WE REALLY LOVE TANYA DEMPSEY'S HAIR. IT LOOKS LIKE SOME SORT IF COTTON CANDY, only a special kind that might actually be good for you. It's on great display in Guardian of the aim, in which Dempsey plays Alex Marlowe, an ass-kicking demon hunter in a futuristic world threatened by, well, demons. Fortunately, the future includes such fashion choices as high-riding thongs, low-riding pants and leather jackets — all of which contrast nicely with Marlowe's platinum blonde hair.

The Arizona-born Dempsey got her start in 1997 in the horror filmm Shreiker, which led to other scarefests such as Witchhouse 3, Dead 7, The Frightening and The Coven. But Dempsey says Guardian of the Realm is her favorite project.

"I've done a lot of horror films, and they've been a lot of fun, but I'd like to do something where there's actually something to the character other than just running around in your underwear," the actress says, pointing out that Guardian of the Realm actually gave her an interesting story and character to play.

"It's set in the future, my character comes from New York, and she's been around for a really long time and nothing really fazes her. She's a demon hunter, and these demons are taking over the world, so she meets up with another demon hunter and they kick ass and take names."

While it was filmed on a low budget, Guardian of the Realm boasts some ambitious special effects and stuntwork, with writer-director Ted Smith (who also designed many of the film's costumes and props) collaborating with actor and stunt director Glen Levy to include in the production such high-budget perks as wirework and martial arts choreography. "I hadn't done kicks and wire-work until Guardian of the Realm," Dempsey says. "My character uses blades; she's the best swordmaster of the 21st century. The blades are like boomerangs — I can throw them and they'll come right back to me after cutting a demon's head off."

Fortunately, the actress had long since developed a regimen of activities designed to make her a perfect demon-slaying machine, should that line of work ever open up to her. "I've always been pretty active, doing cardio and light weights a few days a week to keep me in shape," Dempsey says. "I did cheerleading in high school and was always able to flip around on the trampo line, and I think that made it a lot easier when I had to do the wirework."

We always knew cheerleading skills would come in handy while fighting evil. In fact, it turns out that fighting evil is sometimes easier than keeping yourself fed in Hollywood — though Dempsey landed her first movie role shortly after moving to Los Angeles, that lucky break was followed by several lean years.

"I had trouble adjusting to the Hollywood scene," the actress says, "I had to wait tables and learn to support myself. The worst is cocktail waitressing. If I die and go to hell I will always be a cocktail waitress. I cocktailed in a bar by UCLA, so there was Just a bunch of drunk frat boys with daddy's credit cards who will smack you in the butt or say whatever they want to. That'll make you pretty jaded."

Dempsey bounced back, however, and since Shreiker she's made more than 10 films (she appeared in five in 2002 alone), in addition to doing a little modeling on the side. "I'm not very tall, so I took modeling as far as it could go with print and commercial work, which is fun," she says. Sure it may be fun, but you do have to take off your clothes a lot. "Models have a totally different perspective on their body than actresses do. When you're used to modeling a lot, and you have to change in front of a bunch of other models, and you get relaxed about your body, you can walk around naked and it's no big deal.

"On set, I find actors are much more modest, because you have a camera in front of you and especially when you're doing love scenes, it can get a bit scary. The most uncomfortable thing is having to be nude in front of your co-star, somebody who you've come to know but you don't have an intimate relationship with. So you're laying in bed, and he's got a sock over his parts, and you're naked trying to make casual conversation when they're setting up lights."

Well, we don't really see what's so unusual about that, but okay.

And now, our gratuitous "Would you do a lesbian scene?" question. "As cliche as it sounds, it would depend on the role," Dempsey humors us. "She'd have to be cute — she'd have to be really cute. I think women are sexy when they're feminine. The thing I can't stand, especially with other actresses, is when they get so skinny and thin. That's not attractive; they look ill. I find voluptuous women sexy — Selma Hayek, Jennifer Lopez — women that have some shape to them. Maybe I'm biased because I'm half Latin, so I think that Hispanic and Puerto Rican women are really great — they can shake their booty, and it's sexy even if they have an ample one."

And what should you, the Femme Fatale’s reader, do to make yourself more appealing to Tanya Dempsey? "I think that talent is very sexy," Dempsey says. "I know there are a lot of attractive guys out there —actors and models — but if they have talent and they're intelligent, it's sexy. To me, guys like Giovanni Ribisi and Billy Crudup — they a lot of character type stuff, but they're sexy, because they're so talented. I also like a nice smile, kind eyes and big hands."

Hey, we have hands!