Anna Paquin's X factor revealed

Anna Paquin

In X-Men III: The Last Stand, Anna Paquin's character Rogue is facing a personal crisis. While her fellow X-Men are dealing with all manner of mayhem including the deaths and apparent rebirths of some core characters - Rogue is tempted to take the "cure" for mutancy which will put an end to her special powers, but allow her for the first time to touch another person without killing them.

So you are the controversial character in this one because you are the mutant that wants to change who she is.

She is struggling with whether or not she should, what that would mean for her, and what the pros and cons of either decision would be, so it is a pretty big deal for Rogue. It's a pretty epic decision she has to make.

How do you feel about the importance of your character in this one?

How big or small or important or not my character per se is to the story is never really something that registers with me. I was just happy that I got some interesting scenes to do that had an emotional job at hand - there isn't always a lot of that in these kinds of movies. I felt lucky that once again the writers hooked me up with some interesting stuff to do.

And she struggles because she can't touch anyone.

I think that is a very natural thing. I mean babies that are left alone in orphanages to cry in their cribs have huge problems. You need physical contact - it is like the most basic thing, literally a child would die when they are very small without it. To be isolated like that is an incredibly painful thing.

Can you relate to the outsider element of these characters?

I don't think actors have the monopoly on feelings.

Were you signed to do a third one?

Not me. I'm a diva.

How was this different having Brett Ratner directing rather than Bryan Singer (who directed the first two films but passed on a third to do the new Superman film)?

It is totally different. Completely different people, different artists. Even their demeanour is completely different. Both share passion, enthusiasm and dedication for the project which is what you need. Bryan established something and Brett respectfully continued, while still being able to put his own directorial stamp on it. Which I think is great and really brave because he came on at the last minute and had an obscenely small amount of prep time for a massive movie.

Were you anxious with a new director but not knowing who?

Yeah, the no director period was a little weird. It was like "Okay, we have a release date. We don't have a script or a director but it's all good." Knowing that Bryan wasn't going to do it was scary, he is part of the family and he always will be. I'm just glad I didn't get fired.

You mean after X-Men 2?

Yeah, like "Let's get rid of Rogue". I was just psyched to be back.

Don't you think that fans would have gone a little crazy at that?

You know what? Fans get crazy about all kinds of things.

Do you have run-ins with people who are X-Men fanatics?

We did a comic-book store yesterday. And they were standing in the rain waiting for us. I got called "Rogue" by the same guy about five times actually. Some people just think it is funny to call you Rogue. I don't know. Maybe that is a joke I am just not in on.

Are you surprised at your success since winning an Oscar at such a young age?

No, I have always worked. I have worked every single year of my life since then. Winning an Oscar was a fantastic leg-up in an incredibly competitive, difficult industry to break into. But I was the world's shyest 11-year-old, I am still shy. I am now very good talking to strangers but for The Piano they would ask me questions and I would say "Uh-huh it was fun" and I was shaking.

Your Oscar thankyou speech remains one of the most memorable.

I can't remember a word of it, so I am glad everyone else can. Everything since then has just sort of been a natural progression as far as maturing into different kinds of roles and figuring out what I want to do.

I mean sure, it's not easy going through adolescence on camera and having to redefine your personality and your image and stuff when other people are trying to put labels on you, put you in a category. Something that I feel kind of good about is that I have never been successfully put in a category.

Did you ever consider not pursuing acting?

Believe me I have tried to find something else that I love doing, that I am as passionate about. I looked for something else that makes me feel the same way and there is nothing else. That's what being an artist is, if there is nothing else that makes you feel it expresses you as much, then that is what you have to do and that is why you [expletive] bother.

Going between small independent films and X-Men - is it jarring at all?

It's more of a jar when I show up and it's "Wow, I have a trailer the size of my apartment", as opposed to "there is your dressing corner over there, sorry. We have a curtain." Jarring? No, the family situation that I came from was not one of excess or wealth ... I don't need all that stuff.

Working on those smaller, more actor-friendly movies - does it give you an edge when it comes to blockbusters?

Honestly the thing that has really kicked my ass as an actor is doing a lot of theatre. I had the incredible good fortune that the first play I ever did was directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman who is frankly one of the gods of my universe and who beat into submission every last bad little habit I have as an actor. He is the most phenomenally insightful person I think I have met.

So what next - more theatre or working on Blue State, this film you are producing with your brother?

I'm always looking for good theatre. I haven't actually had the time to read anything recently because producing your own independent feature is all you have time to do.

What did you find about that experience? Are you going to do it again?

Absolutely. My brother and I produced it, he did a lot of the heavy lifting as far as like raising money because his background is finance. It was awesome. Love getting to pick who you want to work with, nothing better.

That title suggests it's political.

The film tells the story of a young Democrat who makes a drunken promise that if "W"' gets re-elected he is moving to Canada and so he does.

I am his somewhat mismatched travelling companion. It's a comedy, no, it is a sort of offbeat political comedy.

A long way from the X-Men world, which comes complete with your very own action figure.

I got a whole box of them. When my career dries up I am going to sell them on EBay.

LOWDOWN

WHO: Anna Paquin, former Lower Hutt girl, now Oscar-winning Hollywood starlet

BORN: July 24, 1982

FILMS: The Piano (1993), Jane Eyre (1996), Fly Away Home (1996), Amistad (1997), Hurlyburly (1998), She's All That (1999), All The Rage (2000), X-Men (2000), Almost Famous (2000), Finding Forrester (2000), Darkness (2002), 25th Hour (2002), X-Men 2 (2003), The Squid and the Whale (2005)

LATEST: X-Men 3, opens Thursday