LOS ANGELES -- It's nothing new for actors to censor themselves during interviews. Usually, though, it's not because there are children present.
But on this day at a Beverly Hills hotel, Heather Graham -- whose risque resume includes Boogie Nights and The Hangover -- hesitates to discuss her forthcoming adults-only role in the porn-themed drama Cherry with James Franco.
"I don't know if I should talk about it in front of Jordana," she says, laughing, referring to Jordana Beatty, the 13-year-old star of Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, which opens Friday. "But yeah, it's dark."
(Graham has as little to say about The Hangover Part II, in which she doesn't reprise her Vegas stripper character. "I haven't seen it," she says simply. "But I'm excited to see it.")
Doing press alongside a young newcomer is obviously a novel experience for the 41-year-old, whose career has had more G-strings than G ratings. Almost as novel as making a kids-lit family comedy in the first place.
"It's so fun to do a movie that's about being happy," says Graham who plays the title tween's free-spirited aunt, Opal. "And being around Jordana was amazing. Every morning, I felt really happy going to work. It was (tapping into) the kid part of yourself that just wants to have fun and play."
Since debuting in 2000, Megan McDonald's books have sold an estimated 14 million copies. That said, Graham wasn't familiar with the series when she was approached for the role. "I'd never read the books, but (the producers) compared it to Pippi Longstocking which is my favourite character. As a little girl, I was obsessed with Pippi Longstocking ... I love the idea (that Opal is) this world traveler and is an artist. And I was really impressed by Jordana. She's amazing."
But what convinced the filmmakers that Graham should be their Opal? "Who would you believe is a child at heart and living this alternative life for the last decade?" says director John Schultz. "We thought Heather would be perfect. Because it's fresh and she is that character. I'd met her years ago and knew her vaguely. She was incredibly dedicated to joining this and getting it right. She didn't approach it casually. She was into it."
Of course, Graham has been acting almost since she was a kid herself. "I always wanted to act. And when I was 17 I got a film. And that's the age where you're like, 'I need to start making money.' So I started making money and was able to support myself as an actress."
Since then she's worked steadily -- moving from indie dramas (Drugstore Cowboy) to blockbuster sequels (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) to period-piece thrillers (From Hell).
"I feel that I'm lucky to still be doing something that I love. It's awesome. I guess I feel like I have a level of confidence now -- like I know what I'm doing ... After a certain amount of time, you feel like, 'Yeah.' You can work with a director and the director can be giving you directions, but you can be like, 'I've been doing this a lot longer than you.' "
Not that Graham didn't learn on the set of Judy Moody. Spending time with kids can do that to even the most seasoned adult. "Once I took a picture of (Jordana) and she was like, 'Are you going to sell that online?' I was like, 'What? Why would you think I'd sell your picture online?' But now, kids are worried about people selling their pictures online. At the time I was a kid, no one was thinking of that."
GRAHAM: BEATTY 'VERY BALANCED'
It's a lesson everyone in Hollywood learns, no matter their age.
Namely, that nothing is guaranteed until filming begins (and sometimes not even then).
Three years ago, for example, then-10-year-old Jordana Beatty was cast in a film version of the children's literary series, Eloise in Paris, opposite Uma Thurman. The announcement followed thousands of auditions and generated international headlines. And then the movie's financing collapsed and it fell into limbo, where it remains. So Beatty did what any resilient actor does: she got another gig, landing the lead role in Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, based on a kids-lit bestseller.
Already ahead of the movie's opening this Friday, she's getting recognized in public. "It must have been just from the poster, which was weird."
Weird, of course, pretty much describes life as a child actor. But Heather Graham, who plays her aunt in the movie, says Beatty "is very balanced ... She has great parents. She has a good, grounded family."
Beatty is in Grade 7 now, having shot Judy Moody while balancing classes with the production.
"It was very long days for me, but I didn't think of it as work. It was fun to get up in the morning and go to set and film all day. It was more fun than work."
Nor did Beatty come to it without experience. She started acting when she was four, making commercials and appearing on Australian television.
But post-Judy Moody, she adds, "I definitely want to continue doing more movies."
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