Inside the beautiful mind of Christina Ricci

Christina Ricci is the pint-sized actress who is famous for always making a big-time presence on the silver screen.

Ricci started making an impression on movie fans with her kooky, yet adorable role as Wednesday in 1991's "The Addams Family." Then a few years later she came back to wow everyone as Vincent Gallo's love-struck sidekick in the indie "Buffalo '66." Most recently, she has starred as lovers to Charlize Theron in "Monster" and Justin Timberlake in "Black Snake Moan."

In her most current role, playing the title character in "Penelope," Ricci takes on the challenge of being an heiress who is out looking for love but is cursed with a huge, repulsive pig nose.

The Daily Forty-Niner spent time with the "Penelope" star to ask her a few questions on her co-star James McAvoy, her time in the limelight, and what she's learned on love and life.

Daily Forty-Niner: You star with James McAvoy in "Penelope," where he plays sort of a sketchy character in the movie. But he's Hollywood's "it boy" for now. What's his best characteristic in person?

Christina Ricci: Oh my God. Well, James is lovely. I think that when you meet him you can tell he's a really sincere and kind man. And I think that that's just a great, great invaluable quality to have in anybody.

DFN: Well, Penelope also gets her time in the limelight in the movie. Do you like being in the limelight, Christina?

CR: Yeah. I mean, I love being an actress and I kind of really love everything that goes along with it. I know it's probably tragically uncool to say this, but I do like going out and having people know who I am and having my picture taken and doing photo shoots and all the stuff that goes along with it. I actually really love it.

DFN: In Penelope you say, "I like myself the way I am." What is the best way, in your opinion, of liking oneself?

CR: I don't know the best way ... I think one of the best things to sort of see if you really like yourself [is to see if you can] spend time alone solely by yourself. A lot of people can't. But I mean, I think when you get to a place where you do actually really like yourself, then you can. You really like being alone with your own thoughts and you actually find your own thoughts entertaining or pleasant or you kind of find a way to really be a great companion to yourself.