Ashley uses her animal instincts

I play Jane Goodale, who works on a popular talk show in New York and becomes romantically involved with the show's executive producer, played by Greg Kinnear.

It seems to be going very well, so when he dumps me I take it really hard. And in order to understand why he did it, I start studying male mating habits, including those of my womanising flatmate, Hugh Jackman. Then I start to put my theories into a sex column, which is where the fun starts.

This was uncharted territory for me, because I'd only ever made dramas or thrillers [Heat, Kiss The Girls, Double Jeopardy] and never a romantic comedy. Although I'd read a lot of sweet scripts, I never found one that would interest me for three months' filming. But Jane's whole angle - trying to intellectualise away her broken heart - was easy for me to get into. I studied anthropology in college and had quasi-intellectual pretensions, so I thought 'this is a perfect fit'. Also, a lot of the comedy in the film is at my expense - and because I'm often the butt of my family's jokes, I thought maybe it wouldn't be so difficult. Actually, it's diabolical, as hard as hell.

I didn't need much research, because I've been a guest on TV talk shows, so I was acquainted with the protocol of those interviews. My mother [country singer Wynonna Judd] has a cameo in the movie. She was visiting the set and was down in the dumps. Whenever I want to cheer up my mother I send her to hair and make-up and tell her, 'You're gonna be in a movie!'