While certainly one of the most gorgeous actresses in Hollywood, Kate Beckinsale is also one of the more versatile. Sure, she’s had her fair share of romantic roles (Serendipity is one of my utmost guilty pleasures), but Beckinsale is also a bit of a bad ass. She’s probably best known for her work as uber-dangerous vampire Selene in the Underworld series.

Steve got the chance to speak with the actress in anticipation of the fourth installment in the franchise—Underworld: Awakening—and while we’ll have the full interview up closer to the film’s release, we wanted to share a few interesting tidbits with you today. Beckinsale not only mused on the possibility of returning for a fifth Underworld entry (and beyond), but she also talked about her role as Lori in Len Wiseman’s Total Recall remake and a particularly brutal fight with co-star Jessica Biel.  Hit the jump to see what she had to say.

When asked about the possibility of another Underworld film, Beckinsale admitted that she didn’t even think the series would go to four:

“I'm the worst person to ask about this.  I always said there wasn't going to be a fourth one.  So you can't trust what I say at all.  I don't know.  Part of me thinks that's so peculiar to me.  I don't have a background in TV playing the same character for two years in a row.  So playing the same character over and over again does seem a bit odd.  But I am very fond of the character, and other people are pretty fond of her, too.  So who knows? There's part of me that thinks maybe it's good to blaze a trail, to be the menopausal action heroine.  Give me Underworld 12 and my little beard hairs.  Me and Bruce Willis can go toe to toe.”

While it sounds like a fifth installment isn't yet a sure thing, it’s nice to know that Beckinsale wouldn't be completely opposed to returning once more if things go well for Awakening.

Underworld isn’t the only action film Beckinsale is a part of this year, as she also stars as Lori in the remake of Total Recall. Colin Farrell is taking over the Arnold Schwarzenegger role, and Beckinsale talked about how her take on Lori differs from that of Sharon Stone

“It's going really great, and everyone's very excited about it.  I suppose the thing is, Sharon Stone's interpretation of Lori is safe because my character is more... It is Lori, but it's an amalgamation of Lori and Richter.  So I guess one of the differences about our movie as opposed to their movie is in that period of time they needed her to have a right hand man.  I am the right hand man and Lori at the same time.  So it's a little bit more of an amalgamation of a couple of parts.”

In Wiseman’s version, it appears the character of Richter (Michael Ironside) has been melded into this new iteration of Lori. I have to say I'm pleased with this change, as we’ll get to see a Lori who's fully capable of handling herself. Beckinsale went on to talk about the epic scope of the sci-fi pic and a violent encounter with Jessica Biel’s character:

“It's incredible.  There's a lot of stuff that I feel like has only just been possible to do with some of our cars and all that stuff.  It's going to be amazing.  And then for me there was a lot of... I mean, I'm beating everyone up.  Fighting with Colin [Farrell], fighting with Jessica [Biel].  The fight with Jessica is going to be great.  I like the fact that it's a proper fight.  It's not two girls, and one of them, the shoulder is ripped off, and the bra comes out.  It's not like one of those stupid girl fights.  It's a proper fight.”

Again, it’s nice to hear that the fight between Beckinsale and Biel will be more realistic and less exploitative. The two actresses are both sporty women, so it should be great to see them go toe-to-toe. While I remain cautiously optimistic about the remake, Beckinsale's comments and the impressive cast give me hope that Wiseman's crafted an entertaining update of the story.

Here’s the portion of the interview where Beckinsale talks about Total Recall and another Underworld, followed by a fully transcript. Look for Steve’s full conversation with the actress soon.

Collider: The film ends in a way that you could do another one. I think this might be the best one you guys have done. So my question is, did you have a good enough experience that you're like, "I maybe could see another one."

Beckinsale:  I'm the worst person to ask about this. I always said there wasn't going to be a fourth one. So you can't trust what I say at all. I don't know. Part of me thinks that's so peculiar to me. I don't have a background in TV playing the same character for two years in a row. So playing the same character over and over again does seem a bit odd. But I am very fond of the character, and other people are pretty fond of her, too. So who knows? There's part of me that thinks maybe it's good to blaze a trail, to be the menopausal action heroine. Give me Underworld 12 and my little beard hairs. Me and Bruce Willis can go toe to toe.

That's kind of funny.

Beckinsale: Yeah, you look nauseous. Why is that?

Your husband is currently editing a certain other picture. I definitely have to ask you how that's going, and also how your version of Lori compares to the other version of Lori?

Beckinsale: Well, it's really cool. It's going really great, and everyone's very excited about it. I suppose the thing is, Sharon Stone's interpretation of Lori is safe because my character is more... It is Lori, but it's an amalgamation of Lori and Richter. So I guess one of the differences about our movie as opposed to their movie is in that period of time they needed her to have a right hand man. I am the right hand man and Lori at the same time. So it's a little bit more of an amalgamation of a couple of parts.

If you don't mind, I saw the footage from Comic-Con, and the action looks amazing. Talk a little bit about doing some of the action in that movie, and what do you think fans are going to take away from it?

Beckinsale: It's incredible. There's a lot of stuff that I feel like has only just been possible to do with some of our cars and all that stuff. It's going to be amazing. And then for me there was a lot of... I mean, I'm beating everyone up. Fighting with Colin [Farrell], fighting with Jessica [Biel]. The fight with Jessica is going to be great. I like the fact that it's a proper fight. It's not two girls, and one of them, the shoulder is ripped off, and the bra comes out. It's not like one of those stupid girl fights. It's a proper fight.