NEW YORK - Uh-oh. Brendan Fraser is alarmed.

He's talking about his new movie, "Journey to the Center or the Earth," and stops mid-sentence to help a reporter: "Are you being eaten by a plant here?"

The reporter is seated by a large potted plant whose leafy branches droop over her chair.

Suddenly, Fraser leaps up from a sofa and pretends to fight with the "garden-variety hotel plant," re-enacting a scene from the Jules Verne-inspired 3D thrill ride in which his character — fearful geek-turned-fearless-explorer Trevor Anderson — fends off giant Venus Flytraps at the Earth's core. There is also an angry T.rex or two, bugs you don't want to know and other nasties.

Needless to say, this isn't an ordinary interview for the star of the "Mummy" movies, "Gods and Monsters," "George of the Jungle," "Encino Man" and other films. Fraser's unabashedly silly side surfaces as the 39-year-old actor nibbles on Gummi bears and talks about his affection for Jamie Oliver ("The Naked Chef"), a guy named Obama and catching piranha.

Source: AP