Maggie Gyllenhaal

Maggie Gyllenhaal as part of Duracell's Power A Smile Program

Duracell/Stuart Ramson

When Maggie Gyllenhaal grins, you don’t just see it, you feel it. Perhaps that’s why Duracell picked the movie actress to be the celebrity spokesperson for its fund-raising initiative "Power a Smile." The concept’s simple: For every photo of a child showing off pearly whites uploaded to the site this holiday season, Duracell will donate $1 to Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. Looking trim and chic (despite the beginnings of a cold), Gyllenhaal kicked off the campaign with the help of five young ambassadors, who helped her wrap presents to bring to kids spending the season in the hospital. Afterward, the two-time Golden Globe nominee chatted with Time Out Kids about her most important role: playing mom to her two-year-old Ramona.

Why did you decide to become involved with this particular charity?
I’ve been fortunate enough not to be in too many hospitals so far in my life. I have been in some, sometimes with children, and it’s always really difficult. Now that I have a child, I feel so much more interested in making sure that all children are as happy as they can be. Since I’m lucky enough to have the time and the freedom to help people—particularly children--who need it, I think I have to do it.

You were born in New York City but grew up in California. Do you feel strongly about raising Ramona in the Big Apple?
No! [Laughs] That’s a terrible thing to say to you, right? My boyfriend [actor Peter Sarsgaard] and I are leaning toward maybe getting out of here…in a few years. We’d love to move to the country. But there are wonderful things about being in the city. It’s really easy to get your kid together with other kids. We go to Music for Aardvarks and dance class. We have all these little things we do in Brooklyn that we love, and Ramona can run around with the other children. And just the other day, we read in Time Out Kids, actually, that Elizabeth Mitchell was singing so we caught the train and went to see her at the last minute. There’s so much to do.

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