Heather Has A Hold On The Parts Most Men Dream Of

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday November 5, 2002

Garry Maddox Film Writer

She was a porn star on roller skates in Boogie Nights and in the second Austin Powers, the shagadelic Felicity Shagwell. In her latest release, she is once more a porn star, unintentionally supplying wisdom for a New Age sex guru.

For an actress who seems disarmingly sweet in real life, Heather Graham knows a lot about playing sexy on screen.

``I'm interested in sexuality as a person," she said yesterday before quickly correcting herself: ``I'm interested in lots of different things and not just sexuality. But I am definitely interested in it. I mean, who isn't?"

Despite Graham once saying she wanted roles like Meryl Streep's in Sophie's Choice, directors seem to like casting her as a sexually provocative blonde with a good heart, whether porn star, prostitute or actress who sleeps her way through a film crew as in the comedy Bowfinger.

So how does she feel about being described recently as the perfect canvas for projecting a male idea of carnality?

Graham laughed. ``Oh my god, that's so funny. I just feel like a normal girl. I feel like I love that people think I'm sexy. It's great. But, inside, I just feel like a normal person. I don't feel like I'm some sexy screen siren. I feel like `oh, I feel gross. I woke up in the morning and my skin's blotchy'."

In Sydney for the premiere of The Guru, a comedy about an Indian dance instructor who becomes a sex adviser to Manhattan socialites, Graham said Hollywood still had double standards for actresses and actors about sex on screen. She hoped it would change one day.

``In some ways, our culture really values masculine qualities more than feminine ones. For example, intellect is way more valued in our culture than vulnerability. And I think vulnerability is very important and a great thing. So I think that we need more balance."

Even though she is into New Age philosophies herself, discussing chakras at a yoga retreat recently and reading books about tantra, Graham enjoyed the fun being poked at those seeking spiritual enlightenment from false gods in The Guru. ``There are a lot of people out there who are supposedly New Age who are totally phonies or very manipulative or just using people's gullibility for their own financial gain. But I do think that behind it all is sort of a good intent."