By RUSSELL BAILLIE
Aussie actress Rachel Griffiths not only received her first lead role in Me Myself I after a spectacular and Oscar-nominated career as a supporting actress, she played a supporting role to herself.
Confused? Well, in the Australian comedy, Griffiths plays two versions of the same character - she's Pamela, a single thirtysomething woman who is unhappy with her career-driven life. And she's Pamela, the happily married mum.
It's a What-If movie, a romantic comedy which has Pamela the former (that lead) taking over the life of Pamela the latter (the supporting role). It's already been a hit at home and a modest success in the United States.
Yes, it's had inevitable comparisons to Gwyneth Paltrow's parallel-lives story Sliding Doors, not to mention the titular confusion with Jim Carrey's Me Myself and Irene.
But Griffiths, talking from hometown Sydney, cites the classic Bill Murray life-on-a-loop comedy Groundhog Day as a personal inspiration: "I must have watched Groundhog Day at least 10 times in research for this film to find out how to believe in a reality that is impossible. Bill Murray was my hero on that one. That film is just genius."
Unlike Murray, Griffiths didn't have to deal with scenes involving a large buck-toothed rodent ...
"No," she laughs, "I didn't have the downside of having to act off a certain Andie MacDowell either."
The dual roles reminded her of stage work where she often had more than one part.
"In a lot of the theatre I did when I was younger, everyone had more than one role. So I learned, without any costume changes, to just slightly shift things so that the moment you opened your mouth everyone knew, 'Oh, now she's that other woman.'
"And I was excited to explore the idea that the fork in the road changes what qualities may be on the surface of ourselves - if we are in a nurturing environment where emotional and intimacy skills are most required to be successful, then we develop those sides of ourselves. And if we place ourselves in an aggressive, competitive environment the chances are we'll become much more aggressive. I really thought about those things."
For Griffiths, it's not only her first bona fide lead but her first Australian character in some time since her screen career blossomed internationally after playing Rhonda in 1993's Muriel's Wedding.
Among the dozen or so movies she's made since, Griffiths' role of cellist Jacqueline du Pre's sister Hilary in Hilary and Jackie was nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award.
It's been quite a ride since Muriel's nuptials: "Yeah, I've loved the opportunity to play women in all their infinite variety ... a character like Hilary I would never have played in this country because she's not of this country - those kind of women don't really exist here in the way they do in Britain.
"It never gets boring and I don't bore the Australian public by getting repetitive in my roles."
Among her films "in the can" are Blow, alongside Johnny Depp and our own Cliff Curtis, of whom she's quite a fan: "Yeah, he's fantastic. I just realised who he was when I saw Three Kings. I'm thinking, 'Who is this guy? If he wasn't an Arab he'd be one of the world's biggest stars,' and someone said, 'He's a New Zealander.' You're kidding me. I would never have known."
And if her film ponders alternative destinies, what does she think might have happened if Muriel hadn't come along?
"Who knows? Maybe if I'd missed that boat, maybe I would have caught another. There's always films and other careers. I like to think that my talent would have found its place but maybe I'd still be doing community theatre somewhere and I'd be happy.
"I have to say that when I decided to be an actor I thought I was signing a document that was I committing to the poor house. I never sought the fame or the high-rolling international career that I have. So it's all a blessing."
* Me Myself I opens Thursday, October 12
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from Lifestyle
I still remember the harrowing first time I told a smoker he was going to die of lung cancer
Telegraph: 'The idea that people ‘choose’ to smoke is rubbish to me.'