After turning heads on American television, One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush is bringing her act to the big screen. In her latest film, The Hitcher, Bush stars as Grace Andrews, a college student whose road trip with her boyfriend (Zach Knighton) across the New Mexico desert becomes a journey through hell when they cross paths with a mysterious stranger (Lord of the Rings star, Sean Bean). Based on the 1986 cult-classic of the same title, The Hitcher tests the 24-year-old brunette’s stamina, shrieks and skills at every turn… It may also just win her a new legion of fans.

IT SEEMS LIKE YOU WERE THE ONLY WOMAN ON THE SET OF THE HITCHER. DID YOU SUFFER FROM TESTOSTERONE OVERLOAD?
Oh, no. It was such an incredible experience shooting with all these guys. And our script supervisor, Gina Grande, was amazing – so I had a girl in the tent with me! There were definitely a few strong females on that set. And we took on the boys really well.

ARE YOU A HORROR FAN?
I love all kinds of movies, really. And I love thrillers. I love the psychological aspect of them, even more than your typical slasher-horror movies. Those are fun to go and see. But the reason I loved this movie is that we were re-making a film that was previously a cult classic in the horror genre… Only this time, we made it under the thriller umbrella. We brought in all of these action elements, but still paid homage to the original in ways that horror fans will be pleased. Of course, people who don’t like horror movies also like The Hitcher. They’re loving the film because it’s action packed and suspenseful. Watching Grace and Jim Zach Knighton go on this journey, you see their characters develop. Usually, in a movie like this, you don’t get that. So we’re all really excited about it. We’re all really proud of it. And it was fun too!

YOU DID SEEM TO BE HAVING A GOOD LAUGH IN IT AS WELL.
Exactly. We also wanted to put some humor into the film. Because nobody wants to be simply upset for two hours. That was something we enjoyed.

IS IT TRUE YOU’RE INTO CARS, YOURSELF?
I love them. It was really fun - the first week we were in Austin for rehearsals, I got to see all the cars we were going to use in the movie. I got to go in and hang around with the mechanics and ask all sorts of questions. I don’t think I could necessarily repair my own car. But I can help a mechanic repair a car very well!

WHAT DO YOU DRIVE?
A red 65’ Mustang. Rangoon Red – it’s a very orange red that Ford released then. That’s my baby. That’s the car that stays in the garage, polished all the time. It only comes out once in a while, though. I drive my hybrid everyday! The gas guzzler muscle car only gets to come out on special occasions. And I don’t drive it out in Wilmington where it’s incredibly humid. I’m going to bring it back home to LA this summer and drive it more.

YOU JUST FINISHED THE 4th SEASON OF ONE TREE HILL IN WILMINGTON?
We’re right in the middle, actually. We finish in April. We’ll find out in May if we get another season. But it’s been a good four years and we’ve had an amazing ride. It’s almost like being a senior in high school, now… You’re ready to take the next step, but then you worry at the same time if you’re really ready to leave home. That’s kind of how it feels at this point.

WHERE DOYOU LIVE THESE DAYS?
LA is my home. But the show shoots on location in North Carolina, so I spend eight months a year there. I’m home, at least once a month to be with my family and my girlfriends. Being away from those girls is like being without my heart. It’s very hard. We all grew up here. I went to college in LA. And I’m an only child. My girlfriends, therefore, are also my family. They’re my sisters. We’ve got our small little crew. And they’re just the most amazing accomplished intelligent women. I have the utmost respect for them. My parents are also here and I’m very close with them. And my man’s here-

IS THAT YOUR CO-STAR FROM (Jon Foster; from Stay Alive)-
Yes. We spent the holidays on vacation in Paris. It was lovely… So my life is here. But at the same time, it’s lovely not to be working only in LA, because I get to be away from all this Hollywood nonsense and all these girls dancing on tables without their undies!

YOU MET YOUR BOYFRIEND ON SET?
It’s funny. We were best friends for so long. And it was weird when after such a long time… You know, everyone was asking why we weren’t dating. We were like, “That’s stupid!” “That’s ridiculous”. After a while, it was like that Bonnie Raitt song: we should give them something to talk about! So, I have a lot of reasons to come home.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER?
I’m going to leave it at that. I’ve just learned to be very protective of my private life at this point. I will just say that he is the most incredible person I know. And I’m lucky to have my best friend be the person I’m in a relationship with.

HOW DO YOU APPROACH WORKING IN HOLLYWOOD?
You have a choice. You can be a dude or a diva. I’d rather be a dude. You can hang out with a dude. You can hang out with a buddy. You can go to a game or an art exhibit and not walk around with your sunglasses on. Or you can be one of those people snapping their fingers and asking for water, which is pathetic and obnoxious. And it’s not the way to have a career with any kind of longevity… The key for me is remembering that this is the entertainment business. I understand the PR of the party circuit and the events. There are a lot of events that I get invited to that I don’t go to because I just don’t want to be seen out that much. I watch some people who feel entitled because of those things. And I want to look at them sometimes and go “don’t forget this is business; this is still work.” When you’re at an event or party, it’s still work. It’s not the time to knock back the tequila shots and get on the table!

WHAT WAS THE CHALLENGE FOR YOU ON THE HITCHER?
Keeping it grounded and real in the midst of all the crazy action that was going on was a big one. Physically, the movie was also incredibly challenging. I did all of my own stunts, except for two shots. Lots of running. Lots of getting beaten up and thrown around in cars. All those 360-spins and high speed chases… But I wanted to do it. I wanted the audience to know it was me. Hopefully there will be a time when I can do all my own stunts.

WHAT WOULDN’T THEY LET YOU DO?
They wouldn’t let me jump out of the van through the fire. I was down on the ground in front of it, so I singed a lot of the skin on my legs. But they wouldn’t let me go through it because they didn’t know if the burn gel was going to work in my hair. They were scared that if I jumped through the fire, I might burn all my hair off and not be able to shoot the rest of the movie. That would have been a real problem if suddenly I was bald! The other one was the scene with the pickup truck ramming the station wagon, because we had to film something else at the same time.

IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU’RE MORE OF A TOMBOY THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
It’s odd to be a girl who loves to shop and still goes to the shooting range. I’m very much a 50/50 split. I loved being in Paris and getting dressed up every day. But at the same time, I really like hanging out with the boys and playing with my dog. I think it’s important to have a balance.

YOU STUDIED WRITING IN COLLEGE. DID YOU HAVE OR DO YOU STILL HAVE ASPIRATIONS?
I was interested. But by the time I went to college, I knew I wanted to act… I still write every once in a while. I always think that maybe I’ll write a book one day. But I’ll have to release it under another name!