Hilary Duff | Bloodworth

As She says later in our interview, Hilary Duff likes a good challenge. The number of former child and teen stars who manage to sustain their success into their twenties, as Duff undeniably has, are few enough already, but even rarer are those who then develop into serious adult actors. Slowly, though, and almost under the radar, Hilary Duff has been turning in noteworthy, character-rich performances in a variety of lower-budgeted independent films, including According to Greta andStay Cool, both released in 2009. And, in this writer’s opinion, Duff’s strongest onscreen work to date is hitting theaters this week, with her nuanced turn as a good-hearted, but troubled, teen in the Southern gothic family drama Bloodworth.