BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., April 18, 2000 — It would be easy to write off Heather Graham as just another dumb blonde with more hair than brains.
But that would be uninformed as well as unfair to the actress who brought life to larger-than life-characters such as Boogie Night’s vulnerable Rollergirl and Austin’s groovy gal, Felicity Shagwell.
Fortunately for film fans, Graham isn’t sitting around basking in the glory of past successes. The actress sat down with Hollywood.com and got the scoop on the girl’s busy workload, boyfriend Ed Burns and doing the cha-cha.
Hollywood.com: How did you get involved with Committed?
Heather Graham: I read it before Boogie Nights had come out. I badgered them for months [to give me the role] because sometimes it’s hard to convince Miramax to hire you. They’re a little Mafia-ish. If you’re in the family, you’re in. If you’re not in the family, you’re out. I think I’m in the family now.
Hollywood.com: The character is desperately committed to her stray husband. What are you committed to?
Graham: I’m committed to acting, my friends and to Eddie [Burns]. When I made this movie, it was in the beginning of our relationship. He was there every single day. It was romantic. The director was saying “Oh, great! Here we are doing a movie about this girl who’s husband leaves her and you guys are being a romantic couple and hanging out together every second!”
Hollywood.com: How does your he deal with your sexy roles?
Graham: In some ways, he likes it. In some ways, it’s a pain in the neck.
Hollywood.com: What does he like about it?
Graham: He’s got a sexy girlfriend! That’s a bit of an ego boost. It’s kind of a double-edged sword. You like that they are sexy and that they are in a movie. On the other hand, you don’t want them acting out sex scenes with someone else. But we are actors, and that’s the reality of what we have to do. Luckily, I don’t think the scales are imbalanced. He’s really sexy.
Hollywood.com: How do you keep the relationship interesting?
Graham: It’s great to be an actor because we get time off to do fun things. We started taking a partner dancing class. We’re learning cha cha, salsa, swing, tango, foxtrot and the waltz.
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Hollywood.com: Is there a movie in this?
Graham: I wish I could be in a dance movie! I was in the movie Swingers, and Eddie said, “That’s so cool how you swing dance in that movie.” So he wanted to learn swing. It’s funny to think that he actually wanted to learn how to partner dance, but he did.
Hollywood.com: Speaking of recreation, do you have any summer getaway plans?
Graham: I’m going to Prague from June until September to do a film called From Hell. It’s a Hughes brothers movie with Johnny Depp, and I’m really excited about it. I wanted to go out to the Hamptons, but I’m sure Prague will be more interesting.
Hollywood.com: Tell me about “From Hell.”
Graham: It’s based on a graphic novel [by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell]. My girlfriend’s really into it. I told her who I play, and she said, “Oh, no! Do you know what happens to her?” I’m also doing a film [Say It Isn’t So] that the Farrelly brothers wrote and produced. Chris Klein is in it.
Hollywood.com: Do you have any sex scenes with Chris Klein?
Graham: We have some funny sex scenes. Imagine the Farrelly brothers [There’s Something About Mary], and that’s the vein, maybe even grosser than you can imagine. Definitely not real lovemaking. [Laughs].
Hollywood.com: How do you feel about doing movies with sexuality and nudity?
Graham: My goal is to be in movies that people will be watching 20 years from now. If that’s part of being in one of those movies, then I would do it. But its not like I’m seeking out movies where I can be naked. [Laughs].
You can track down Committed in theaters nationwide April 28.
