So what attracted you to the role of "Nurse Betty"?
Oh gosh! Initially I think it was the story and of course Betty, she's beautiful. Such a different sort of role to play you know. And Neil LaBute, I'm a big fan. I think he's spectacular as a film maker.
Talk a little bit about Betty, because she does have this incredible transformation doesn't she?
Well she's naΓ―ve and it's very sweet that she tries to find something extraordinary in the mundane. Then for her to fall into this disassociate state is really amazing. She kind of decides that yeah, I'm going to change my life, although it's a mythical life, a sort of fantastical scenario (laughs).
I mean because it seems to me that obviously on one level the film is about the fantasy of soap opera and how we sort of kind of live through that. I mean, which is the real Betty?
Well I think that her essence remains throughout. What I love about this script is that it does have subtext and it is a commentary on American culture and how we tend to lionise our public figures. It's also a commentary on the different forms of media in America.
What about the relationship with the doctor?
What fun that must have been for him [actor Greg Kinnear] to play someone you might not necessarily respect because of their self-involvement. I loved his performance in this, I loved working with him. But in the film I think that what he represents to Betty is a projection of all those ideals. He adds those things that she doesn't feel that she deserves.
