Kate Beckinsale Covers 'Allure' August 2012

Kate Beckinsale smiles wide on the cover of Allure‘s August 2012 issue, on newsstands in NY/LA and digitally today.

Here is what the 38-year-old Total Recall actress had to share with the mag:

On feeling beautiful: “Feeling attractive didn’t come until I was 29 and with [husband] Len [Wiseman]. At the time it was partly perceived as if I’d gone all Hollywood, but it wasn’t like that at all. It was just OK for me to walk around and feel feminine and attractive. I like feeling liberated like this.”

On firing a gun on set: “I was an instant natural. Weird. I think the fact I have massive hands is part of it. I always wandered why I have these huge hands.”

On having a teenage daughter: “I remember Len talking to Bruce Willis when Len did Live Free or Die Hard, and I think Bruce did some terrifying things when his daughter started having a boyfriend. Len and I asked him, ‘When Lily starts having boyfriends, will you come over, too? We’ll all stand on the doorstep, scare the shit out of them.’ But maybe now I don’t need Bruce. Now that I’m a villain, I can go solo.”

For more from Kate, visit Allure.com and her behind-the-scenes video!