JASON LEIGH, JENNIFER : Washington Square

The film tells the story of Catherine Sloper (Leigh), an heiress who lives in the titular New York estate in the mid-1850s. Catherine's birth killed her mother, and she has spent her entire life listening to resentful remarks from her wealthy physician father (Albert Finney) that she has none of his late wife's beauty, charm or elegance.

"I use a lot of myself in Catherine."

Catherine's whimsical Aunt Lavinia (Maggie Smith) dismisses her brother-in-law's harsh criticism and tries to encourage her aloof, shy niece. At a party, Catherine attracts the attention of alluring playboy Morris Townsend (Ben Chaplin). Overcome with the prospect of a loving relationship, she wholeheartedly commits herself to Morris. Father, however, believes that the young, penniless man has ulterior motives -- that instead of wanting her, he might want her money -- and threatens to cut Catherine off financially if she marries him.

Leigh confesses that she relates strongly to her latest screen incarnation. "I use a lot of myself in Catherine. She's probably closest to me, closer to me than the other characters I've played in terms of her introversion and shyness and awkwardness. Her inability to articulate, being out of place - I often feel that way. Her wanting to please; I understand that. There's a lot about Catherine that I understand, certainly the way she is at a party: awkward at the table, that's me. Everything is slightly off. That's why I don't go to parties. I can't try to make conversation with people I don't know. I don't know why; it's just impossible unless I really know someone. Yeah, like party dialogue, I'm not gifted at that, and neither is she."

I then heard they were doing it again, so I really pursued it.

"I met with Agnieszka [Holland], pleaded with her to let me do it.."

Washington Square was previously filmed in 1949 as The Heiress, starring Olivia De Havilland, who went on to win an Oscar for that performance. Though the two versions are starkly different, the earlier film was what partly drew Leigh to this project. "I saw the film 10 years ago and just loved it. I then heard they were doing it again, so I really pursued it. I loved the novel and was pleased when I heard that this film was going to be a lot closer to the James novel than The Heiress was. I met with Agnieszka [Holland], pleaded with her to let me do it, and that was that."

The character, as written, was described as being very plain, a quality one could hardly ascribe to Jason Leigh. To get round the problem, Leigh wore little or no make up throughout the film. "That helped me a lot in terms of this character, and also in terms of the way people feel about themselves, I think. You can do a lot with lighting, you can do a lot with camera angles, but the fact remains, nobody wore make-up during that period, except prostitutes." Such immersion into a character is nothing new to the actress, who views acting "as a means to escape from my own shyness and insecurities."

As successful as Leigh has become, she has always been drawn to the outer of Hollywood's mainstream, never seeking acceptability from within the powerful industry, despite her background. She is the daughter of the late actor Vic Morrow and screenwriter Barbara Turner.

"The one thing they have in common, is that I care about them"

She won a 1994 Golden Globe for her performance in Robert Altman's ensemble film Short Cuts. More recently, Jennifer Jason Leigh has exhibited a fondness for flamboyant, curiously accented characterisations, notably her maniacal "roommate from hell" in Single White Female (1991), her Katharine Hepburn-style comic turn in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) and her deliberately artifice-laden portrayal of writer Dorothy Parker in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994).

Leigh again worked with Altman in his tribute to jazz music, Kansas City (1996), and helped produce and later star in her mother's screenplay, Georgia.

In an industry in which women consistently complain about the lack of strong roles fore women, Leigh has delivered some shattering performances playing strong, yet vulnerable characters. "They're all different, this hotchpotch of characters I've played; the one thing they have in common, is that I care about them. That's what attracts me to a part."

"I am still most happy when I'm working"

Leigh is selective about the films she elects to do, but also admits that "I am still most happy when I'm working; I really love it so much." That is when she's not taking her dogs on a hike. Leigh is fiercely protective about her private life and refuses to comment on anything not connected to her work. "I've been lucky in that I HAVE been able to keep my private life private, and for me, the roles that I'm playing are just that, a part. So I'll do anything to help the movie, but dealing with the press is still difficult for me and doesn't come naturally. It's just weird to talk about yourself."