.: Wholesome Holly Marie :.

As girl-next door Piper, Holly Marie Combs has won the hearts of Charmed fans, but she's a tough cookie too...

Starring in Charmed has been magical for Holly Marie Combs, both personally and professionally. As well as forming close friendships with her co-stars, she also met her future husband and embraced motherhood.

Holly Marie, what do you like most about working on Charmed?

There is nothing we don't do in a single episode. We make people laugh, we make them cry, we make them scared...

And your pretty sassy ladies too...

Yes, we're like action heroes. We used to have to chase demons wearing Prada stilettos. But they finally started letting us wear sneaker for those scenes it is a little more realistic.

Piper in stilettos-that doesn't sound right! How much of a fashion junkie are you in real life?

Not at all. I don't get it. Rose doesn't understand me at all on the shopping issue. She has all these fashion magazines and she'll show me a picture of some outfit and say "Come on, Doesn't this do anything for you?" and I just don't get it. I'm like"Honey, I don't care either way."

Well, maybe you are similar to Piper then. How alike do you think you are to your character?

We both kind of went through emotional ups and downs together, and a lot of her dealing with Prue's death was me dealing with Shannen's Departure, and we;re very similar. It's tough to keep the line between your character and yourself very clear and distant...I'm proud of Piper, the way that she's matured and where she has come from.She was a hyperactive, worrisome, unsure-of-herself woman and she matured into this self-confident mother who is very headstrong

And you've been Piper for so long-do people think you actually are her?

Many a person on the street has asked me if I can really freeze things or blow them up. I'm like,"No, no, lets not go there.Lets separate TV form reality."It's a kooky show, so there are some kooky folk who like it. It's sad, though-some children are afraid of me,which is not good.I've turned into so many evil things on the show that they're not sure what to make of me.

So with all these kooky folk watching, you must have had some weird fan moments. Whats the strangest encounter you've had with one?

Probably when I was in the restroom and someone shouted out they loved my show. That was an interesting moment.

Does it ever get boring playing the same part for so long?

I think my character's changed very much from the beginning and has kind of compressed into a whole new person-just like normal people going through life change,characters do to. I don't think you should get into a rut because no person is the same every day.

Why do you think Piper is such a popular character?

My character is the most neutral...more of the girl-next-door, and I think that's what people relate to.You know, I'm not like Alyssa, the sex symbol, or Shannen or Rose, so my character tends to be one people relate to the most. I think people see her most normal.

Which is your favourite Charmed episode?

Sword in the city, which i liked very much because I got to do a lot of the sword play...I didn't get to do as much as I liked because it was just about the time of that episode that I found out I was pregnant. So they had to be careful with me, although they did stab me. We had a great guest star, Edward Atterton. When we have guest stars like that, it makes our jobs 1,000 per cent easier because they are so wonderful.

And did having babies on the show help when it came to being a mum in real life?

Well, I kind of got to experiment and learn how to do things with my TV babies. And thank God I could hand them off at the end of the day when they got cranky. So they were my guinea pigs and they were very patient with me. Thankfully, I'm very adept at mothering now.

Why do you think Charmed has lasted such a long time?

I think sometimes that people just want to be entertained and watch a show that isn't depressing or thought-provoking...The chemistry also really works among the three of us. We're friends, and that makes the show more real.

What do you talk about while you're waiting to do a scene?

All kinds of stuff. Rose once came in and said to Alyssa "Do you ever get popcorn down your boobs when you're at the movies?" And Alyssa just screamed "Yes!". And I was like "No." they both looked at me and were like "right" because I obviously don't have that problem!

Is there ever any practical joking on set?

We've trashed one another's trailers so many times, I've lost count. We once put plastic spiders in Shannen's trailer, and another time, we taped Alyssa's trailer door shut while she was still inside.

And how easy is it when you're working with the special effects you've had on the show?

Well, when we're all swatting at imaginary bats, it looks silly. There's no way to look cool doing that...you just have to accept the fact that unfortunately, the more ridiculous you look, the more convincing it looks on the screen.

Is there any dream role you'd like to play, and which director or actor would you most like to work with?

I don't really have a dream role as of yet...Andy Garcia-he's one of my favourite actors. I'd love to work with Oliver Stone again, because I worked with him before- it was just for a second.

Oliver Stone directed you in a small part on Born on the fourth of July with Tom Cruise, Who tried to give you some friendly advice about the director, didn't he?

Yes, he said,"Don't let Oliver Stone scare you" I was like, "I'm not scared at all." And Tom said,"Really? He scares the hell out of me!"

~ Credit goes to Victoria Ferguson for typing this up for the site. Thank you!