Editing Avril Lavigne (section)

===Acting career===
Lavigne became interested in appearing on television and in feature films. The decision, she said, was her own. Although her years of experience in making music videos was to her advantage, Lavigne admitted her experience in singing removed any fear of performing on camera. She specifically mentioned that the video "Nobody's Home" involved the most "acting".{{r|girlauinterview}} Her first television appearance was in a 2002 episode of ''[[Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series)|Sabrina, the Teenage Witch]]'',{{r|sabrinateenagewitch}} performing "Sk8er Boi"{{r|mtvsabrinanov}} with her band in a nightclub.{{r|mtvsabrinaaug}} She later made a cameo appearance in the 2004 film ''[[Going the Distance (2004 film)|Going the Distance]]''. The main characters bump into her backstage at the [[MuchMusic Video Awards]]{{r|canoedistance}} after her performance of "Losing Grip".{{r|goingthedistance}}

She moved into feature film acting cautiously, deliberately choosing small roles to begin with. In November 2005, after going through an audition to land the role, Lavigne travelled to [[New Mexico]]{{r|mtvflock}} to film a single scene in the 2007 film, ''[[The Flock (film)|The Flock]]''.{{r|digitalspyflock}} She played Beatrice Bell, the girlfriend of a crime suspect, appearing alongside [[Claire Danes]] and [[Richard Gere]]. Gere gave Lavigne acting tips between takes.{{r|digitalspyflock}} On her role in ''The Flock'', Lavigne said, "I did that just to see how it was and to not jump into [mainstream acting] too fast."{{r|girlauinterview}} ''The Flock'' was not released in American theatres, and because it was not released in foreign markets until late 2007, it is not considered Lavigne's debut. The film made $7&nbsp;million in the foreign box office.{{r|mojoflock}}

[[File:Avrilgfdl.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Lavigne at the [[2006 Cannes Film Festival]]]]
Lavigne's feature film debut was voicing an animated character in the 2006 film ''[[Over the Hedge]]'', based on the [[Over the Hedge|comic strip of the same name]]. She voiced the character Heather, a [[Virginia opossum]]. Lavigne found the recording process to be "easy" and "natural", but she kept hitting the microphone as she gestured while acting. "I'd use my hands constantly and, like, hit the microphone stand and make noises, so [director] [[Tim Johnson (film director)|Tim]] and [screenwriter] [[Karey Kirkpatrick|Karey]] had to tell me to hold still.... It's hard to be running or falling down the stairs and have to make those sounds come out of your mouth but keep your body still." Lavigne believed she was hired to perform Heather because of her rock-star status. "[The director] thought I'd give my character... a bit of attitude".{{r|girlauinterview}} The film opened on May 19, 2006, making $38&nbsp;million over its opening weekend. It went on to gross $336&nbsp;million worldwide.{{r|mojohedge}}

In December 2005, Lavigne signed to appear in ''[[Fast Food Nation (film)|Fast Food Nation]]'', based on the book ''[[Fast Food Nation]]: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal''.{{r|contactmusicfastfood}} The fictionalized adaptation, directed by [[Richard Linklater]], traces fast-food hamburgers contaminated with cow feces back to the slaughterhouses.{{r|washingtonpostfastfood}} Lavigne played Alice, a high school student intent on freeing the cows.{{r|msnbcfastfood}}{{r|nytimesfastfood}} The film opened on November 17, 2006, and remained in theatres for 11 weeks, grossing $2&nbsp;million worldwide.{{r|mojofastfood}}

Both ''Over the Hedge'' and ''Fast Food Nation'' opened at the 2006 [[Cannes Film Festival]], which Lavigne attended. When asked if she would pursue her film career, she stated that she wanted to take her time and wait for the "right parts and the right movies." Lavigne was deliberate in the roles she had chosen, saying "I wanted to start off small and to learn. I wouldn't just want to throw myself into a big part."{{r|girlauinterview}} In August 2006, ''[[Canadian Business]]'' magazine ranked her as the seventh top Canadian actor in Hollywood in their second annual Celebrity Power List ranking. The results were determined by comparing salary, Internet hits, TV mentions, and press hits.{{r|canadianbusiness}} In September 2011, Lavigne appeared on the [[Hub Network]]'s televised singing competition ''[[Majors & Minors]]'' as a guest mentor alongside other singers, including [[Adam Lambert]] and [[Leona Lewis]].{{r|abbeyhuffington}}