Heather Graham recalls stepping out of her comfort zone and taking on her role in 1997 Boogie Nights.
The actress, who played Rollergirl in Paul Thomas Anderson’s erotic films, was recently seen in Michael Rosenbaum “Inside You” The podcast said she initially shunned projects involving sexual content.
“I grew up in a religious family, and they said, ‘Don’t do anything sexual,'” Graham explained. “But trying to be a woman in Hollywood in your early 20s, mid-20s and then trying to get roles that don’t have any sexual content to them — it’s almost impossible.”
this Austin Powers: The Spy Who Fucked Me The star ultimately decided against her family’s wishes and not limit her opportunities in Hollywood.
“I turned down some things that were sexually explicit, and then I saw other people having really good careers,” she recalls. “I just said, ‘What the hell. I want to do this. This [Boogie Nights] The script is fantastic.
Although “they originally offered the role to a very famous guy and he turned it down,” Graham said she eventually got the role, which was “a turning point in my career.” (Gwyneth Paltrow previously told Howard Stern that she turned down the roller derby role.)
Since Graham was not used to doing nude scenes at the time, host Michael Rosenbaum also asked her what her first experience was like. “That’s terrible,” she replied. “As a woman, I have to say, even if you say, ‘Okay. Well, maybe I know sometimes men find me attractive,’ you look at all my flaws. You’re like, “Oh my God. They will see the flaws. I remember sitting in my trailer, like, ‘Oh my God. I’m scared.
But once selected family When the actress got into the mindset of her character, she found the courage to step out and give her best performance in the film starring Mark Wahlberg and Julianne Moore.
“You just try to get out of your own head and say, ‘What is this character thinking? I’m going to be this character,'” she recalled. “I don’t want to say, ‘Heather Graham is nervous about this moment.'” I want it to be, ‘I’m Brandi in this scene and this is what I do.’ Oh, it’s no big deal, these people are my friends and my family. It’s part of our lives. I just try to think about it like a character.
Overall, Graham had a positive experience filming the film. She added: “My role was fun and I had a great time.”