What’s a nice British actress doing in a TV series like this?

Minnie Driver, whom audiences first adored as Chris O’Donnell’s love interest in the 1995 film “Circle of Friends” and who more recently had a hilarious turn as Karen’s nemesis Lorraine on NBC’s “Will & Grace,” plays gritty Louisiana gypsy Dahlia Malloy in FX’s new series “The Riches” (tonight at 10).

In the pilot, Dahlia, a recently released convict and drug addict, and her husband Wayne (Eddie Izzard) assume the lives of a wealthy couple in an elaborate sting.

“You define your career as an actor really by what you say no to, oddly,” Driver said during a recent press conference with reporters. “And I don’t say yes very often. When I read this, it was just the best part I’ve ever been offered. . . . There’s maybe four actresses who get the really (great roles) – they’re mostly called Kate. And they are the most fabulous actors, and they get these wonderful roles. And I always wanted to do stuff like that. And that just didn’t – it came my way sometimes, but not consistently.

“When I read this role of Dahlia, I knew that this was someone who could become anything, could go anywhere, and that this was like a springboard into something completely unknown and spontaneous. She’s genuinely the greatest character I’ve played.”

Driver knows it might be an adjustment for viewers to see her in this type of role.

“People do think of me in one way,” she said. “I encourage people not to pigeonhole actors. I think this was a good way of exploiting that.”

She also appreciates how challenging it is to star in a TV drama.

“Movie acting is wildly indulgent, I’ve now realized,” she said. “You spend hours and hours, days and days on a scene. It’s just insane. (On TV), you have to make your decisions, and you have to cut through all of the fat and get straight to the meat of what it is, what the scene is about. That’s very good for actors. It’s a short route to the truth. I think that’s never a bad thing. It’s made me a better actor already. I’ve never been so challenged.”

Driver had to study the unique Louisiana drawl to capture Dahlia.

“Accents come pretty easily because I think I speak a few languages and I love music,” she said. “I think it’s all part of the same thing. But, really, Dahlia to me, a huge part of her is the way that she sounds . . . I don’t like bad accents. They really take you out of what you’re watching. So I make a point of working hard to get them good.”

Source – TheEdge.BostonHerald.com

This entry was posted on Friday, March 16th, 2007 at 19:27 and is filed under News, The Riches. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.