Monday, 8/11/97 Carides finds her place in America FILM:
Australian actress plays roles in ‘Paperback Romance,’ ‘Brilliant
Lies’
By Stephanie Sheh Daily Bruin Senior Staff Gia Carides is an
established actress in Australia. But she has to start all over
again. With two films this summer, "Brilliant Lies" and "Paperback
Romance" (opening Aug. 15), Carides is working hard to gain the
same recognition and respect in America. Audiences here probably
know Carides best as spirited and tantrum-throwing Liz in "Strictly
Ballroom." But in the romantic comedy "Paperback Romance," she is
Sophie, a gentle but willful romance writer disabled from childhood
bouts with polio. "I had to do a lot of research (on) polio,"
Carides says. "The director also suffered from polio – so he was my
day-to-day character study. I mean the character is kind of a
female version of him. He’s a writer and he has polio." Carides
spends the entire movie walking in leg braces and crutches. "I’d
put them on in the morning when I got there, as soon as I was out
of make-up. I’d put my leg in the braces, get the clutches, and
walk around all day to keep it going. It was a little tiring."
Carides spends half of the movie with her leg in a plaster cast as
well. "It was really beautifully designed so that it came apart in
two pieces," Carides explains. "My leg laid in, they’d put the top
piece over and I’d have metal pins join it along the side. It took
a good 10, 15 minutes to get it on and off." Making physical
changes to adopt a character is not new for Carides. At the
director’s suggestion, she went platinum blond for "Strictly
Ballroom." "He was so excited. He said that every single brunette
in the ballroom dancing world goes blond, and nearly every single
natural blond dyes her hair black and tries to look Spanish."
"Brilliant Lies" and "Paperback Romance" are the first films
Carides has acted on screen with boyfriend Anthony LaPaglia
("Murder One"). Both actors tried not to bring their work home with
them. "(For ‘Brilliant Lies’), we had our own lies and deceits and
truths and everything to deal with (in the plot)," Carides says.
"We decided we would purposely not talk about it ’cause we didn’t
want to know what the other one decided was true as an actor."
"Brilliant Lies" follows Susie, a fast-talking smart-ass who
accuses her boss of sexual harassment. Her boss, of course, tells a
different story, and the audience does not know who is telling the
truth. In addition, there is a separate subplot involving Susie’s
family about child molestation. Since the subject matter of
"Paperback Romance" wasn’t so touchy, Carides and LaPaglia
discussed their characters at home. Carides also discussed Susie
with her sister, Zoe, who plays her on-screen sister in "Brilliant
Lies." "The director kept telling us that it was amazing to watch
us together in the scenes, because we would sort of mirror each
other’s body language and do all this stuff that only sisters would
do," Carides says. "But at the same time, the characters are
incredibly different from my sister and I." Carides says that she
and Zoe share almost everything. In an industry where actresses can
become ruthless while competing for parts, these two have remained
close. "There’s healthy competition if we’re literally up for the
same role, which has happened so rarely," Carides admits. "If we
really are up for the same role, we really both want to get it. We
absolutely do, and we’re honest about that. But if one of us misses
out, the other one is the next actress we really hope gets it." But
their different personalities usually send them to different
auditions. "She will often go up against the same group of
actresses all the time," Carides continues, "and I’ll often go up
against (another) group." Since moving to America to be with
LaPaglia, Carides has been competing with an entirely different
group of actresses. With several American film appearances,
television movies and a guest appearance on "ER," she’s been doing
quite well. However, she’s not quite satisfied with her career yet.
"I’m still fighting for jobs," Carides says. "In Australia they
know who I am … so I was in the comfortable position of being
able to choose material," Carides continues. "I guess I’m working
my way up here." FILM: "Brilliant Lies" is currently in theaters
and "Paperback Romance" opens Aug. 15. Goldwyn Entertainment
Company Eddie (Anthony LaPaglia) and Sophie (Gia Carides) are
secret lovers in "Paperback Romance." Related Links: Brilliant Lies
Review