She's young, but Chloe Moretz has been acting for almost half her life.

She's had roles in films like "The Amityville Horror" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," appeared in shows such as "Desperate Housewives" and provided the voice for Darby in the animated "My Friends Tigger & Pooh."

But it's fair to say she's never done anything like "Kick-Ass" before.

Probably no 13-year-old has. She plays Mindy Macready in this film about would-be superheroes. As Nicolas Cage's daughter, she's taught how to use weapons, how to kill, how to curse, and she hesitates at none of the tasks. Her uttering of one word in particular is drawing controversy.

She talked about the role recently, about her dream roles and about how her family keeps her grounded.

Question: You're going to get asked a lot about a girl your age playing a role with so much violence and profanity. What's your response to those who criticize you?

Answer: It's a movie. It's not real life, and it's not supposed to be taken as real life. You sit down in a theater, and you watch the movie. Any time I said anything it was in the script, it was part of the character. That's why I did it.

Q: So you didn't ad lib the profanity.

A: (Laughs.) No, definitely not. No ad lib for me. My mom would totally ground me for the rest of my life.

Q: You get to do action, but you also play some more-touching scenes with Nicolas Cage, who plays your father. Was that difficult, to switch gears?

A: It was fun, you know, because I have to show the difference between Hit-Girl and Mindy Macready. Which was hard, and that's why I really wanted to do it. It was physically challenging, and mentally challenging, too.

Q: You're a busy actress. How do you manage to keep in touch with friends?

A: It's easy. I see my friends almost every weekend. And even when I'm not in town I talk to them in iChat and video chat. It's basically like seeing them every day, so it's pretty easy for me.

Q: What roles would you like to play as you get older?

A: "Gone with the Wind," I would love to do that. And maybe "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Those are my favorite movies, so doing that would be crazy.