Leelee Sobieski Makes Branding Herself Enjoyable! And, Ladies Take Note: 'I'm Straight'

Is Leelee Sobieski Hollywood’s latest contribution to New York’s late-night party scene? (After all, it’s been little over a week since the Daily Transom last ran into the 24-year-old actress at Simon Hammerstein’s cabaret, The Box.) A little after 10 p.m. last night, we found the Walk All Over Me star at Bella’s near Kenmare Square, where she’d just polished off a glass of red wine.

“Yes, I’m having a good time. I spend a lot of time indoors too. You know, it’s interesting; I think that the world is changing and you have to—it’s weird—but you have to maybe go out a little bit if you want people to acknowledge you, to then acknowledge your work,” she admitted at the after party for the Adrienne Shelly Foundation’s inaugural benefit. “It used to be the other way around; you used to acknowledge somebody’s work and then acknowledge them. But it doesn’t work that way anymore, and I’ve given in,” a smirking Ms. Sobieski added.

The young actress is also aware that she has recently been the subject of rumors she is a lesbian. (Helping to spark these whispers were some Internet-borne pictures of fellow actress Tara Subkoff looking right at home sitting—scantily clad—on Ms. Sobieski’s lap.) She said she once gave someone a quote that was misconstrued, but in the end, she is definitely straight.

“I have friends of all sorts and I judge nothing, but I like men,” she said. "I said one thing, and it really came out differently,” she offered with a shrug. She then added that she is “kinda” dating someone at the moment.

While Ms. Sobieski seems to enjoy the time she gets to spend here, she also misses Los Angeles. “I’ve been living out of L.A. for a long time, and actually I love a lot of things about it. I think you can find beautiful things wherever you look, and I really genuinely believe that,” she explained.

Asked what aspects of New York she enjoys most, Ms. Sobieski mentioned everyone's close proximity to one another. “I like physically bumping into people—not people I know. I physically like bumping into people,” she said emphatically. “In Los Angeles, you have a tendency, if you bump into somebody, it’s another car. So you associate another personality with a piece of metal and plastic and glass. And if I want to say, ‘Hey, watch where you’re going!’ I don’t want to assign that to a particular brand of car or piece of plastic. I wanna say, ‘Hey, watch where you’re going!’ to another person, because that’s who I’m really talking to,” said Ms. Sobieski, who was looking lovely in boots, jeans and a leather jacket. (“I love this leather jacket, and I’ve worn it before, but I’m wearing it again. God forbid someone wears something twice!” she deadpanned.)

Moreover, when she’s in New York, Ms. Sobieski can hone her craft. “I like riding the subway and that everybody’s really together. And I love watching people. It really helps me with my work, to watch people. It’s one of the best things to do,” the actress mused. Apparently, she also gets a little help from her local friends, who, Ms. Sobieski said, “get [me] off my tush to go to a museum when I’d really rather order in Chinese food.”