When American actress Heather Graham landed the part of an English prostitute in the movie From Hell alongside Johnny Depp, she worked hard to perfect her English accent. Hiring a dialogue coach to help in the task, she wrote out her lines phonetically and set about disguising her native Milwaukee drawl. Despite her efforts, the result came under fire, however, leaving the 31-year-old actress adamant she’d never again reproduce the accent “in public for strangers”.
With a string of sexy roles under her belt, including Rollergirl in Boogie Nights and Felicity Shagwell in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Heather is keen to embark on meatier, more serious parts. “I’d like to think that I could do something great – a performance like Meryl Streep’s in Sophie’s Choice - at some point in my life,” she told InStyle magazine. “At the same time, though, I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to be great. That would be wonderful if it happened, but I’m happy to wake up and just see what the day brings.”
Her latest film, a gruesome retelling of the tale of Victorian-era murderer Jack the Ripper, leapt into the number one spot in America last weekend, outdoing Drew Barrymore’s Riding In Cars With Boys at the box office by notching up $11 million in ticket sales.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
