Alicia Silverstone believes 'Clueless' and the '90s never went away, except for one thing

USA Today

21 hours ago

NEW YORK – Alicia Silverstone came to fame in the 1990s, long before the barrage of Instagram comments, TikTok algorithms and YouTube rabbit holes. And she acknowledges that she "can't imagine" what it would be like to start her career in this day and age. But there's one part of Silverstone's origin that the actress isn't sentimental about.
"They're kinder to people now, aren't they?" Silverstone, 48, ponders. "(The media) used to be able to just rip a woman apart. Now you would not be allowed to do that."
The actress doesn't see a lot of stories like the ones written about her in the '90s. There was the 1995 Rolling Stone profile that called Silverstone an actress "whom lots of men want to sleep with" (she was 18). Then there was the obsessive attention paid to her weight while filming 1997's "Batman & Robin."
These days, "people would've come to my rescue, right?" she adds. "In any given moment, there's a group of people who have things to say, and then the other people come and they smash (the negative comments) down. Before, we didn't have that."
Instead, following the coverage around her turn as Batgirl, Silverstone told The Guardian that she entered a period where she "stopped loving acting."
But now Silverstone is as busy as ever, with roles on TV and in film, plus an upcoming trip to Venice Film Festival.
Alicia Silverstone plays 'a powerful woman who likes sex' in 'Pretty Thing'
Silverstone's first major film role came at 15 in the erotic thriller "The Crush." More than 30 years later, the actress returns to the genre with "Pretty Thing" (available on digital platforms). She plays Sophie, a successful executive who has an affair with a younger lover (Karl Glusman). The relationship takes a turn when Sophie tries to leave and he becomes obsessive.
"She's a powerful, professional woman who likes sex," Silverstone says. "In the '90s, a lot of these erotic thrillers, if a woman likes sex, she had to be crazy or die or kill someone. What I like about ('Pretty Thing') is that Sophie likes sex and she's not the crazy one. He is."
Silverstone will be back in movie theaters in October, reuniting with director Yorgos Lanthimos for the black comedy "Bugonia." She previously worked with the filmmaker on the 2017 psychological thriller 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer.' "Bugonia" stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons and will premiere in Venice, with Silverstone in attendance.
"I've been fans of theirs for so long," Silverstone says of Stone and Plemons. "Even though I have a very small role in that film, I am just so happy to be there with them."
Alicia Silverstone had 'severe exhaustion' working on 'Irish Blood'
Silverstone's latest project is the series "Irish Blood" (first two episodes streaming now, new episodes Mondays on Acorn TV). The actress plays a Los Angeles attorney who travels to Ireland in hopes of uncovering a mystery about her father. Silverstone, also an executive producer on the six-episode run, resided about 45 minutes outside of Dublin during production.
Working on "Irish Blood" "created severe exhaustion because the first whole month, every moment that I wasn't shooting, I was working on the scripts with the writers," Silverstone recalls, though the experience was still "wonderful." "I'm so grateful that I get to do this artistic fun thing."
Usually, she practices her lines and scenes at least a month out. Instead, she would "run lines" while in the makeup chair that morning, sometimes for as little as 20 minutes.
"I would, between takes (and) scenes, be learning the next thing," Silverstone says. "It's really full on mental. There's no downtime, that's for darn sure."
Alicia Silverstone calls 'Clueless,' 'this amazing, thrilling thing'
Following "The Crush," Silverstone appeared in three music videos for Aerosmith, including "Cryin'." This led to her landing the role of Cher Horowitz in 1995's cult classic "Clueless." She's enjoyed celebrating the film's 30th anniversary, including a screening in June at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
"No one could have known that it would be such a cultural phenomenon," says Silverstone, who's thankful it's reaching a new generation. Silverstone remembers walking in a Florida shopping mall while filming the "The Requin" in 2020. "These 14-year-olds were staring at me and I thought, 'Why are they staring at me?' And they came over like, 'Ah!' and then I realized, 'Oh, (the movie has) really caught on again.' "
"Clueless" isn't the only '90s relic having a moment. The nostalgia has hit music as well, where TRL-era acts like Backstreet Boys, Nelly, the Goo Goo Dolls and Oasis are all enjoying successful residencies and summer tours.
"I remember people talking about the '90s were back, and that was a long time ago," Silverstone says with a laugh. "The '90s has come back and it keeps coming back. I don't think it ever went away."