Drew Barrymore: Kristen Bell "Whooped My Ass" in Poker!

USMagazine, Friday, January 20, 2012, 7:09am (PST)

According to Drew Barrymore, it would take a Big Miracle to beat her costar Kristen Bell in a game of Texas Hold 'em.

"Kristen and John Krasinski would have poker nights at their hotel rooms all the time while we were filming in Alaska," Barrymore, 36, tells the February issue of Vegas. "She definitely whooped my ass!"

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Barrymore, who recently got engaged to art consultant Will Kopelman, adds that she was even more impressed with Bell's acting ability.

"Kristen is incredibly witty," Barrymore explains. "While playing this character, who is sometimes doing things the audience is supposed to be cracking up at, she was able to be funny in an un-obvious way. There's a real cleverness there."

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For Bell, who's been engaged to Dax Shepard since 2009, the role was an opportunity to step outside herself. "I enjoy pretending and being a part of telling stores that may just simply entertain people," Bell tells Vegas. "But it also may break the fourth wall, force them to have a catharsis, teach them something, or just allow them to escape."

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Big Miracle, which also stars Ted Danson and Dermot Mulroney, is based on the 1989 book Freeing the Whales by Tom Rose. It premieres in theaters February 3.

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