Daria on Fame, Fortune and Film
By Darcy Lockman, TV Guide Insider

Daria Morgendorffer has made a career out of not fitting in. The Lawndale High School student wears the same thing every day (green cardigan, black pleated skirt, combat boots), makes snide remarks about the popular crowd (the founding member of which is her sister Quinn) and wouldn't attend a football game if her eventual escape from high school depended on it (well, maybe in that case...). A cartoon version of what is arguably more real-world than The Real World, Daria and her dysfunctional family recently completed their fourth season on MTV. In their first feature film-length special, Daria: Is It Fall Yet? (MTV, premiering Aug. 26), the Morgendorffers find themselves suffering summer malaise in classic Daria style. In an exclusive interview with TV Guide Online, the perpetual outcast talks about making the big leap to films.

Are you excited about your first feature film?

I'm thrilled. Not for the money, the fame, the chance to mistreat underlings and watch it later on Access Hollywood. No. I'm excited for the opportunity to hone my craft: acting. Do you know anyone who can get me on Inside the Actors Studio?

Who would be your dream co-star? Why?

Well, Orson Welles is dead, unfortunately, but I am in the talking stage of a dinner theatre tour of Father's Little Dividend with Brando. I just wish he'd be a little more realistic about his billing.

What's your favorite thing about summer vacation?

I see schools closed, classrooms dark, teachers silenced, lunchrooms stark and I say to myself, "What a wonderful world."

Of all the places you could've worked, why did you pick a summer camp?

My first choice was prison guard, but I didn't make it through those stupid psychological tests.

The camp is for overly sensitive children. Could you relate?

No. Now if the camp were for cynical, resentful children, impatient to grow up and establish their own monarchy, that would be another story.

How did Lawndale High prepare you for your summer job?

Hey, where do you think I learned how to sleep with my eyes open?

Do your career goals include working with children?

Well, I don't plan to pursue "trapped in a living hell" as a career, so no.

Do you have any particular colleges or majors in mind?

Is there a college on that Survivor island? That might be fun. Except at mealtimes.

Whom do you most admire?

I have to find some people to admire before I can figure out whom I admire most.

What's the most important quality in a person?

Ability to do yo-yo tricks, of course.

Your life has certainly taken a messy turn, romantically speaking. Did you ever dream you'd end up in the role of femme fatale?

With my sensual good looks and come-hither ways... it was just a matter of time.