| Wicked screen queen; Despite a nude role with sexy Ewan McGregor, scarlet woman Alice Krige insists she's only a vamp for the camera. by Maria Croce |
| Alice Krige romped naked with Ewan McGregor ... but only after vowing not to fall in live with him. Best known as the evil Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact, Alice admits acting alongside Ewan in one of his earliest movies Scarlet and Black, was a fantastic experience. But she insists: "My husband had nothing to be jealous of. Ewan made it so easy and I loved the character I was playing so much that it felt okay to be nude. I adored Ewan. He was so much fun and had so much enthusiasm and such a delight in being there. But it's not like I was in love with him or anything. I adored being around him - but I'm in love with my husband." Alice, currently starring as a vampire in The Little Vampire, which was shot in Scotland, says she'd think twice now about stripping naked. Scarlet And Black was made seven years ago and the 46-year-old actress says: "I'd have to go to the gym and do something about my butt now I suppose. I'm not bursting to strip off, but if it was needed then I suppose that's fine." South African-born Alice - married to writer Paul Schoolman - admitted that love scenes are usually difficult. But she added: "Ewan is brilliant because he is entirely at ease with who he is and so it was fairly effortless. Being an actress is not glamorous. But the brilliant thing is that you get to imaginatively experience things. If there's anything to be jealous about it's being given the opportunity to act. I find it difficult to find someone a heart-throb unless I know them and really care for them. I can't just look at a magazine and find someone sexy - I need to know them." For her latest film, The Little Vampire, Alice is back to covering up. She appears alongside Richard E. Grant and the pint-sized star from Jerry Maguire, Jonathan Lipnicki in the film. Alice was delighted to be back in Scotland for the filming last summer. She said: "I love Scotland. The first film I was ever in was Chariots of Fire and a lot of it was shot there. I also appeared in a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It at the Edinburgh Festival - it was possibly the worst performance I'd ever given, but I loved being at the Festival." Alice had first visited Scotland on holiday while a student at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She said: "I'd moved to London from Africa and visiting the Highlands made me feel like I'd come home. I was totally blown away by the scenery. When we filmed in Scotland last summer it rained and rained but it was beautiful because it was immensely green. I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles, so the scenery in Scotland is like a balm to my soul. I also find the Scots so forthright and direct." Ironically, Alice found that because of the natural light, she would often have to wait until late at night before she could start work as a vampire in Scotland. "It was really funny that we were shooting a movie about vampires and it didn't get truly dark until 11pm and it started to get light at 3.30am. There was a lot of waiting around for it to get dark so we could play the vampires." But even if Alice had spent more time in the daylight, she would have been unlikely to be recognised by members of the public. "It makes me nervous when people say, 'You were the Borg Queen,' because then I think maybe I didn't need all that make-up after all," she laughs. "But it doesn't usually happen. I don't worry about what I've looked like on screen, as long as I've felt it was in keeping with the character. I thought the vampire mum was wonderfully glamorous, though." Alice is preparing to start work on a TV drama in America where she plays a battered wife who is on the verge of alcoholism. She says: "I'm pretty sure I'm going to look ropey in that and, to be honest, I hope I do. I'm not worried about my image, just looking right for the part." But she admits she was shocked when she first saw herself made up as the Borg Queen for the Star Trek movie. She says: "Looking at the Borg Queen in the mirror used to disturb me. I found it enormously creepy. But I loved the vampires in The Little Vampire. It's all so sweet and funny." Alice has had a busy career and although she's in her 40s, she's unconcerned about getting older. She said: "It's inevitable. What am I going to do? There's nothing really to be done about it. It happens to everybody. I'm not going to have a facelift or fret about the fact that I'm not 19 or 35 any more. One hopes that people who employ you have enough faith that you could transform yourself without having to go to the lengths of plastic surgery." Alice is also moving into production, but hopes to continue acting. "If I am able to generate work as a producer the good thing is that it's going to be work I'm interested in and a proportion of that will be about my generation. I plan to appear in some of the projects. But I've been very lucky with work. If I've wanted to do it there has always been work to do. I'm holding my breath that's going to happen for a long time." A family gala screening of The Little Vampire takes place on Saturday at 4.00pm at the ABC Edinburgh. Children attending the screening will be given glow in the dark T-shirts. The film opens in Scotland on October 13. Copyright 2000, Scottish Daily Record & Sunday back |
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