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Famke is a Beauty with Brains

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May 9 2008, Published 1:00 p.m. ET

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Famke Janssen brings her Boston terrier, Licorice, to The Regency Hotel in NYC when we meet. The model-turned-actress pulls out all the stops for “Licky” as she calls him. She places a brightly-colored food dish on the floor just in case the 7-year-old pup gets hungry.

Such is the life of the precious pet owned by the 42-year-old actress, whose pool drama Turn The River, is in theaters now. These days, Licorice is enjoying her attention. For two months, Famke's life was a pool game as she studied to play a pool pro.

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Wearing a black dress and headband, Famke is the modern-day dream girl of my childhood crush. (He would give anything to be here!) Her kindness, warmth, intelligence and humanity certainly wouldn’t intimidate, but immediately noticeable is her considerable height – she is nearly six feet tall. Is being tall a blessing or a curse?

“I’ve had every obstacle to deal with,” the Dutch-born actress says, taking a sip of green tea. “Not that I’m complaining, it’s true, I’m taller than most of my co-stars. Has it been a problem over time? Sure. There’s a way to work around it sometimes. They give me big holes to stand in, or whatever.”

Despite roles in X-Men and a slew of other movies, Famke couldn’t resist this role as a pool-playing mom-on-the-run. Why? They offered her the lead.

“I have been acting for fifteen years, and I can count on one hand the times I’ve been the lead of a film. And I can’t even use all of my fingers. Offer me the lead in the film, and I don’t even have to open the script. I already want to say yes.”

She adds, “When people go ‘why did you take that part?’ it’s like ‘because I want to work.’ There’s a misunderstanding about how many choices we have as actors. There are not that many great parts for anybody out there. I would love to do stage work but it’s just about as difficult getting a part in a play as it is getting a part in a movie. And it’s not easy to get any.”

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For one thing, the Columbia University alum has to battle her beauty.

“I had that model stigma, and then opened up in a Bond movie. I added another stigma. By the time anybody heard my name, I was model-turned-actress Bond girl. What chance is she going to have? Then I had to go fight and go all the other way in the opposite direction to be taken seriously, meaning I had to take small parts in movies supporting parts so I could show range. Like ‘listen, I’m not some crazy foreigner who doesn’t know how to speak English.’ The only way I could do that was by taking parts that were less predictable.”

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Still, Famke isn’t looking for fame.

“Success is never something I‘ve pursued. It would hinder me and my life and how I like to live it. I live in New York, I want to walk down the street and have a normal life. I just want to have an interesting career.”

So, we shouldn’t expect to see Famke in another X-Men installment?

“I’ve done three X-Men movies, and I’ve died in two of them. Enough already.”

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For now, Famke is excited about tackling a new role now that she’s a U.N. ambassador to Bali. “I’m getting a U.N. passport to top it off. That just means there’s no lines. All the borders and lines are gone. I can travel everywhere because I have a U.N. passport.”

Licorice takes a bite from the food dish at his mom's feet. “He is so spoiled,” she gushes. A reporter tries to tempt him with a French fry but he stays by Famke’s side.

Just another day in their fabulous life.

Turn The River is in theaters now.

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