Emmanuel Itier: The Secret Life of Bees is a film that stresses the strength of family. Do you ever see yourself having children one day?

Alicia Keys: Yeah, I do. I definitely want a family.

EI: What about marriage?

AK: I think that marriage is beautiful, and if it’s a partnership with someone you love, then it is beautiful. I really think that marriage does work. It’s not something that’s only destined to fail. I don’t believe that, and I think that it’s okay to take your time making the decision.

EI: Is having a meaningful relationship and getting married tougher on someone like you, who is constantly doing movies and music, than for most everyday people? Constantly working must take its toll on your personal life.

AK: It does make it tough on a relationship, but as I’m getting older, I also realize the type of dedication that you have to have to be in a relationship. In order to make something like a relationship work, you have to make it important. It has to be just as important as the films, the movies, the music, and the traveling. My relationship has to be just as important, if not more.

EI: It sounds like it’s nearly impossible.

AK: No, it’s really not. I used to think that, and I was like, “If you don’t understand that I have to travel and do music, then sorry.” But life is more than just that.

EI: What made you realize that you wanted to work and have a personal life? Did you have a personal epiphany of some kind?

AK: Yeah, there was definitely a personal change in my life, and it just really made me more aware. I guess that’s when I decided I wasn’t really ready to be so dedicated as I was before. When I started, I was super young and just figuring everything out and I was like, “Hey, let’s just go all over the world and tour. This is amazing.” And it is, but now I realize that I want something more. Success is great, but then you also wake up in your hotel room at 4:00 in the morning and you’re like, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone here with me?” Actually, I wouldn’t mind being in one place for two months or so. It really doesn’t sound so bad.

EI: At the moment, don’t you have somebody in your life?

AK: Yes, I’m very blessed. I’ve actually had wonderful people in my life –- men, actually. I’m fortunate to attract very good men in my life. I’m happy about that.

EI: When you’re famous and rich, can’t it sometimes be hard to find a good man who wants you for Alicia Keys the woman instead of Alicia Keys the superstar singer and actress?

AK: I think it’s hard to find a great person no matter what you do, honestly. Being famous doesn’t make it any less hard to find interesting people in your life, even friends and lovers, and just people that are interesting and inspiring. When you find those people, you know it, and when you do know it, you should hold onto it and give it the time and respect it deserves.

EI: How do you manage to stay so grounded? You seem so down-to-earth?

AK: Well, thank you. I take that as a compliment. I think my mother is a big part of that. I was raised just by her, so I’ve lived a certain life and understand a certain thing that I never forget.

EI: What is that?

AK: You just can’t take a day for granted. We had to work really hard for anything, so that’s been instilled in me, and I don’t look at myself as better than anybody else because, in an instant, everything can change. You don’t know what will happen from one minute to the next, so I hold onto that a lot, and I also realized that there’s a place you have to reach and you kind of have to figure out, “Here’s what I want from my life and here’s what I want from my career,” and they can live at the same time, but you can always choose.

EI: Why exactly are you in Toronto this weekend? Aren’t you here to shoot the music video for the new James Bond film Quantum Of Solace, for which you sing the title song -– your collaboration with Jack White of The White Stripes? What’s it like singing a theme to a James Bond movie? How was the first Bond duet? And what are your feelings about Bond man Daniel Craig?

AK: I like him. I actually really like him. I saw the film. It’s really good. Yeah, I don’t know how there’s that incredible amount of stunts in one movie. It’s amazing.

EI: Did you see Daniel Craig in Casino Royale?

AK: I didn’t really see Casino Royale, so I couldn’t judge. Don’t tell anyone.

EI: Is your part in The Secret Life of Bees your biggest film role to date?

AK: This is my biggest to date.

EI: The film is set in the 1960s at the beginning of the Civil Rights era. How would you describe your character, June, and how she reacts to the changes going on around her? Also, did you feel like you were stepping into a bit of cultural history while doing the movie?

AK: I definitely felt like there was a lot of cultural history and it was historic, but I didn’t feel like I was just stepping into a slot, because June is her own person. She’s her own experience, and it does so happen that there was a lot to fight for and there was a lot of struggle going on, and there was a lot to stand for and there was a lot to be angry about. So it kind of makes sense why people did have that kind of position. But June is really special and she is multi-layered, and that’s the reason why I loved her so much, because we all are so multi-layered. I loved the way that it had that piece of history in it — this piece that we all know about, the Civil Rights Movement, but it was bigger than that. It was more about the growth of individuals as individuals, and  this film really attracted me a lot.

EI: What parts of June’s personality did you relate to the most?

AK: I related to a lot of June, actually, especially her vulnerability covered by this kind of false strength. Not to say that she’s not strong. She’s very strong, but she uses that to cover any fear that she has or any vulnerability that she has.  I find that, as I learn myself, I learn that that’s a technique that I have, so I really was aware of that — her determination and her discipline, even through classical playing of the cello. I play classical music, so I could understand where that discipline comes from.

EI: Do you actually play the cello?

AK: I don’t. I do now because I learned the cello for this, so I’m now better at the cello than I ever was before, but I would still need a massive amount of practice. But I do play classical music, so I understand where that comes from. And there’s definitely the fear of marriage as well. There’s almost like a stigma with marriage at this point, in a lot of ways, to me. A lot of people have been saying, “Oh, don’t get married. It ruins everything,” and I’m like, “Damn,” so I can understand.

EI: People actually tell you that about marriage even now?

AK: You hear that. I can understand all those things about her and also the loss of her sister. We’ve all lost somebody in our lives in some way — that pain and the way it forces you to grow. That’s something I dealt with recently, so all of these were things I could understand about her. I am not June, but I can definitely relate.

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