Maggie Gyllenhaal's Speech Therapy

Walking the red carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival with boyfriend Peter Sarsgaard, Maggie Gyllenhaal caused a storm over comments she made about September 11 and terrorism. She decided to swear off talking about politics in public, but that's not stopping her from talking about sex.

The 27-year-old actress, who plays a wispy seductress in her latest movie, Happy Endings ‑- a part that was written for Gwyneth Paltrow ‑- is continuing her streak as the bad girl of independent film. She may look like your quintessential date-movie sweetheart, but in fare like the kooky Donnie Darko, in which she costarred with brother Jake, and the racy Secretary, she shows a real wild side.

What makes you choose such sexy roles?
Most movies that I've done, I can't tell you exactly why I've done them. But I think that most people in the world are interested to see 27-year-old women in movies somehow connected to sex, especially little movies, which have trouble getting made.

Just young women?
I think they're interested in sex for people of other ages as well. Look at Julianne Moore. She includes her sexuality in everything she does. She's naked a lot, and she's in her 40s. Or Diane Lane. Those are both actresses who are older than me who are sexy. It's part of all of our narratives. But I think it's particularly for young actors.