B.L. With your body of work spanning TV, stage and film, what inspired you to do a horror movie?
J.M. One reason was that this big studio wanted a female as the hero in their Halloween flick; the other was the actual character of Maureen Epps who I play in the movie. I just thought that not since Alien have we seen a woman who is thrown into a situation that makes her the hero of the movie. I love the way that she responds to life. I've never played anyone like her.

B.L. Being set on a ship; there are obviously a lot of water scenes, which must have meant hours and hours being wet on the set.
J.M. Days, weeks, months -- I was waterlogged. Some days were a lot of fun, the days where I was just swimming with the stunts guys. That was pretty quiet and quite beautiful, actually. Then there were the times that we were out on the ocean doing night shoots — that was scary and hard and wet and cold.

B.L. I understand that you're a certified scuba diver. Were you able to get any leisure scuba diving in?
J.M. I had no desire. I had a trainer that I used to bulk up for the movie and he would say we don't have to run every morning, we could swim. And I was, like, I'm wet all day long; I want to be dry. I didn't want to go near a pool or the ocean or anything.

B.L. This movie is coming out around Halloween. What was the best Halloween costume you ever had?
J.M. To be honest, I never had really good ones. I'd say that the best I attempted to make was a box of pink bubble gum. I painted a cardboard box and I put on some pink tights and a turtleneck and I got into a box and I was a pack of bubble gum. Pretty pathetic and sad, isn't it? Other times I would dress up in my mom's clothes and say I was a Gypsy. We weren't very imaginative that way.

B.L. Growing up, what were some of your favorite horror films?
J.M. When I was really little I never saw any because they were just too graphic. What ruined it for me was I used to fly alone back and forth from New York to England because my dad was in New York and my mom was in England. I remember being around 10 and Rosemary's Baby played on the plane and I saw the whole movie. I couldn't sleep for weeks. Those images stayed with me for so long. I was always afraid of them. So that was one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. That and The Shining, Psycho and Dressed to Kill.

B.L. What scares you?
J.M. Big crowds scare me with no exits in sight. Sitting in the middle row of any theater scares me; I like to sit at the end knowing that I can get out. I think, ultimately, anything that makes me claustrophobic is scary.

B.L. You recently filmed a movie with Pierce Brosnan called Evelyn. Was it hard not to look at him and think, oh my god, you're James Bond.
J.M. Not at all. I've never seen the new James Bond films. I had only ever seen him do The Thomas Crown Affair and The Tailor of Panama. I had never even seen him as Remington Steele! So, to me, he was just Desmond Doyle, the guy he plays in the movie.