by Tom Brook New York entertainment correspondent

American pop icon, singer and actress Cher is back in the limelight in Farrelly Brothers movie Stuck on You.

In the movie, a comedy about conjoined twins, Cher plays an exaggerated mean spirited version of herself.

Cher plays a comedy version of herself in Farrelly Brothers movie

But she let go of her nerves and allowed the filmmakers to send up her image, not just as a diva, but as an older woman who consorts with younger men.

But what the film does not do is satirise Cher's well preserved - some would say cosmetically enhanced - appearance. She might be 57 but Cher remains a woman who cares about the way she looks.

A singer as well as an actress, Cher is now on her farewell concert tour. It finishes next year - she says she has had it with being on the road but she intends to keep very busy and plans to direct a feature film.

Tom Brook asked Cher how she felt about her latest role.

Q. How much of yourself is in there?

A. Just my body. My body and my mouth. I mean it's not anything like me, but it was fun being horrible. It was fun being, I mean, the anticipation was terrible. I was really nervous about that.

Q. You are very sexy and alluring for a woman of your age. Is it important for you to look that way?

A. It's like, For a fat girl you don't sweat much. What I do, my vehicle for what I do is my body.

Cher has been making a farewell tour

So, in order to keep doing what I do, the better I can look for as long as I can, gives me more percentage chance of actually being able to continue my work.

Q. Is it easier for you to get cast in comedies like Stuck on You than it is in strong character driven pieces?

A. Absolutely. I'm really funny as a person, but I also have this maudlin dark side that those kinds of films, I'm really good at that and I think that's easier kind of work to do than comedy, in a strange way.

But I'm drawn to those kinds of films. It's just that, as you just mentioned, as you get older, the roles are less and less - mean you have to get to that Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright thing before you actually get more films.

Q. Do you think that's unfair? Does it annoy you in a way, because it's different for men? Older men don't have such a hard time in Hollywood, do they?

A. No they don't at all. But it's just the way it is, and I'm pretty pragmatic about what is, is.

But it doesn't mean you also can't manouevre around it. I really shouldn't be in a movie with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. You wouldn't think of it, but somehow it works.

Q. Do you think you'd be very lost as a human being if you didn�t have your work?

A. Oh, yeah. I think my work is a lot. I'm not so sure I'd be lost as a human being, but it would take me a long time to figure out what else I would do.

Stuck on You stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins

If I didn't do this, I would have to then come up with a whole other plan. I'd have to because I need to be interested in something.

I need to be focused on something. I'm artistic no matter what I do. I see things in that kind of way.

Q. I imagine in a way it is quite difficult playing someone who resembles yourself. Is it hard not to be self-conscious about it?

A. I wasn't playing someone who resembled myself. I was playing supposedly myself, but she doesn't resemble me at all. Her name was Cher, we have the same talents, but it's not who I am.

Q When you think about your work, I mean, you did this movie and Meryl Streep was in it. Did that bring back memories of doing Silkwood at all?

A. You know, we weren't together, because I was on the road, and I would just get small breaks, and so I would go down and film, but when I was down there they would just film only me, only my work, so I got to work with the boys because we worked together, but I didn�t see anybody else.

Meryl, it was just a reaction shot in the audience. They'd already filmed that.

Q. What kinds of roles would you like to do specifically? Are there certain kinds of stories you'd like to be involved in?

A. I really loved being in Mask and Silkwood because they were about real people. And so the idea of that makes me excited.

The idea of portraying someone who's real, so you're bringing not only just a character to the screen, you�re bringing a person to the screen. I like that.

Q. What about your recording career? Do you want to concentrate on that as much as you do with movies, or would you like the acting to take off a bit more?

A. No, because I usually just do whatever is in front of me. I've been touring now for almost 16 months, so that was my focus.