BEVERLY HILLS -- Fresh-faced and buoyant under a textured thatch of short dark hair, Carla Gugino is poised for stardom.

"This really is my first big junket," she excitedly tells reporters gathered in a Beverly Hills hotel room.

"I spoke to more people yesterday than I have, I think, talked to in my entire life. And about me, which is really a boring subject."

One might beg to differ.

Since her stint on Spin City as Michael J. Fox's love interest, Gugino appears to have found the fast track to cinematic success.

After appearances in the films This Boy's Life and Michael, then a meatier role in The War at Home, Gugino reaped critical acclaim for her performance as a young woman entering aristocratic British society in the BBC/PBS miniseries The Buccaneers.

Now she stars as Julia Costello in Brian De Palma's action-suspense flick, Snake Eyes, which opens tomorrow.

Costello is the mysterious woman who speaks to a high-ranking politician during a boxing match moments before he is assassinated. Gugino describes her character as "the truth of the piece" - a key witness with a point of view integral to the plot's development.

So was she nervous about working for De Palma, one of Hollywood's top directors?

"I knew visually (the film) would be stunning and that I would probably get to see camera moves I had never seen before in my life. But he really was very attentive as a director for the actors."

And Nicolas Cage?

Gugino laughs. "Nicolas Cage was great. The adventurousness of his acting is something that is really inspiring to watch. But then to actually act with him ...."

Her voice trails off. With a couple of movies now under her belt, is she becoming a little less star-struck?

"I feel less intimidated now. Usually, if I have a lot of respect for someone, there's an initial realization of a kind of honor or excitement that comes with working with somebody you're really looking forward to working with.

"But then, within about a day, you realize you're all in there trying to do a really good job. So, yes, I feel a little less star-struck than I used to feel."

Those of you who remember Gugino as the city hall reporter on Spin City will notice her once-long locks are now clipped quite short.

"I had to cut my hair for the role but I think I was just looking for an excuse to do it."

After several screen tests with a dozen different hairstyles, De Palma felt her long hair should come off. Interestingly, in the first scene of Snake Eyes, Gugino sports a disguise. "The blond wig and the white suit felt like I was paying homage to (Angie Dickinson's character in De Palma's) Dressed to Kill."

Gugino's next project demonstrates the steep trajectory of her rising career.

She not only stars in Judas Kiss (to be released next spring), she's also a producer.

And as a novice producer ("I learned the job through osmosis"), she convinced a couple of heavyweight British thespians - Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman - to join the film's cast.

Not too shabby.


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