KEY POINTS:
She may have died in this week's penultimate episode of The Tudors, in which she played King Henry's sister Princess Margaret, but Gabrielle Anwar will soon be back on our screens in new espionage-comedy series, Burn Notice.
In the hit show, Anwar plays a former IRA operative turned
freelance saboteur who finds herself back in the life of ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Donovan when he's fired and blacklisted by his US Government spymasters. Probably still best known for being Al Pacino's tango partner in 1992's Scent of A Woman, the Los Angeles-based, English-born actress' career is on a roll again due to television - even if she doesn't own one.
So where does Burn Notice fit into the history of spy shows?
I don't think it takes itself as seriously as 24 or Alias. When first I read the script I didn't realise it had so much humour. When we shot the pilot I was playing it deadpan; it wasn't until I saw the rough cut of the pilot I thought, oh crap, I am in the wrong TV show - this is actually very funny and I had no idea.
So it's something like the movie Mr & Mrs Smith?
It has been compared to that here which is very flattering - who doesn't want to be compared to Angelina Jolie?
Your character Fiona sounds like an interesting kind of woman.
Yes she is and it's a rare opportunity to play a character who has been written so well. She is not just a pretty prop - how is that for a concept?
How did you get the job?
I think every actress who read the script wanted to play this role and pretty much all of us auditioned. I think I might have been the most persistent, not necessarily the most talented.
Doing a TV series must be quite a commitment.
The truth is I've had such a lull in my film career. I wanted to work, period, and I wanted to work on something that wasn't just going to pay the rent - that actually had some artistic merit. So despite the gruelling schedule of a one-hour drama, I really appreciate having a job that I believe in. It has happened so rarely throughout my career.
How did timing work out with The Tudors?
I had just died.
Sorry to hear that.
Thank you, thank you. So I was free. The timing was perfect actually. And I was very grateful to be back in the US having spent a rainy summer in Dublin.
And happy to be out of being roped into those frocks every day.
You could say that yes. But it was a beautiful experience for me actually. I didn't work every day of the week so I had quite a lot of time off and did a lot of writing. The character was fabulous - rather like Fiona she had a mind of her own and it was a true pleasure to be doing that, particularly with a period piece where women always tend to be portrayed as these demure creatures. And I hadn't been to Ireland before and it's just the most beautiful place.
Which may have helped your Irish accent in this one?
That's a funny coincidence. However, in the first episode they nixed that idea which was a little upsetting, but now I am speaking with an American accent.
You're English, any qualms about playing someone who had a background in the IRA?
I was a little concerned that her background was something I wouldn't approve of, then I realised she believed in something so strongly - I am sure I could conjure up from my own imagination what that might be, I realised the scriptwriters had no idea - so it was in my lap. So I could just create her own history and keep it to myself.
There was the Brad Pitt movie [The Devil's Own] in which he played an IRA guy exiled to the US. Now there's you. Didn't realise they were such a good-looking terrorist organisation.
That's very funny.
With Burn Notice being renewed for a second seaons it looks like your career is going well after that lull you mentioned. What caused it?
Well, I decided to have children and my career had to be put on the backburner - not necessarily a choice I made but that is the way this town is.
You were certainly very hot there for a while in the 90's.
I had success with the tiny role I had in Scent of a Woman. By the time the film was nominated for an Academy Award I was four months' pregnant. The photo ops fizzled. It was an interesting time to be experiencing pregnancy and having various offers withdrawn - I was 23.
Do you let the kids watch the show?
We don't own a television.
Why ever not?
I don't know yet whether it's the healthiest way for children to be raised - in front of a box.
It is paying for their upbringing isn't it?
Not necessarily. No, I tend to live in 3D. It's been so long since I've had a television, I couldn't tell you what's on TV. I feel like there is so much more to do in a day.
LOWDOWN
Who: Gabrielle Anwar
What: Burn Notice
When & where: 9.30pm, TV3, from Sunday, November 4