By Jeanne Wolf, Photos: Dominick Guillemot

She has a musical laugh that punctuates her conversation like a movie score, a face that walks the line between classically beautiful and sensual, and a body that turns men’s heads. Radha Mitchell is the whole package, which only partly explains why you’ll be saying her unusual name more often as the list of her upcoming movies and leading men begins to unfold. Here’s the impressive line-up: You’ll see her joining super singing star Marc Anthony, who plays her husband in the bigbudget Tony Scott-directed thriller Man on Fire, starring Denzel Washington. Then she made the coveted list of actresses who got the Woodman’s attention. Woody Allen picked her (from a tape—not an audition) to play the title role in his new film, Melinda and Melinda, opposite Will Ferrell. Also watch for her in J.M. Barrie’s Neverland with Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet and Dustin Hoffman. Finally, I caught up with Mitchell in Spokane, Washington, working on Crazy in Love, in which she teams with Josh Hartnett. (She has already shared the screen with Colin Farrell in Phone Booth and Vin Diesel in Pitch Black.) Mitchell stonewalls me when I try to find out if her offscreen leading man is an Aussie guy. She’s closed-lipped about her own romantic life, though she’s willing to share some insightful if discreet observations about her on-screen leading men. Radha admits she wasn’t always sure that a film career was the right brass ring to reach for, but once she decided to focus and go after movie success Hollywood grabbed her. Now we can only imagine how this exotic female will seduce her growing audience.

JEANNE WOLF: You are beautiful as well as talented. Do you ever wonder how much the way you look is the key to attracting the attention of a director or producer?

RADHA MITCHELL: It’s a superficial industry, so part of it is people looking at you and making judgements. Sometimes they want a particular kind of look and if you fill the bill good luck, and if you don’t then bad luck. Actually, when I look at my favorite actresses, their energy—not their look—makes them stand out. The really interesting ones are not all stereotypically beautiful. A certain amount of beauty makes it easier at the beginning, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll last. Right now I’m very busy acting, and being busy is fun.

In fact, going from one film to another puts you in hotel rooms all over the world. What do you do to feel at home?

I’m pretty detached from most things. I bring my computer. I mean, with e-mail you can be anywhere and be in touch. You also have your cell phone and I always take my tarot cards.

What do you get from reading the tarot?

I don’t read for the future. I go to my cards more to read my state of mind. They don’t necessarily read anything that you don’t already know, but they just kind of trigger your thoughts. My cards aren’t that specific; they’re more philosophical and give you a point of view. Especially if I’m confused about something, I might sit down and pull out a card. It may seem relevant in some way and if it does then I won’t be confused anymore.

Since you’ve acted so frequently with an American accent it’s easy to forget you’re Australian. What identifies you with the world down under where you grew up?

I actually like Vegemite. If you went to my house you’d find Vegemite and Heinz Baked Beans, which are kind of English actually, but Australians eat them. What else is very Australian about me? I don't know. I mean, I don't necessarily do the quintessential Australian things. Like, I don't surf. ...

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