Kate Hudson plays the wrong girl,and loves it

“I have one of the world’s best (nonsense) detectors,” the 32-year-old actress says,and I have a mantra in life: I feel that any situation you find yourself in is partly on you. Even in a situation like your mate cheating,you have to take some responsibility for not recognising what they’re doing. “Luckily I’ve never been in this situation.”

Hudson beams. She’s currently seeing Muse lead singer Matthew Bellamy,and is seven months pregnant,looking at peace with the world. Already the mother of 7-year-old Ryder Robinson,whose father is her ex-husband,rocker Chris Robinson,Hudson—who was raised by her mother,actress Goldie Hawn,and stepfather Kurt Russell—is all but glowing. “I feel really,really good,” she says. “I’ve already painted the nursery in my house.”

As for Ryder,his mother reports that he’s ready for big-brother duty. He’s really excited about being the oldest and in charge,Hudson says. “He also loves to make fun of me these days. He will walk into a room and say,‘Hey,Mom,you’re huuuuuuge!’ The boy is also very protective,she adds.

“If I put spicy stuff on my food,” she says,‘he will say,Mom,don’t eat that. The baby might not like spicy.’ He doesn’t want me to drive a car.

The motherly affection apparent in Hudson’s voice couldn’t be further from the aura she radiates as Darcy,the self-absorbed lawyer she plays in Something Borrowed,produced by Oscar winner Hilary Swank and based on the best-selling novel by Emily Giffin.

“Darcy is so in love with herself that she has an inkling that her fiance is cheating,but she really doesn’t believe anyone could do this to her,” Hudson says. “Her narcissistic traits made her delicious fun to play. That’s why I couldn’t say no.”

That Hudson doesn’t normally play this sort of character was a plus,Swank says.

“Kate is usually the one who gets the guy,so this is a nice twist,” she says. “I also see Kate as a great dramatic actress who doesn’t get much of a chance to do drama. She’s really emotional in this movie. She’s also obnoxious with a smile,and that makes her endearing instead of someone you hate.”

“Darcy gets to say what nobody else will say,” Hudson says. “The challenging part was that this character wasn’t written as a very likable woman. I wanted to make her somewhat likable.”

The movie asks whether love or friendship is more binding. Could you ever forgive a mate who cheated on you,or a best friend who did the same?

“It’s a personal decision,” Hudson says. “For me,personally,I don’t know if I could forgive it. It’s hard to forget. It’s hard to go back to the trust.”

She adds that she’s never been betrayed by a best friend,either.

“I haven’t been used by a girlfriend,” the actress says. “I think that’s because I grew up with parents who had many friends. And,like I said,I have a pretty good radar for (nonsense). ”

After her next child is born,the actress will be settling into life as a mother of two—and getting ready for perhaps the most challenging role of her career: she is scheduled to star in the 2012 release Lovelace as 1970s adult-movie star Linda Lovelace,who became famous as the star of Deep Throat (1972) but went on to become a feminist and a crusader against pornography.

It’s not always easy to look like a movie star while working the mommy shift,but Hudson says that she learned a few tricks from her mother,Goldie Hawn.

“Want my best beauty secret? It’s sleep,” Hudson says. “I’m lucky that I have a mother who is so beautifully laid back about the whole image thing. She’s never been like,‘Honey,let’s go put our faces on before we go out’. We’re mostly a family of boys,so we just don’t care. ” Cindy Pearlman