ANNA PAQUIN - X-MEN HUGH JACKMAN HALLE BERRY

BY PAM BAKER/PLANET SYNDICATION

Anna Paquin is radiant this morning. She enters the ballroom of a posh New York hotel with one of the most stunning looking matinee idols, the Australian actor Hugh Jackman, her partner in the X-Men movie. But Anna holds her own. She has bloomed into a self-assured young lady who has stripped the layers of typical teenage awkwardness she was known for in the years following her Oscar winning performance in The Piano at age 11.

Hugh Jackman puts his arm around her to make sure she feels protected. In return, she flashes a look of total admiration to the up-and coming star who made his spectacular entrance into Hollywoods hall of fame by playing Wolverine, the X-Men with the sharp as steak knife claws.

The two answer the reporters questions politely, with Jackman cautiously trying not to upstage his young film partner. Ever since Paquin has presented herself to the press, her shy girl thing with hair-twisting and cheek-blushing wasn't received too well. It seemed like a gimmick to keep the press at arms length and gave her the reputation of a difficult interviewee. Anna Paquin never liked any of her film characters, so she claimed, nor did she like Hollywood. The Winnipeg, Canada-born, New Zealand-raised actress who now lives in Los Angeles, has an older brother and sister and parents who have worked very hard to keep her life normal. But after a dozen film roles with partners like Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, Jeff Daniels, Sean Penn and now Hugh Jackman, her life is a lot different than her peers.

That still doesn't change anything about her plan to go to college and get an education. Acting is not her drug of choice, she fell into it and she still hangs on to it because the offers keep coming in and she's been in fierce demand. If I wanted to stop acting, I could stop tomorrow, she insists. She has refused to get any formal acting training, focusing more on her schoolwork than on developing a larger than life screen persona. Paquin didn't even audition the regular way for her first role, the pathological liar Flora in The Piano. She just came along with other kids she knew who were auditioning. Reluctant Anna was the one the director picked.

To this day, she doesn't have a career strategy. She just reads a script and decides at once if she wants to do it or not. When she was offered to play voluptuous Southern belle Rogue, she seemed to be the most unlikely casting choice for the part. But as it turns out, having the bodacious mutant whos very touch with her fingertips destroys every being, played by shy, virginal Anna Paquin, was a good directorial choice. Her pain comes from her alienation from humanity and the curse of not being able to show affection to the ones she loves.

In Bryan Singers version of the X-Men, Rogue finds salvation in the friendship with Wolverine/Logan who brings her to Professors Xavier's mutant school where she learns to live with her super powers. The crush she develops on Wolverine in the movie has certainly spilled over into real life. Anna is a bit star struck with Hugh Jackman but so is everybody else. Good to see her being just a regular teenager. And smiling a lot.

Q: What are Rogues powers in the movie?
A: She can absorb peoples energy and power. She is a mutant who can never touch another person for fear of harming them. Thats why she wears gloves all the time.

Q: Rogue seems to be the most tragic figure because she cant have any human contact. Where did you draw from to play her?
AP: I tried to put myself into her shoes. It is tragic that she can never touch any one ever, (laughs) unless shes trying to hurt them. Which is a really sad thing because the people she loves the most have to be kept the farthest away from her. I can only imagine how empty and sad that must make her feel. Rogue can not turn this power on or off which is why she wears gloves most of the time.

Q: So, if she touches a person, that person would then die?
A: Depends how long she touches them for. If she touches them for too long, bye-bye. If its for a moment, they might recover. No matter how long she was in contact with the other person, she will feel the things that they feel and will feel connected to that person, take on their memories. Which I think would be an incredibly confusing thing, to suddenly feel an intense bond with someone youve never met.

Q: Yeah, like being a teenager isnt confusing enough, right?
A: Yeah. Exactly.

Q: Your character is a typical teenager and quite complex. Also, shes a run-away. How long has she been on the road and what effect does it have on her?
A: I think she was about five to eight months on the road, I guess. Somewhere between the two. Its only a matter of months, I think but it changed her tremendously. She comes to understand who she is and that shes also a compassionate woman. I think she is more complex than just one thing that would sum her up. Shes very strong, a survivor. Its amazing shes still around, that she hasnt gotten lost somewhere or even dead! She knows how to protect herself but shes also very unselfish to make sure that she doesnt hurt anyone. She takes precautions, you know, she is very careful about the whole physical contact thing.

Q: How was it wearing those gloves all the time?
A: Rogue is covered head to toe most of the time: a cloak, gloves, all sorts of protection so she doesnt accidentally touch someone. I went through a lot of gloves [laughs]. The gloves were a big thing for me, because I was wearing them for about five months. That whole kind of mentality of skin and gloves, covering everything up.

Q: Are you a person who likes to touch?
A: No, I wouldnt say that I am an overly touchy feeling person (laughs). I like it the normal way. Im not like absurd and touching everyone, but in the normal course of events one does touch people. And I would miss it if I couldnt do it. I also would miss being able to give someone a hug. It would be too odd to shake someones hand and zap, the hand falls off! Brrr.

Q: How did you connect to Rogue emotionally?
A: I could relate to the isolation she feels. As a teenager, you often feel isolated or different, but sometimes its only in your own head. And of course, what Rogue goes through is an incredibly exaggerated situation. Do I know how it feels like when you dont fit in or that youre different? Of course. I think everyones felt that way. Whether theyve changed schools and theyre the new kid; or theyre -

Q: - an 11-year-old Oscar winner?
A: [Smiles] Well, that can do it, too.

Q: What was it like to work with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen when you're the only one with an Oscar?
A: I never thought about that. I would never think Oh, but I have an Oscar. (Laughs). I didnt really have scenes with Patrick, but I had scenes with Ian. I thought I was so lucky to get to work with someone who so talented, and so well respected. Hes like this amazing acting God.

Q: When youre first presented with the role, what made you decide to take it?
A: I always wanted to work with Bryan Singer. I saw The Usual Suspects and really liked it. And then there were Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in the movie. I have so much respect for both men, I wanted to be in a movie with them! I like challenging myself. Taking on things that are new and unknown to me. For me, it was a new experience.

Q: Did you read the Comics before, did you know the characters?
A: I didnt know anything, really. I had heard of the comic books but I was not familiar with the character specifically. I really didnt know anything about them so I really did have to start reading the comic books fast when I got a part. To try to learn as much as I could as quick as I could. Fortunately, they had those little bios in the comic books. That gives you the background of each character down to what color their eyes should be. Lots of detail, but that kind of thing was good to know.

Q: I heard about 71,000 X-Men notes have been posted on the Internet compared to just a few hundred for films such as The Perfect Storm and Mission: Impossible 2.Were you aware of all the things that were written about you and Rogue on the Internet?
A: Yes, I was aware of some of the stuff but I try not to let it affect me. Much was written before anyone has even seen the script or seen anything of the film. If they slander you beforehand, it can negatively affect your performance. People were putting judgment on things without knowing the context. They just decided they didnt like something without reason. I don t think its really useful. You want to be as good as you can in a role and dont want to know they hate you already before they've even seen you.

Q: What preparations did you have to do for the role?
A: Bryan Singers direction was to keep it real all the time. Play a real character, not a stiff, rigid, comic book figure. That was my biggest concern when I originally learned I was cast as Rogue, that it would be all comic bookish. But Bryan wanted the opposite and thats what he conveyed all the time. This was his direction. So, for the preparation, I was just thinking of how I could make her real in every given way.

Q: Did you have a problem with the accent?
A: I've been doing accents for quite some years now. I have never actually worked on my accents. Im now used to it. I work with a coach. Its pretty easy now.

Q: If you could have Rogues power and come in contact with anyone-living or dead, real or fantastic-and absorb their skills and memories, who would that be?
A: On a totally non-deep, sort of level I think it would be really cool to play the guitar like Jimi Hendrix for a day. That would be fun.

Q: And if you could have any powers you wished, what would that be?
A: Id like to fly!

Q: How many sequels are you signed up for?
A: At least one.

Q: You know, when X-Men hits, Rogue posters are going to be plastered across the walls of every teenage boys room in America. And there also will be Rogue dolls everywhere. Are you prepared for that kind of recognition?
A: (Smiles very uncomfortably) I know. These things will be around forever. They are not biodegradable.

Q: And whats coming up next for you?
A: When this film finished, I worked on this Gus Van Sant film called 'Finding Forrester'. I was playing this upper East side Manhattan prep school girl who has a privileged and sheltered life. She has lots of friends, is the happy, outgoing sort of person. Probably as far from Rogue as you can possibly get.

Q: Who else is in the movie?
A: Sean Connery and F. Murray Abraham.

Thank you.