Actress Elizabeth Banks appears on the TV show 30 Rock and most recently on the big screen in The Hunger Games, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, and People Like Us. Before participating in the Slate Culture Gabfest, she sat down in the Zócalo green room to get to the heart of the debate over who makes the best cheesesteak in Philadelphia and how she gets warmed up for karaoke.
Q. You went to college in Philadelphia. Which cheesesteak joint do you prefer: Pat’s or Geno’s?
A. You know, I think I’ve probably been to Pat’s more often than Geno’s, but I have heard now that there are so many better spots in Philly, even in South Philly, to get steaks. The true point of that discussion really should be that it is nearly impossible to find a great cheesesteak outside of Philadelphia.
Q. When’s the last time you felt buyer’s remorse?
A. I never order the right thing at a restaurant. I am constantly second-guessing myself on the menu, so I’m trying to be better about being brave about my eating choices.
Q. Who’s the one person, living or dead, you’d love to have a beer with?
A. I would have loved to have met my grandmother, who I didn’t meet. I suppose that’s the earnest, sentimental answer and then, otherwise, I mean, I’d probably go back in time. I’d like to sit down with Jesus. That’d be cool, just to be like, “Dude, what’s up?”
Q. What salad dressing best describes you?
A. Goddess.
Q. You converted to Judaism; what’s the biggest benefit to becoming a member of the tribe?
A. I don’t have to worry about hell so much, and I don’t have to go to confession–and, you know, I get a full Sunday.
Q. What was your first car?
A. A Mazda RX-7, but it was not mine. It was my father’s; he just let me drive it. I learned to drive stick shift on that car.
Q. Did you have any nicknames as a kid?
A. Froggy, don’t ask me why …
Q. If you had one more hour in your day, what would you do with it?
A. Sleep.
Q. Do you have any monologues still memorized from your theater days?
A. No, I don’t. In fact, I can’t remember things I learned yesterday. I have very little long-term memory.
Q. What’s your go-to karaoke song?
A. “These Boots Are Made for Walkin,’” that’s always my warm-up, just to sort of get the vocal cords warmed up. Then typically I’ll do a “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake.
Q. What do you wish you had the nerve to do?
A. I wish I had the nerve to travel by myself in remote places, like the mountains of Tajikistan. I’m making that country up, some country with a “stan” at the end of it.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.