Going by Murphy's law

By LOUIS B. HOBSON

Brittany Murphy didn't have to do much research to play a mental patient in Girl, Interrupted.

"Basically I just had to be myself," she says with a hearty laugh.

"You have to be a little crazy to be an actor. You spend your life pretending to be other people. That's not exactly normal.

"Acting is not the most stable profession in the world."

But it was the one the New Jersey native wanted.

"I've always been a hyper, emotional person. Now I'm getting paid for it."

Murphy is best known for her performance as the shy girl Alicia Silverstone gives a personality makeover in 1995's Clueless.

Her show-stopping antics led to roles in The Devil's Arithmetic, Prophecy II and the TV version of David & Lisa opposite Lucas Haas and Sidney Poitier.

She has been chosen to play rocker Janis Joplin in the bio-pic Piece of My Heart.

"The rights to Janis' music become available in February. That will reduce the budget considerably, so it looks as if the picture will finally be a go," says Murphy, whose musical talents were discovered at a friend's wedding.

"I'd been asked to sing at the wedding reception. I got so nervous I started belting the number.

"The casting director for Piece of My Heart was at the reception. She talked to me, sent me a script, set up an screen test and the folks at Paramount offered me the role pending availability of music rights."

Murphy admits it's great to be the first choice for a role rather than a last-minute addition as she was for the role of Daisy, the abused, bulimic in Girl, Interrupted.

"Daisy was offered to Sarah Polley and Leelee Sobieski, but they both passed on it in favour of other projects. I don't know how far down the list I was, but I'm really grateful other choices fell by the wayside."

Murphy says her co-stars Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie completely immersed themselves in their roles.

"It was rare to see either of them out of character for the entire 12-week shoot.

"Angelina's character Lisa really hated Daisy, so she shunned me. One day, she began talking to me and then stopped cold.

"She stared hard at me and Angelina was replaced by (the character) Lisa and she walked away. She was always teasing me about the wig I had to wear for Daisy.

"At the end of the shoot she gave me a backpack with a dog that had exactly the same hairstyle. I think it was her way of telling me there were no hard feelings. It was just part of her acting process."

Murphy says the same was true of Ryder.

"Winona never actually acknowledged the other actors on a day-to-day basis. She started being Susanna the moment she arrived on the set for makeup. It's not the way I'm used to working, but I think it really worked for this movie because it is so intense."

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