Last week in NYC, I was lucky enough to catch up with the gorgeous Mena Suvari, as she was wrapping up the filming of American Pie 4 a.k.a. American Reunion, out early next year. Mena was just announced as the celebrity face of Captain Morgan‘s rum and is looking super sexy in the new images (and PopBytes exclusive behind the scenes pics) for the campaign wearing a Catherine Malandrino shoes and Louboutin wedges, styled by Taylor Jacobson and photographed by Sante D’Orazio. Mena has always had a huge passion for la mode, from wearing Armani at her wedding last year to designing a set of scarves for Echo in 2007, so I thought I’d get the latest details on what designers she is loving, and her thoughts on Gaga, social media, American Pie 4 and exactly what she is doing with that pirate!

Here’s how it went down:

· Tell me about your involvement with Captain Morgan?
- Captain Morgan came to me with this awesome opportunity to be part of a really cool adventure
- I’d been familiar with the brand before and growing up I lived in St John and the Virgin islands (in the Caribbean) when I was younger so I was really interested in the Captain’s Island project
- This year we’re going to be in the island on October 10-13 and it centers around teams from 13 countries all over the world competing online on Facebook with the winners bringing 2 of their friends to the island with them and those teams competing in the big prize
- I’ll be there on the island reporting on all the action and hosting the challenges
- The Captain is awesome and a lot of fun to be working with, everyone will be having a great time and there will be a huge party as well!

· You’re wearing Louboutins and Catherine Malandrino in the campaign? What other brands are you into right now? Any young designers that you think are about to break the mainstream?
- With fashion, it’s all about the comfort factor me
- One of my favourite designers is YSL by far
- I love brands like Daryl K, I really love the Olsen Twins’ line, Elizabeth & James- think they’re phenomenal
- It really depends on what I’m into at the time! I love Ksubi jeans, they are my favourite right now, sass & bide who I’ve worked with in the past and at the moment I’m really into Jimmy Choo– I love their handbags!
- As I get older, it’s all about pieces that are timeless
- I like to take note of trends but I always come back to those signature pieces like Jimmy Choo, Donna Karen or Calvin Klein

· You partnered with Echo Design back in 2007. Any plans for another fashion collaboration? Who would you love to work/collaborate with?
- That was an awesome opportunity, I thought it was just to design one scarf but then it was a set of 3 which was amazing
- I really wanted them to have a theme and I sent them some photographs of what I was thinking about, centered about trees as I believe they symbolize life, so I sent pictures I’d taken and then they decided they wanted to use those images
- So it was really, really cool they actually used my own photograph!
- I love fashion, I love designing, I’m working on a jewellery line right now that’s more high-end than what I’ve done in the past
- I’d love to design a clothing range one day and for me, it’s all about the quality of it so if it takes a while for the next project to come along I’m fine with that

· What’s your take on Gaga’s style?
- I really like her – she’s an artist and she’s really creative in what she does and I like that
- I’m the kind of person who appreciates the shock value – she’s different
- I like being different and experimenting and I feel like if you don’t do these things you’re not really alive
- I don’t ever want to be the same as everybody else, cookie cutter

· You have a Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook page, you’re pretty active on SM for an actress. Do you have a close relationship with your fans?
- On my FB I have a fan page but I’m not actually that tech savvy!
- With Tumblr I kind of created it and use it to just put up photos but Twitter I’m really active on
- I’ve always been really connected with my followers on Twitter, I can see it from my phone from anywhere, don’t need a laptop so it’s really easy, I like Twitter a lot

· I loved you as Edie in Six Feet Under. Any plans in the pipeline to go back to TV?
- Oh yeah! There is amazing material now in TV with amazing directors and producers and actors
- For me it’s never about the medium, it’s about the project, the story, the character
- I’m more than open to doing TV, it would just have to be the right thing so we’ll see

· American Pie 4. Tell me something that no-one knows about your character development.
- I can’t give that away!
- What I like about where Heather is at in her life, is that she’s focusing on her career working in the medical field but she hasn’t been too lucky in love…
- You see her open up in this film in a way she hasn’t done before

· What was it like being back with the original cast? Did you stay in touch with them?
- American Pie Reunion was a lot of fun to work on
- Some of us had worked together on other projects but it was great to be back together, like we never really had any time apart
- Everyone looked great, we had a lot of fun, it was so lovely

Captain Morgan has launched The Captain’s Island challenge, a buccaneering contest where a legendary Caribbean adventure and a $15,000 share of his bounty is at stake for a team of friends. Mena will play Captain Morgan’s assistant and official reporter for the duration of The Captain’s Island, helping him get the news to wannabe crews across the world and encouraging them to sign-up to the challenges that could lead them to his island and a $15,000 prize. To get involved and potentially win a trip to the Caribbean, visit: www.facebook.com/CaptainMorganLocal.

Nik Thakkar / KARLISMYUNKLE.COM / @NikThakkar