Liv Tyler prefers living out of spotlight

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Although she has been acting since age 16, Liv Tyler doesn’t revel in the limelight.

She has had prominent roles in films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Incredible Hulk, Jersey Girl, Armageddon and That Thing You Do!

Still, “I never wanted to be an ‘actor,’ to be the superstar, to be the center of attention.

“I always wanted to be working with groups of people who would teach me and elevate me and inspire me, so I always sort of thrive in the company of other people,” she said in the living room of the famous Chateau Marmont.

She fulfilled her wish through the new HBO series The Leftovers, a mysterious tale — set for a Sunday premiere — about the unexplained disappearance of 2 percent of the population and a cultic group that seeks control.

Tyler plays one of the “leftovers” who is being cultivated by the cult. But just before the script arrived, she was considering quitting.

“I started praying to the universe: ‘Tell me now, am I meant to keep going, keep focusing on being an actress, or am I meant to pursue my other passions and dreams?’

“I think being second generation to the entertainment industry and being bitten by the bug, that happens when you’re a performer in some kind of way,” Tyler said.

“It’s made me a little bit head-shy about the whole experience of fame and attention. I’m kind of shy in a lot of ways and don’t like a lot of attention, which is strange. Whenever I get a lot of attention, I get a little bit like ‘OK, thanks, thanks, thanks.’ It kind of goes in one ear and out the other. And I just want to take my high heels off and crawl back to my room.”

But she has never been able to do that. Born to model-singer Bebe Buell, she is the biological daughter of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith fame, although her mother lived with musician Todd Rundgren at the time of her birth.

“I think I’ve always wanted to have some kind of a normal life just growing up in the household of entertainers and seeing that experience, because it’s very extreme,” she said.

Tyler, 36, is divorced from British musician Royston Langdon.

“When Roy and I got divorced, I went through that whole period — I really had to retreat for a couple of years to sort of heal that and make sure that I was OK and that he was OK and Milo (their now-9-year-old son) was OK,” she said.

The Leftovers marks her first venture into television.

“I’m used to seeing a whole script and knowing the whole schedule,” she said.

“With this, we get the script five days before an episode, so we’re all waiting. At first, that was tricky for me being comfortable with being uncomfortable. But now, I love it because it’s an incredible challenge, and I don’t have that much time to think about it. The truth is, that’s how we are as people: We don’t really know what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week.”

Because of Tyler’s gentle demeanor, people often overlook her resilient core.

“People think I’m timid,” she said. “I’ve never thought of myself as timid, but I think people think I’m quite soft-spoken, and I come across as being that way.”

Not so, she said.

“I remember those little moments when something sort of snaps inside of you, and you’re aware of standing up for yourself and for what you believe in. I remember feeling that at such a young age, just in the way I grew up, and having this job at such a young age, you have to be very, very strong to be around all these different kinds of people and in those situations.

“It’s not for the timid at all.”