No more Mr Pie Guy

"The pie thing? It doesn't really bother me because to be honest, it's not that commonplace anymore. Of course, it was very popular when the movie came out and no-one knew my name. Then, it was 'Oh my god! You’re the pie guy! That thing with the pie, the pie, the pie!' But now it's not so in my face. People don't send me pies in restaurants any more!"

This is Hollywood actor Jason Biggs, speaking in a hotel suite in London's Metropolitan Hotel about the role which made him famous — that is, the pie-loving horny teenager Jim Levinstein in the American Pie movies. He's surprisingly affable when discussing the notorious gross-out scene (where he's caught in flagrante with the aforementioned dessert) which made his name, and has doubtless been asked about countless times before. But starring in the new Woody Allen movie, Anything Else, Jason can now afford to shake off the crust-thrusting tag.

In the movie, released in London on July 30, Jason plays Jerry Falk, a wannabe comedy writer, who falls head over heels for nightmare girlfriend Amanda (Christina Ricci). Guided through the maze of relationships by mentor David Dobel (Woody Allen himself), Jerry has to decide whether to move on, move out or stay within the comforting parameters of a troublesome relationship.

"It was a dream to be in a Woody Allen movie," says the twenty-six year old, running his hands through his curly hair. "And I wanted to figure out how he heard about me — and it turned out he'd seen a few clips from American Pie. Originally I thought he’d seen the whole film but he actually said, 'That's not my kind of movie' [laughs]. But it's really a compliment that he only needed to see a couple of scenes."

Biggs is much how you'd expect him to be - gawkily handsome, friendly and chatting animatedly, but it's clear he's fatigued from a tireless day of promotions. Although he's an Irish Catholic from New Jersey, Biggs' looks have led him to be cast in many identifiably Jewish roles, of which Allen's movie is possibly the most pronounced. Was it intimidating at all, playing an essentially Woody-esque character - neurotic, cerebral - opposite the man himself?

Biggs nods: "It was very intimidating. I was playing a younger version of the character that Woody has played to perfection over the years and with that comes obvious pressures. The more I worked on the film the more comfortable I got, but there was always the pressure and I was so racked with nerves at the beginning!"

One thing that helped alleviate the 'Woody worry' was working with a familiar face — Christina Ricci. Biggs and Ricci starred opposite each other in the still-unreleased Prozac Nation, based on the bestselling Gen-X tome by Elizabeth Wurtzel. Filmed in 2001, it's lain gathering dust on Miramax's shelves ever since. Why?