Her movie career? She’s expecting
“American Idol” finalist Katharine McPhee boils down her role in “The House Bunny” to two words: preggie suit.
“That’s what they call it,” she says, laughing at the memory of playing Harmony, a very pregnant hippie throwback who totes around a tub of peanut butter and wears flower-child dresses.
Directed by Fred Wolf, a former “Saturday Night Live” writer, the movie stars Anna Faris as a Playboy bunny who gets kicked out of the mansion and becomes “house mother” to the un-cool Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority.
“It’s kind of like ‘Revenge of the Nerds,’ but we’re not really nerds,” McPhee says.
The sisters are more slackers: “We just don’t really care that much; my character is pregnant, so I really don’t feel like doing anything.”
Three years ago, McPhee was belting her way through her “Idol” audition in San Francisco, brought to tears as Simon Cowell told her, “You are sailing through to Hollywood, young lady.”
She finished as runner-up in the Fox TV talent competition, signed with RCA and recorded an album that debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Sipping a mint lemonade and nibbling at her tuna on triangle toast at an L.A. restaurant, the 24-year-old says acting was the goal all along, even though she still is making music.
Although “Idol” offers enormous exposure for finalists, McPhee says, it does cement contestants in people’s minds solely as singers.
“There’s still a lot of proving to do on my part,” she says, adding, “I just came from an audition with a big director” – though she won’t divulge the name so as not to jinx her chances.
McPhee may not have many lines in “House Bunny”, but she does sing twice – once in a very un-“Idol”-like karaoke performance, and once in a cover of the Waitresses’ 1982 hit “I Know What Boys Like,” which plays over the credits.
She improvised and came up with some funny moments that stayed in the movie, including one in which she squeegees her character’s pregnant belly during a sexy carwash scene.
“Surprisingly, Katharine could throw down and was excellent at throwing in improv stuff,” Wolf says. “She was riffing for a good five minutes with the squeegee in hand.”
Through it all, McPhee never made her “Idol” stardom a big deal to anyone, says Wolf, who was impressed by her composure.
“I had to be reminded that she’s a big star in her world,” he says, adding that he would often see lurking paparazzi hoping for shots of her.
In a few weeks, McPhee begins shooting “The Storyteller,” a psychological drama in which she stars alongside Wes Bentley (“American Beauty”).
“I’m not going to say this business is easy because it’s not, but I’m definitely grateful that I’m a part of it – if that’s because of ‘Idol,’ then that’s because of ‘Idol,’ ” she says.
“I’m not afraid to look back to where I got my start. Everyone needs to get their start somewhere.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Steve Guttenberg is 50. Talk host Craig Kilborn is 46. Actress Marlee Matlin is 43. Actor-comedian Dave Chappelle is 35. Actor Chad Michael Murray is 27. Actor Rupert Grint (“Harry Potter”) is 20.