The New York Times just ran an interesting interview with the Olsen twins. The two just released their book “Influence” which is getting really good reviews. It’s about their style (and sometimes business) influences and heroes, and they’ve been doing a good deal of press – for them. While a lot of people criticized their interview on Oprah as rather dull, I thought it was interesting to see the obvious differences in their personalities. They both strike me as remarkably independent, and they seemed more self-assured than I expected.

I was consistently impressed with how well-spoken Ashley was, and she remained so in her New York Times interview. She talked a lot about the business side of the twins’ fashion lines and learning not just about designing and manufacturing clothes but also merchandising and marketing.

When they talked about some of the more traditional celebrity topics, Ashley made a few really good points about the paparazzi.

The Olsens are known for keeping a tight grip on their image, but their general reluctance to talk to the press has left them ceding ground to tabloids eager to construct the narrative. The sisters began appearing regularly in the pages of the supermarket weeklies when they moved to Manhattan to study at New York University a few years ago. The magazines followed Mary-Kate’s struggle with anorexia in 2004 and then became fixated on how the twins dressed, running picture after picture of the two in big, round glasses and loose, layered knits, implying something deranged and effortful in a look that suggested Janis Joplin.

The pursuit by paparazzi has not ebbed, and it remains a persistent source of anxiety for the Olsens. “Honestly, I’m a wreck,” Ashley said. “Every time I see a camera, I’m a wreck.” The sisters had just been surrounded by photographers in London a few days earlier. “I don’t tend to react as though ‘I have to do this, it’s my job,’ ” Ashley continued. “I am reacting as a woman who is 5- foot-1 whose space is being invaded by a bunch of men whose aggression I can literally feel.

In L.A. it is even worse because they are running red lights behind you, and I worry all the time about something terrible happening, someone getting hurt because of me, how I could ever possibly live with that. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have kids in the back seat and have to go through this and pretend for their sake that you are not scared.”

[From the New York Times]

We only see the paparazzi photographs from the perspective of the photographer. I often assume it’s just that one guy far away with a creepy telephoto lens. I forget that instead it’s upwards of 15 or 20 guys – and they are usually men – getting within inches (sometimes less) of a celebrity’s personal space. Most of us are hardwired to feel threatened, nervous, scared, or upset when anyone gets so close to us. I can definitely see why the Olsens have an annoyingly large amount of security. Even as a tall woman that would make me nervous – but Ashley is right, she’s very small and that must make her feel even more invaded.

Rarely do I feel a whole lot of empathy when celebs do the “Oh poor me, it’s so hard being famous” routine. But Ashley did a good job of bringing it down to a human level that almost anyone could understand. Now here are some photos taken by what I’m sure are the only friendly, non-aggressive paparazzi out there.

Here’s Ashley Olsen trying to escape a frenzy of photographers while leaving Orso Restaurant in Los Angeles on October 21st. Images thanks to WENN.