COSMOGIRL
Prinze Charming
September 2001
By Deborah Baer

What makes Freddie Prinze Jr. CosmoGIRL!'s Sexiest Guy of the Year? Anyone who's seen his movies- from She's All That to his most recent, Summer Catch- might say, without hesitation, his beautiful, honest eyes! His cute butt! But after reaching him on the phone while he was 8,000 miles away shooting Scooby Doo in Australia, we realizes it's not the physical stuff at all. It's that this is a guy who's always thinking - about others, about the way the world works, about how he can make himself a better person. And that quality is way more attractive than his looks could ever be. He's a real guy- the kind you'd love to just chill with while you're watching a basketball game on TV (which is exactly what he's doing when we call!).

CG!: Sorry to take you away from the game. Who are you rooting for, anyway?
Freddie: I love underdogs. I don't want to go with the one that everyone always goes with, know what I mean?

CG!: Why do you think you're like that?
Freddie: I'm not sure. I read this astrology book one time called The Birthday Book. I don't really believe in that stuff, but it was so dead-on. The title of the day on my birthday, March 8, was "The Day of Nonconformity." Everything that was written on the page was literally as if I was reading one of those unauthorized cheese-ball biographies about myself, you know, Freddie Prinze Jr.- He's All That! I mean, the first thing was, "You don't believe in conforming to the majority. You pull for the underdog. You always go against the grain- not to cause problems, but because you have to follow your own tune. "It was almost disturbing!

CG!: Do you consider yourself an underdog?
Freddie: There are situations where I'm the favorite, and some where I'm not. I win some and I lose some. There are certain films where I've been the favorite but I didn't get the part. So whoever was pulling for the underdog that day was extremely happy, and I…was not. Like, the whole reason I started acting was because I wanted to make Spider-Man. And I worked, and worked, and worked so hard to get that film, and I wanted to be in it so badly. I met with the director, and everyone was saying life was good. Then suddenly he made an offer to somebody else [Tobey Maguire] who he wanted all along. I realized that he was never interested in me. I was hugely disappointed.

CG!: How do you get over something like that?
Freddie: I just sort of keep everything in perspective. It bothers me for about three hours, and I let it go. At the same time, if something great happens, I don't let it blow my mind and feel like the coolest guy in the world. I'm not going to let anybody tell me I'm good and believe that, and I'm not going to let anybody tell me I'm bad and believe that. Like, people say- and this happens more to women than to me- "She just needs to lose five pounds, and we'll put some highlights in her hair." And these women will do that, instead of just believing that they're beautiful, believing that they're talented, and believing in themselves. If you're not happy with yourself, then, yeah, you need to make some changes. But if other people aren't happy with you but you are? Guess what? You're way ahead of the game.

CG!: That's so CosmoGIRL! Of you. Are you spiritual?
Freddie: I'm not really religious, but I am very spiritual. I try to do my own thing. Every single day I take really long showers or baths. I pray, kick back, and think about what I'm doing and if there are ways to do certain things better. If there are, then I do them. Then I get really happy with myself and know I am doing a good job. I know what I believe. I believe in god, and I live by the universal Golden Rule- do unto others as you want done to you.

CG!: You were a loner in high school. Do you remember when that changed for you?
Freddie: I was always on the outside looking in. But living in Hollywood is basically like going back to high school. Everybody tries to find a group to belong to. It's like joining a gang. You feel like you have to be safe to succeed and to feel good.

CG!: Are you in a "gang"?
Freddie: I never wanted to be a part of those groups. Like, I don't go to parties and hang out with those people. It's just not my thing. I have a group of friends, but none of them are really actors. One's a computer programmer, one owns a restaurant, one's a lawyer, and one's in school. One is an actor on The West Wing, but he is one of the most kickback people I have ever met. We're all very different, and we have different opinions on things.

CG!: What will you tell your friends when they see you in the orange thong in Summer Catch?
Freddie: That's my body double wearing the orange thong and running around half naked! I have a no-nudity clause in BIG BLACK LETTERS in my contracts. No one but my girl will ever see my ass, and that's just the way it is. I apologize if that hurts anyone's feelings!

CG!: Speaking of Sarah [Michelle Gellar, his fiancée in case you didn't know], how cool is it that you guys get to do Scooby Doo together?
Freddie: I would be lying if I said it wasn't a million times easier being in Australia with Sarah than another actress. I wouldn't be having as much fun. The other actress would not be as good. And I'd miss Sarah too much.

CG!: You guys seem so tight. What the worst rumor you've ever read about your relationship?
Freddie: A lot of things are printed about me and my relationship that are simply not true. But the worst was, and I have never told anyone this before, I took Sarah to where my father [actor and comedian Freddie Prinze, who dies when Freddie was 10 months old] is buried. I was trying to show her something special. But someone followed us and took pictures and sold them to a tabloid. They made up this whole ridiculous story with quotes from me and Sarah. It was horrible and awful and terrible. That was by far the most invasive. But it taught me a great lesson. Now I look over my shoulder constantly to see if we're being followed.

CG!: Is it fun working together?
Freddie: It's awesome! She is such a wonderful actress- she doesn't know hoe good she is. She's being allowed to spread her wings and go wild. People are going to be so terribly impressed. It's different than anything she's done. She's been given the opportunity to, which I don't think she gets often enough, to just shine. And when she does, it's a sight to behold. You watch the monitors- and you have to understand, they're only eight by six inches- and she is shining on that. When it's on the big screen, its just going to blow everybody out of their seats. They're not going to know what to do. I've never been so proud of her. She's going to be the biggest movie star in the world.

CG!: Wow that is so sweet!
Freddie: It's not just sweet- it's 100 percent true. If it wasn't me telling you, someone else would be.

CG!: Well, we've heard you're a prankster, so you can always get them back!
Freddie: I like to pull jokes, but I like to save them for the guys, not girls, because some of them are pretty elaborate. Once, Jed Ryan [ Freddie's costar in Summer Catch] was picking up his girl at the airport. I put this liquid in his Coke that makes you have to…I'm trying of think of a classy way to say this…well…it fives you the runs. I ordered it from the back of police equipment magazine. So Jed starts getting sick like halfway to the airport, but he doesn't go to the bathroom. He gets back and is like, "Dude, can I use your bathroom?" and I'm like, "No! Use your own bathroom." I was not about to let him go in my trailer because I knew what was going to happen. So he goes in the extras' bathroom and, literally, you hear screaming and this god-awful noise that I wont try to recreate because I'm going to eat lunch soon. Everyone outside was on the floor laughing. He has no idea that we did this to him- but I guess he will now!

CG!: Freddie Prinze Jr., we are shocked!
Freddie: I've also lied in interviews- how bad is that? It just depends on the kind of mood you get me in. Sometimes I don't want to talk, so I just start making up stuff. Hey, it's hard to speak about yourself for three hours without feeling like the most egotistical person in the world. The kind of questions I get are like, "What does it feel like to be voted the hottest hottie?" [Editor's note: Glad we haven't asked that…yet!] How do you answer something like that without sounding narcissistic? If you read all my articles from all the magazines that I have been in, you would think that I just wanted to have sex with myself 24 hours a day! But it's not me, you know what I mean?

CG!: Um, have you been lying to us?
Freddie: No…but I wouldn't tell you if I was!
CG!: D'oh

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