Five Things to Know About Emma Stone

The actress shares her secret loves (the couch and SNL) and how she got to Hollywood

Photo: Trent Warner/Startraks

You’ve seen her in Superbad, The House Bunny and Zombieland, but now, Emma Stone is taking on a more complicated leading role in the dark comedy-drama, Paper Man.

Stone, 21, plays a teenager who forms an unlikely friendship with a struggling, 40-something writer played by Jeff Daniels. “I’ve never done a movie like that, and I probably never will again,” says the actress. And when it comes to her fellow costar Ryan Reynolds – who plays Daniels’s superhero imaginary friend, Captain Excellent – she tells PEOPLE he’s “awesome.”

Here are five more need-to-know things about the hot actress:

1. She’s going for the Lisa Kudrow trifecta:
The actresses starred together in Paper Man (Kudrow plays Daniels’s wife), and six months after wrapping that project, they met again. “She ended up playing my guidance counselor in Easy A,” says Stone of their upcoming film. “She’s a fascinating lady. She had all these stories about her ancestry from when she did the show Who Do You Think You Are. Will there be a third film for the pair? Says Stone, “Here’s hoping!”

2. She Hearts Saturday Night Live:
“Gilda Radner was my original hero,” says Stone. “I fell in love with sketch comedy and improv when I was 11. I love everything that has to do with SNL: The history of it, the fact that it’s in New York City, and that it’s iconic and symbolizes where my dream began.” So it’s safe to say that she’d jump at the chance to appear on the show herself one day? “I’ve never even imagined it,” she says with a laugh. “I feel like that would be a jinxing thing!”

3. Taylor Swift is a pal:
“We met at an awards ceremony a couple years ago and stayed in touch since then,” says Stone. “She’s very cool.” The country star echoes that sentiment: Swift named Stone as one of her close friends in Seventeen magazine last year, along with Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.

4. She’s a Manhattan couch potato:
Stone, who recently moved to New York City, says her favorite activity in her down time from acting is absolutely nothing. “I’m lazy beyond belief – my favorite thing to do when I’m not working is sit around.” Luckily, she has quite a view while she’s lounging. “My apartment is on the 31st floor and I can see both rivers, the East River and the Hudson.”

5. She got to Hollywood on a sales pitch:
When she wanted to move to L.A. for work, Stone convinced her parents using a Power Point presentation featuring the Madonna song “Hollywood.” “When I was 12 and wanted to be home-schooled so I could do more theater, I made a foam board presentation and that worked out,” she says. “So a few years later when I wanted to move to L.A., I figured, presentation time again! And it worked. I’m very grateful to Power Point.”