By Thomas Chau in New York City

For the first time ever, I think I did an interview that was longer than the actor’s actual part in the movie. So if you’re wondering why I bothered to write-up this interview, it’s to answer the question I keep getting from friends and readers via e-mail:

”Who is that hot chick in the elevator?”

That hot chick, my friends, is up and coming actress Paula Garces. Paula, born and raised in Manhattan, stars as Maria in “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.” She’s the object of Harold’s affection but he can’t seem to scour the courage to talk to her.

That’s it. That’s her role in the movie. We see her in the beginning, a little bit in the middle, and then in the last scene. But Paula’s a rising star with more substantial roles in “Spin” and “Cheer Up!” coming up. And yes, she’s gorgeous as hell. So why not feature her on Cinema Confidential? Below is our interview with Paula Garces.

Q: So how does it feel to be the hot chick in this movie?

PAULA: (Laughs) That’s a funny one! I consider myself really geeky and goofy and so to be the hot one is a stretch.

Q: Would you have wanted to be one of the diarrhea twins?

PAULA: No, I’m O.K. with Maria, thank you very much. (Laughs)

Q: Have you ever eaten at a White Castle in New Jersey?

PAULA: No, I’ve been to one in Queens before the movie.

Q: Are you a fan of White Castle?

PAULA: I am a fan of White Castle. I’m a fan of White Castle. I’m a fan of all cheeseburgers and french fries and shakes.

Q: But your character doesn’t end up in White Castle…

PAULA: No! But I’m hoping White Castle sends me some cheeseburgers or something.

Q: Are you a party girl? Do you like to go out?

PAULA: I don’t smoke, I don’t drink. I am really high energy and very goofy. I laugh at myself and everybody else all the time. So I feel like that if I ever drink or smoke, I’d probably be a downer. It’d probably have the opposite effect for me. I don’t think this movie advocates that [anyway]. I think these two guys get stoned and HORRIBLE things happen to them. I don’t think it says that if you smoke, you’ll go out and have a good time. I think the movie advocates being socially conscious and tolerant of different types of people, and putting it out there that we all hang out together, listen to the same type of music, go see the same movies, no matter where we’re from.

Q: Have you ever intimidated a guy like Harold?

PAULA: I hope so! I don’t know. (Laughs) You have your moments when you know someone likes you but then I’m a geek too. I like people too and I become nervous. We’ve all had our moments where we’re like, “Oh my God, that person’s totally hot.”

Q: What are you working on now?

PAULA: Right now, I’m working on promoting a lot of my films. I have another one coming out in October. It’s called “Spin” and it’s directed by James Redford. It’s a coming-of-age drama set in 1958 and it’s myself, Stanley Tucci, and Dana Delaney. I have “Cheer Up!” coming up, next spring with Mr. Tommy Lee Jones in this big action-comedy. I play one of the cheerleaders in the movie who witnesses a murder and we go into a witness protection program, but our way. He has to live with us. So we give him a hard way to go. He’s just appalled by the way we are. We are in college, UT (University of Texas), to be precise.

Q: Have you ever been a cheerleader?

PAULA: I never cheerleaded my whole entire life. We went through this six-week cheerleading camp.

Q: Was it tough?

PAULA: Oh my God! I thought it was like, “Hooray, hurrah!” I thought all I had to do was act cute and shake your booty a little bit. No, these people are gymnasts and athletes. Crazy, to say the least and they work really hard and I have a lot of respect for them. We ended up doing all of our stunts because our crazy director wanted us to. I don’t know how we survived.

Q: In “Clockstoppers,” you played a 16-year-old girl. At 30 years of age, and now with “Cheer Up!” coming up, is it flattering to play such young roles?

PAULA: I can’t seem to get anything over 24. It’s flattering. I find it easier to play younger because I’ve already been there, done that, and I do look young so I can sort of dive into the character and bring a little more maturity than I think a normal 18-year-old would do. So that’s why I think I’m successful in playing these younger roles. And I don’t mind; I find young people very refreshing. They’re not jaded yet, they think everything is possible. So I find that very beautiful and refreshing. I don’t mind being goofy or falling on my face. I think it’s funny.

Q: Are you signed for the sequel?

PAULA: I better be! There’s been talk but it’s an obvious thing if it makes a huge amount of money. So I better be.

"Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" is now playing in theaters everywhere.