Naomi Watts, who's tackled emotionally wrenching roles, has a love-hate relationship with the idea of starring in a romantic comedy.
"I look at those romantic comedies, and I see actors with perfect hair and six-packs, and I feel myself being numbed, and I get angry because I see so much money spent on these things," the 38-year-old actress says in an interview in Allure magazine's January issue, on newsstands Tuesday.
"I don't mean to sound righteous here," she continues. "There is need for it, because there are times when I am in a hotel room and need to be numbed. ... I keep saying to myself, ‘Oh, God, I'm sick of playing these dark, harrowing roles.’ I want a big paycheck, so put me in some dumb romantic comedy any day."
Watts has starred in such films as "King Kong," "Mulholland Dr." and "The Ring." She acts opposite Edward Norton and her boyfriend, Liev Schreiber, in the romantic drama "The Painted Veil," slated for limited release on Dec. 29.
Watts isn't afraid to go for serious and demanding parts.
"It's very liberating; it feels like you are getting rid of something," she says. "Not that I'm this horrendously dark person that always needs to go through something, but I think we all have a dark side.
"There is no one that is absolved of that, and you either face it or you don't, and through my work I embrace it. I take it on."