New movie takes Watts undercover

Melanie Swan

• Last Updated: October 17. 2009 1:13AM UAE / October 16. 2009 9:13PM GMT

Naomi Watts speaks at the A Conversation with... panel at MEIFF in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Stephen Lock / The National

ABU DHABI // From her dislike of romantic comedies to the “bribe” that launched her career, no topic was too personal for the actress Naomi Watts when she chatted with filmmakers and fans yesterday.

Watts, who was recently named the world’s most bankable actress by Forbes magazine, was participating in the “Conversation with …” series at the MEIFF.

She also spoke about her brief trip to the Middle East for her latest project, Fair Game, the story of former CIA agent Valerie Plame.

She stars alongside Sean Penn in the film, which is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi-based Imagenation and Participant Media.

It chronicles the life of the agent whose identity was revealed in 2003 by the Bush administration in an article by the columnist Robert Novak of the Washington Post.

The role was different from anything she had done before, Watts said, because she basically played two characters as she followed the life of the secret agent.

She called Ms Plame, whom she met to prepare for the role, an “incredible” woman. “It was such a powerful story and she made such a powerful impact at that time,” said Watts, 41.

She recalled shooting scenes crossing the treacherous roads of Cairo. “Just crossing the street felt like a highly dangerous act and I had to do that several times. The traffic wasn’t stopping.”

She made the top of the Forbes list because, it was calculated, for every US dollar she has been paid, her movies have earned $44.

When choosing roles, she said there were many elements she looked for, although she was always drawn to darker, more demanding parts. She is known as what she calls “the girl who plays the nervous breakdown very well”. “It interests me more and it’s fun to play. I’m not a fan of romantic comedies except when I’m on airplanes, which is when I watch them. It’s so formulaic and it’s hard to get that right.”

A mother of two young boys, Samuel and Alexander, Watts came to prominence with her role as the aspiring actress Betty Elms in the film Mulholland Drive. She also starred in the 2005 Oscar-winning remake of the 1933 movie King Kong, alongside Adrian Brodie.

Born in England, Watts moved to Australia at the age of 14 following the death of her father. In return for agreeing to the move because she saw Australia as “the end of the world” she asked her mother to send her to acting school. That “bribe”, she said, was the best thing that happened to her. “I just love what I do and it’s hard to imagine not doing this. I’d have to be in the [film] community in some capacity.”

mswan@thenational.ae