistry, but I just can't see it. It's really weird. He feels like my brother. Although, you know, we are very flirtatious people. There are certain people you meet throughout your career that you just love. Naomi Watts was one person, we met and she's remained someone that I'll always love and remain friends with. Liv Tyler, same thing. Matthew. I just love him. And it's nothing romantic, it's nothing sexual — although I feel there is a sort of weird sexual tension because we're male and female — I just love him, yeah.


Does it have anything to do with his aversion to shirts?
Well, that actually can drive me crazy sometimes. It's one of those things that I love to hate. It's one of the things that make our chemistry work. The thing is, you can say anything you want, but when you see it, it's like, "Wow." I'd take my shirt off, too, if I looked like that.


Did you guys sign up for Fool's Gold at the same time, or did one of you jump onboard first?
It was Matthew first, then me. It was the opposite of How to Lose a Guy. Which makes total sense, because he's really the one doing all the crazy stuff. I think we all felt inevitably that it was the right thing to do.


Once you signed on, did you guys work through the script to reflect more of what you and Matthew bring to the table, or was it there from the get-go?
You know what? The script was specific enough and written well enough to where we didn't really have that kind of like, like we didn't need to. Whereas the last experience we had, which was just me basically going crazy — everything I was doing was like improv. But this movie was different because there were a lot of plot points. Certain things that Andy [Tennant] wrote it, and he directed it, so there's a lot that he held precious. So not a lot of improv. But it's hard to script physicality.


You character is kind of the straight person (but has her moments) and gets to jump into the action as well. Is that what attracted you to the role?
Yeah. She's not really a smiley character, which I loved. She's not a joyous character. So I loved that, that was different. I get a lot of scripts from people where I'm the happy smiley girl. My next role is not like that either, which I'm excited about.


What is that?
Bride Wars, with Anne Hathaway and myself. We're going to be duking it out, with wedding dresses on. So basically, by circumstance, we both end up having our wedding dates fall on the same day, and we think we can deal with it, and it slowly becomes like a War of the Roses.


Does your character get dark?
She's not dark, she's just super selfish and tough. She's just very self-centered. She's definitely not a smiley girl, Anne's more the smiley girl in this movie. So it's fun. On Fool's Gold, it was also nice to be sporty. I grew up with a bunch of boys, so it made sense to me that I would do stuff like that, that I would be somebody who was adventuresome. And I've never been in an adventure movie, so I really was doing a lot of things I hadn't done.


Did you do your own stunts?
I did a lot, oh yeah. There were a couple that I didn't do. The underwater stuff? That was all me. I had to do a lot of underwater stuff in the pool, holding my breath to expand my lungs because I had to be sure that I could make it from — it looks way smaller on camera — but I'm going a good few yards underwater. When you're working in water like that, it's kinda scary. You've got to definitely pay attention. You just have to make sure you're totally sharp.


Andy Tennant hasn't really done anything on this scale, either — did you notice a learning curve with him at all?
Yeah. You know, what I liked about it was that, with everything we wanted to do, he didn't want it to be unrealistic. So I enjoyed the fact that the movie wasn't all of a sudden like cars and things blowing up; it felt real even though, in a way, it's kind of just ridiculous. It's, like, I'm in a plane and Matthew's hanging on the side of this plane — but the way Andy took his time with the film allowed you to feel like it was more believable. Andy is a very specific guy. He knows what he likes, he knows what he wants, and he likes you to be a part of what he's interested in and what he wants to create. And I like people who are steadfast in what they believe. And I'm a facilitator, you know? I show up and what you want is hopefully what you get and if not, [laughs] sorry I let you down!