By Anna David, Photos: Marc Baptiste

hough they're theoretically gathered for "high tea," the crowd in the lobby and piano area of The Beverly Hills Hotel is decidedly un-tea-party-like. A group of men cluster around a table as one shouts out figures and prospects, clearly on a mission to prove to the suits gathered -- and those of us who happen to be nearby -- how incredibly lucky they are to be privy to his fabulous deal. Amy Smart doesn't have to hear this obnoxious display of L.A.'s worst values because she's not here yet. Actors are almost never late for interviews, so concerned are they about being portrayed as careless and self-absorbed. Yet suddenly, a good half-hour late, Smart appears -- dressed casually in a red Billabong tank top and jeans, full of apologies. Rather than offering a dramatic excuse -- pet needed to be rushed to the vet, car accident on the way -- she gives me her all-American grin and explains that she was at a clothes fitting. That's it. She sits down and fixes her almond-shaped blue eyes on me, almost never breaking that gaze throughout the interview. Attempting to resent her would be an exercise in futility. Though promptness may not top her list of attributes, Smart is probably the nicest girl in the world -- let alone Hollywood.

Blonde and pert, Smart has carved out a career for herself in movies such as Varsity Blues, Outside Providence and Road Trip and on television in Felicity and Scrubs. She has had the same best friend (actress Vinessa Shaw) since first grade. She's actively involved in her community, having worked with Heal the Bay, an environmental advocacy group, since high school, and seems to feel genuinely bad that she has gone back to eating meat after nine years as a vegetarian. She has been with the same boyfriend on and off for the past decade, an actor who's not nearly as well known as she is. She loves to meditate, do yoga and play piano. Paris Hilton she's not.

Still, Smart's not thoroughly devoid of surprises. In The Butterfly Effect, one of the roles she plays (more on that in a bit) is a heroin-junkie prostitute. And if you ask her to name a great role, she practically hyperventilates while praising Maggie Gyllenhaal's part in Secretary. But surely good-girl Smart wouldn't feel comfortable displaying that much sexuality in a movie? Without a nanosecond's hesitation, Smart's head bobs up and down. "I would love it," she smiles. We may have gathered for a tea party, but maybe Smart's not so innocent after all.

What can we expect from The Butterfly Effect?

Well, it's a supernatural thriller that jumps between the past and the present, and it's about this kid Evan [played by Ashton Kutcher] who has dissociative disorder -- which he means he blacks out when anything traumatic goes on. When he gets to be 20, he reflects on his past by reading his journals. And he's able to go back each time and sort of fix situations, but all the events unravel and then the reality shifts.

What's your character like?

She initially grows up with her father molesting her, emancipates herself at a young age, and works at a diner in a lonely spot. But I play Kayleigh with four different realities [because of the way Evan changes the past] -- a lonely waitress, a really high-strung sorority girl, a heroinjunkie prostitute and a hippie peaceful girl.

Hopefully, for your sake, it was shot in some kind of order?

[Laughing] No. It changed day to day.

So would you say that it was your biggest acting challenge to date?

Definitely. I worked really hard on it. I did a lot of private coaching and research with this incredible acting teacher who comes in from New York three times a year and teaches onemonth intensive classes.

How did you first get into acting?

Well, I was definitely influenced by my good friend Vinessa Shaw, who started acting at a really young age...

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